** spoiler alert ** 
 The characters are very well-drawn. I read someone's review of the book and s/he said that the Hamilton family (which was the secondary focus in the book) was more interesting than the main Trask family and in some sense, I agree. The Trask storyline focused a bit too much on good versus bad for me; the Hamiltons seemed a bit more like real people. 
 Adam Trask, the main character, was not my favorite - he was passive and often not "present" as a child, as a young adult and as an adult. His brother Charles shows some growth, though not a particularly happy path, from angry/violent child to lonely/frustrated adult - I rarely say this, but I think if he had found the right girl who loved him, he could have been happy ... or at least happier! Adam was afraid of his father but had his love, Charles desperately wanted his father's love but didn't get it - this set up a struggle between the brothers, who loved each other but were wary of each other (Adam was often afraid of Charles - for good reason as Charles nearly kills him in a couple of fights; Charles was jealous of Adam because his father loved Adam and most everyone favored Adam). A somewhat similar pattern, though less pronounced, was established for Adam's two sons, Caleb and Aron. 
 In addition to the importance of the relationship between father and son, the importance of love in a child's life was an important element in the book. For Adam and Charles, and for Aron and Caleb, mothers were essentially taken out of the equation. This enhanced the importance of the father-son dynamic and took away the sense of love/belonging that mothers usually provide within a family. Adam's mother died, Charles's mother was not a warm person nor was she loving toward either Adam or Charles (she was more like a maid who kept the house and kept to herself, though she took care of them and was not mean to them), and Aron and Caleb's mother left shortly after their birth. Fortunately for Aron and Caleb, they had Lee, a Chinese man who started off as a servant and became family. Lee cared for the boys when Adam could not and he was a constant force of good in their lives. 
 The third theme of the book is whether evil is something inherent in some people or whether it develops in a particular environment. Although Charles and Caleb fight their tempers and jealousies during the story, it is Adam's wife Cathy Ames Trask who just seems evil. She had parents who loved and cared for her, yet she just seems to be a nasty individual who manipulates people and who looks to exploit the negative in every situation. With Charles and Caleb, they know that their anger and their envy of their brothers is wrong but they are not always able to control it - and then they take pleasure in lashing out and hurting others, especially Adam and Aron. Cathy doesn't need provocation to be mean - it's like she knows no other way. 
 The story is an interesting read. I think I would have enjoyed it more had the good vs. evil played out a bit more subtly. I give the book a 4/5.