Hi,
I have the book and I have read most of it. The background material is excellent, but it is the campaign where the book really shines.
It is an "epic" style campaign, the PC's actions will leave an impact on history and myth. It IS very railroading at the macro level: there are 4 chapters with missions that have to be undertaken in succession.
BUT
- What happens during the missions largely depends on how characters interact with NPCs - the campaign has great villains, with interesting personalities, which most probably the characters are not just going to fight - for instance (minor spoiler) one villain may actually fall in love with a PC, while another is, conversely, likely to try to seduce a PC.(end spoiler)
- A host of minor encounters can take place while the PCs explore the mission's locales. Especially, one episode has an extensive and very well designed encounter creation system that might result in unexpected and interesting combats, fun role-playing opportunities and sidetrack plots.
- There is ample opportunity for character development. For sure the characters are going to be heroes, but they will decide what kind of heroes they are going to be. To make a comparison: Imagine that in LOTR the fellowship of the ring had to have Frodo as ring bearer, but all the other 8 slots where free to fill with characters of the players' choice.
- There are open-ended guidelines to continue the campaign after the 4 "scripted" episodes.
So, the epic plot is there but there is ample space for the characters to develop their personal stories of heroism and write their own lines as the story unfolds. Personally I find it satisfying, but this may be not for everyone's tastes.
If I have to make comparisons with classic campaigns don't expect something like old RQ2 campaigns (Griffin Mountain, Borderlands), but rather something like Stormbringer's "Rogue Mistress " campaign, crossed with Pendragon's "The Boy King".
