The premise of this book, in which there is an alternate world where slavery is still prevalent in 4 states, seemed very promising. However, too much of the story goes beyond far fetched; even for an alternate world.

The tortured protagonist is better drawn than any of the other characters. But the situations in which he finds himself are just not believable.

The ending seemed to merely be a set up for future novels and was a rushed job at that.

Mr. Winters' writing does shine in places but just not enough to make this book the masterpiece it could have been.

Having read Ben Winters' The Last Policeman trilogy, I was really looking forward to Underground Airlines. This novel did not capture my attention as did the trilogy. The main character was not fleshed out in my opinion, and the alternate history premise seemed somewhat far-fetched. That being said, this novel was an okay read, but I would recommend the trilogy before this one.

Alternate worlds and dystopian novels are not my favorite genres, but I hoped this one would be good. The story was very dark, admittedly about a disturbing subject. I felt that the character development throughout the book was not strong enough for the reader to understand the motivations of the characters. Some of the main character's (Victor's) feats strained credulity. I wanted to like and learn from this book, but I did not. I would not recommend this title.