University of Nevada Press provided an early galley for review.

I've never been to Vegas but have always wanted to go. The cover and description of this novel sounded intriguing.

The Pyramid World hotel setting appears to be meant as a stand-in for the real-life Luxor hotel, with the story line of the construction to mirror that of the actual hotel in the early 90's. Unger, a professor of English at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, clearly is drawing from a city he knows as he sprinkles in plenty of real Vegas locals - other hotels, restaurants, etc. - into the narrative. The details about all things casinos and gamblers also ring true.

I'm a bit on the fence with this one though. At times, it reads a lot more like a nonfiction historical book rather than a fiction novel. Not being familiar with the author (his last fiction book looks to have been from 1995), I am not sure if this is part of his writing style or just the approach taken for this particular release. The narrative arc spans over several decades for the main characters, thus it lacks the urgency I usually gravitate towards in stories. When we do get an in-depth scene with lots of character dialogue and interaction, I was definitely tuned in though.

Reader mileage might vary here.