The book is far different than what I had originally imagined it to be, but it turned out to be really enjoyable. I thought it had just the right amount of action, just not much saber-to-saber action. I loved how sith lords from past generations get a mention in this novel. The book also explains why Yoda had felt the dark side growing in strength long before the sith had even revealed themselves. I thought that was pretty interesting.
Plagueis, unlike Sidious, did not seem too sadistic in nature. Even all the shit he put Palpatine through was, in his eyes, neccessary for Palpatine to become a better sith; none of it was for his own personal amusement. He actually planned on ruling the galaxy with Sidious as a team, rather than using Sidious and disposing of him when he reached his goal. Plagueis was also portrayed as being extremely powerful in the force and a very skilled fighter, regardless of what the early reviewers had to say. In fact, I'm hesitant to say Sidious had surpassed Plagueis during his murder of Plagueis, although Sidious was smarter. IMO, Plaguies is one of the greatest sith lords to ever live. Sidious admits, that without Plagueis he could not have made it.
One of the biggest fears of most SW was that this book would make Palpatine into a sympathetic character. Although he gets more depth to his character, he is never a sympathetic one. Even as a child, he is a raging hate-filled egoistic psychopath who wants everything his way. Sidious did form a filial bond with Darth Maul, but I seen that more as a bond a human might have with a pet; a human may take great pride in teaching their pet new tricks, but can easily move on after the pet dies (in most cases). I guess that's as good as Palpatine can get.
All in all, I found the book to be very interesting. If you're not a fan of Sidious, you might find some parts of the book kinda boring. I, however, found it hard to put down, but I am a fan of Sidious so obviously I am going to be interested in his political machinations, and in the master who trained him. The book really does make you think back to other books and material you may have read and say "oh yeah I remember that."