This is a book that requires a certain amount of patience from the reader. Most of the book is told through the diaries and journal entries, and many events are related twice from different perspectives. The book ends frustratingly abruptly. Priest evokes a tangible period atmosphere. They successfully cater to both of the Victorians' twin obsessions, science and the occult.
Priest does much the same with modern readers.
The Prestige isn't for everyone, but it's a complex, surprising novel that ought to appeal to readers who enjoy the work of Lisa Goldstein.