Review Detail of MisterFlare in Dawn of the First Emperor

I hate to leave of a rough review on a fellow author's novel, especially one who took the time to review my own book, but I'm not gonna hold my punches either. The first few chapters I've been able to read were very hard to follow, the grammar isn't atrocious, but it isn't exactly one of the seven wonders of the world either. On top of that, chapters one to four are almost completely redundant because you outline them in the synopsis. I understand that setting context is important, but you could've just started the story at Chapter Five, and it would have been far less confusing.