Hmm. Good review. Overall I'd say we had the same opinions of the novel, though I personally didn't have the slight issues you did with the character development. I did think that they behaved, at times, in ways that were kinda unbelievable, but really I though all the characters were great. The tone of the novel--written like a historical biography--actually made me like the characters more. I felt we weren't supposed to get super close to Julian, since in the end I don't think even Adam felt he completely understood Julian.
Actually I felt the ending was the greatest weakness (and it wasn't even close to being a deal breaker). I was expecting an Abraham Lincoln parallel that would have fit the story SO well.
But yeah, solid review. I prolly would have given it an extra 1/2 clock, but you backed your rating excellently. High-fives.
Also, I voted for this and City & The City for the Hugo last year. It was far better, I felt, than the other nominations (other than Miéville's obviously).