This is my first review; hopefully some folks find it helpful and not too scatter-brained.
My general conclusion is that the book should have had fewer factions or more pages. Some sections (like Council of Thieves and Gray Maidens) were phenomenal and left me wanting more. Others (like Hellknights and the Pathfinder Society) seemed excessively redundant and only compounded my frustration about the great sections not getting enough space. Factions I knew less about (especially the Al-Zabriti, Houses of Perfection, and Rivethun) really could have benefited from more in-depth discussion - there's a lot of potential in all three of those factions.
Down the road it would be great to see a book that meets this one and Villain Codex half-way: fewer but more fleshed-out factions, fully detailed NPCs, and a sprinkling of character options that feel more necessary to detailing the faction or updating old rules than just copy-and-pasting old material or adding one more archetype for the sake of adding an archetype.
All-in-all I think the PDF is still a must buy. I was really impressed by Council of Thieves and the Gray Maidens - especially their respective prestige classes. And the Al-Zabriti, Houses of Perfection, and Rivethun factions all have some really great flavor and potential.
Note: By no means think that by excluding other factions from praise that I don't think the quality of work wasn't good. The influence of personal flavor preferences really can't be understated in any review.
