I get why some people really like this book. It's cool. PAINFULLY cool. It's unapologetically brutal with a total disregard for political correctness, and I imagine some people find that refreshing.

It follows Prince Jorg and his band of merry rapists who tramp around thr mediaeval-fantasy-postapocalyptic landscape being very naughty. Jorg eventually rocks up at his estranged dad's castle and tries to win his regard by completing a quest (involving genocide but by that point I was inured to the Tarantino-esque gratuitous bloodletting).

I thought this book was technically well written - the language and plot flowed nicely. But I couldn't enjoy it because Jorg was such a precocious evil little tossrag. I wasn't rooting for him at any point. Why should I care whether he succeeds when he's such a psychopathic git? I mostly found myself wishing someone would stick a sword through his eye and have done with it.

I'm all for books with flawed characters, but here there was no character development coupled with no redeeming characteristics (I don't think being cool counts). On top of this, the supporting cast are bland and interchangeable. Each of Jorg's 'brothers' has a single identifying characteristic: being large, being black, having a lisp. The single female character was pathetic. Bottom line: I just didn't give a shit about anyone in this book.