Sure, this book contained some uncomfortable and unbelievable situations - rape, violence, and the unlikely scenario of hardened criminals following a young boy on his quest to take over the world - but I'm okay with that. Not everything can be rainbows and butterflies... the real world is not a pretty place, there's no reason to expect fantasy to be that way either.

I think the journey that Jorg is on, all of the violence and terror, really solidifies why he ends up where he does at the end of the book, and I feel that it is only going to continue to make him grow in the coming books.

Thankfully, there was quite a bit of levity in the book to balance the dark side of humanity... enough that I ended up waking my fiancee up with my laughing.

Anyway... if you don't mind the heavy side of humanity, I'd definitely recommend this book. I haven't hit the sequels yet, but I can't wait :)