Genres: fantasy, horror, teenage

Synopsis: Jebel Rum's biggest weakness... is weakness. As the son of Um Wadi's executioner, he's expected to try out for his father's job - except that he's too skinny to wield the heavy axe. A laughing stock in his home town, Jebel embarks on a perilous quest to the lair of a mysterious god. It is a dark, brutal, terrifying journey. But to Jebel Rum, the risk is worth it.

Review:

I had to think about whether to recommend this novel, because while it was well written and well plotted with good characterisation - and was so gripping that I read the entire novel in one go - it was also often rather disturbing. Violence was ever-present. There was constant murder (and otherwise violent death, and not only of adults), torture, even some particularly memorable cannibalism. Honestly, I can barely believe that it's marketed as a children's book - I deliberately categorised it as "teenage" above.

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