I bought this book hoping to find a good piece of fantasy fiction. In some ways it was, but in other ways it did not appeal to me. I like "pured" fiction, that does not describe the dirty things in life, and this is not of that kind, instead it is to a large part describing torture, rape, mutilation, and people being mean to each other. I did not enjoy reading such, and felt dirty afterwards. On the good side, the book is a thrilling read, that keeps the reader enthralled in the battle scenes and the other very tense events, turning page after page to find what happens next. The story seems to be modelled on the first crusade, but it is set in a very cruel fantasy world that mirrors the historical medieval reality although there are strange inhuman creatures lurking on the periphery. It is number two in a series, so it has no beginning nor end and it should not be read on its own as I did. The author seems to be talented, but I for my part would have preferred it if he had gotten rid of the nasty stuff and written a more romantic and heroic novel. It could have been a great read, then (to me, that is).