This book reminded me of a fantasy version of "The Count of Monte Cristo". The protagonist, Arlian, is deeply scarred and angry from the desctruction of his village and everyone he knows and loves then immediately being kidnapped and sold into seven years of slavery in a mine. He pursues a path of revenge that leads him on a path of discovery that not only shocks him, but the reader as well. One of the few books that truly surprised me with the overall arc of the story and with a draw-dropping ending revelation as well.