I couldn't help but compare it against other fantasy novels I had read. This is slower paced, deliberate, thoughtful and draws you in. The proses, it makes you feel the bone piercing cold in the many sea journeys, the dread when facing one's own mortal enemy, all delivered without gratuitous violence or other unsavory constructs. Truly a book for young readers but also for mature ones whose more substantial life experience would find echos in the hero's quest.