I have to admit, I liked the book. In some ways, the religious overtones in the book were much stronger than in most books with a Christian theme, and in some ways they were much weaker. They're constantly talking about converting, and the nature of their god, and things like that, throughout the book, but it's their god, and their religion, which are very different from Christianity and God. Christians don't have gold shields magically appear over their hearts, can't do magic, and don't go crazy and have physical abnormalities when they accept God and later turn away from him.

The story itself was fun. Abramm was a prince, but merely a fifth son. He wasn't like his brothers, he didn't have the characteristics and traits that were most admired in his countrymen, so as a preteen he decided to join the church. The story really starts 8 years later, when he's almost going to move from novice to full fledged member of the cloth, except...everything goes wrong.

He finds out his father, and most of his older brothers are dead. He'd been disinherited when he joined the church, but now he finds that he's only a step away from the throne as he's been reinherited. The two brothers left alive, the one on the throne and the one who is now two steps away, plot to sell him into slavery or kill him, whichever is easier.

He ends up being sold into slavery where he must be a contestant in the great games until he dies. Abramm, who was always small and weak as a youth, and studious and peaceful as he got older, flourishes in the training for the games, and does what no one expects, and survives.

He becomes a symbol for those that have been oppressed by the hosts of the games, and eventually escapes and goes to lead them in their fight against their oppressors.

The entire book is really about his journey through accepting a new faith, though. He renounces one faith at the beginning, and is leery of being duped, so refuses to accept another. But he has a destiny, and this god, who he refuses to accept, still has a hand on everything Abramm does, and everything he's been through.

I'd be interested in reading the sequels.