In a kingdom of merciless tyrants, Jebel Rum's family is honored as royalty because his father is the executioner.

But Rashed Rum is near retirement. And when he goes, there will be a contest to determine his successor.

It is a contest that thin, puny Jebel has no chance of winning.Humiliated and ashamed, Jebel sets out on a quest to the faraway home of a legendary fire god to beg for inhuman powers so that he can become the most lethal of men.

He must take with him a slave, named Tel Hesani, to be sacrificed to the god.

It will be a dark and brutal journey filled with lynch mobs, suicide cults, terrible monsters, and worse, monstrous men.

But to Jebel, the risk is worth it.To retrieve his honor . . .To wield unimaginable power . . .To become . . .The thin executioner.Inspired by Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, international bestselling master of horror Darren Shan takes readers on a thrilling, fast-paced journey into a nightmarish world where compassion and kindness are the greatest crimes of all.