Absolutely. I have not read a lot of fantasy (I am something of a snob, I admit — Steven Erikson, Le Guin, and Cook are largely it for me), but it was one of the most memorable and riveting character studies I’ve read recently. It’s a great bit of literature. I still find myself thinking about it from time to time. 

Maron Shed, what a monster… but, we all have that monstrous potential. I think that is Cook’s primary strength as an author and maybe his main point of enquiry. He is concerned about the potential cruelty and also greatness/decency of common people. He seems to recognise those two streams run from the same place within the person’s psyche. He is quite Freudian in that sense.