We had Darrenn Shan on this programme not so long ago talking about vampires. This isn't one of his vampire or demon books, it's a one-off fantasy with Arabian nights flavour.

Jebel is the third son of a respected executioner. His father has told the village that his two older sons will battle to see who will have the honour of succeeding him - poor, thin Jebel is left out. He decides to go on a perilous quest to petition the fire god for invincibility and hopefully return to his village a hero.

This book has it all - a hero, plenty of villians, and a romance. Plus, be aware this book is plenty violent and gory in parts.

On the back cover it states that Darren Shan was inspired by The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: after I finished reading The Thin Executioner, it was interesting to see how many similarities I could find. I think more mature readers will devour this book!