Rock trolls train for war from birth and are raised by a blade master in place of their parents. As they kill, they express their martial accomplishments through their sundering - the markings they put on their skin for every kill. Some trolls have thousands of markings all over their body, and it is the type of kill that determines the location. The face itself is reserved only for the biggest accomplishments and the most noteworthy of kills.  Rock trolls are feared and hated across the land by all other races, and they are always in a perpetual state of war. It is within this bloody environment that Tryton is born with his inquisitive nature to question things. As he is taught to kill, he starts to wonder why. He bears a sense of honor that the rest of the rock trolls lack, and that makes him a bit of an outcast with his elders, but not with his peers. It also enables him to see that his race is facing extermination and that they need to change their ways if they want to continue to exist.

Eventually others start to realize that the trolls are being hunted into extinction, and they recognize that Tryton's more peaceful nature makes him a good candidate to investigate why. He uncovers that a bounty has been issued for troll deaths and that makes them a target even for those who would normally be too afraid to challenge them. He brings this news back to his people and the rest of the book revolves around dealing with this issue and the differences in opinion within troll society about how to go about it.

Having the protagonist be a rock troll and being sympathetic to their survival is a new one for me, but it worked well enough. It was interesting to root for Tryton to succeed in a culture designed with a different moral compass than his own. This book does have it's flaws in that Tryton is a bit of a Mary Sue who wants to save his people by making them more "human" and I would say it certainly has a YA vibe to it. Nonetheless, this is worth a read for fantasy fans looking for something a little bit different and not too complex.

Ralph Lister narrates the audiobook version and I must admit that I find him to be an odd choice. His British accent is an odd fit for voicing a bunch of rock trolls even though I did eventually come to peace with it. That being said, that fact makes this series one where the narration is not for everyone. If you aren't going to embrace the trolls having British accents then you best read this one yourself.