Full of action, suspense, heartbreak and hope The Sum of All Men finds a sweet spot in my fantasy heart that delivers big adventure with high stakes, enjoyable(and memorable) characters, and a storyline that resolves nicely as a stand-alone but sets things up so beautifully for the larger series to launch from. While this isn’t a YA Fantasy per say, because of the messages it delivers, dealing with grief and loss, finding hope when all feels hopeless, and valuing people for who they are inside not just for the surface level attributes, I’d recommend this highly for anyone maybe 13 and older. It’s the perfect type of fantasy that can hit any audience without relying on being brutally graphic in language or content, yet has high enough stakes and tension to keep you highly invested in the story. But having read this in 1998 and revisiting it now via the audiobook, I listened with a smile on my face the whole time. I’m sure partly due to nostalgia(so take my final rating with a slight grain of salt because I’m sure it’s impossible to objectively dismiss the power of nostalgia in my current visit with this book), but largely because it’s just good fantasy storytelling that brings all the best parts of that classic fantasy vibe right back to the here and now. If you love fantasy and haven’t checked out The Runelords series, give this first book a look because I think you’ll enjoy it quite a bit.