I've been a fan of the "Jon and Lobo" books since finding the first one. As others have said, this one wasn't as action-packed as others in the series, but it does dive much more deeply into Jon's background, and explores what drives Jon the way that he's driven. It doesn't give all the answers, but the way in which his background parallels the story of the child soldiers in the book was very illuminating. If you've been following the series for a while, this is a must-read. But if you're new to the series, go back and start at book one. This books presumes you know enough of the background of the setting, and probably won't make as much sense without that grounding.