Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed

Throne of the Crescent Moon is a Nebula nominee for 2012.  It's also a YA novel.  It is not billed as such at my public library, but it's definitely written as YA.  And not particularly old YA, probably pitched 10-12 except for the especially gory interludes where the villain is preparing his ploy.  As other reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads have said, it is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign set into a novel.  We have a cleric, a dervish (specialized fighter) and a kind of lycanthrope.  They pursue an evil cleric and a lycanthrope.  All emotions and plot drivers are stated plainly and explained, educational for a young reader.  This is not a bad book, but it isn't a good one either.  I was definitely expecting more from a Nebula nominee, but they can't all be hits.  I'm not too sorry I read it, but definitely glad to have gotten it from the library.  2 stars unless you are 11 and have a strong stomach.  Not more violent than Harry Potter, though, so most would be fine.