"Radovan seats himself and leans against the cart's wheel, hoping the ass does not drag it off and rob him of the only thing he can lean on and therefore his only protection against further pain in his back, which for the moment, is more important than the cart and ass being his only way home." So begins The Joyful One, as it follows this young man named Radovan, who is suddenly drafted to fight in a war for the vast empire in which...