The Taste of Fear was a very good read, and I enjoyed every single chapter. Not surprisingly, I was saddened by the many deaths, especially the death of Sal and the other characters we got to know more intimately. You never really stop to think about what it's like to be held captive and forced to endure things you never had to before. This is the kind of book that not only opens your eyes, but it makes you appreciate life, and whatever it is you have, that much more. It wasn't an easy read, with Bates' vivid, honest, and yet grotesque descriptions, but this was a story about survival and oddly enough, love.