The terrain is delightfully unfamiliar to readers accustomed to the Celtic landscape that dominates so many fantasy novels. Classical allusions abound as well, with the battle of Troy part of recent memory, and the decline of the Greek and Egyptian empires becoming evident to their own people. I've never traveled in that area, but Stover writes convincingly enough that I had a firm sense of place as I read. Stover writes with rhythm and control, but he doesn't pull any punches, either. Without lapsing into gratuitous descriptions of gore, he evokes the realities of life in his characters' world.
Blood stinks, urine stinks, feces stink, garbage stinks.
Incense can choke or sweeten the air, while clean cool water seems the nectar of the gods to the desert travelers. He also understands the reality of his characters' travel. These new hollows had been pulled from hard marching on short rations, and her flesh had drawn tight over her skull. Exhausted enough to ache in every bone, she nonetheless broke into an honestly happy grin at what she saw. There is no dark lord wishing to dominate the world, sending hordes of cruel minions out to overrun the human race.