Yes. He was quite big on that--but he was just ripping off Robert Jordan's version of sadomasochism. I gave up on him when he started ranting about Communism for 700 pages (book five I think) and accusing our government of being out-of-control socialists. (?????) If only! (I mean, the government sucks, but...too socialist?? Only for the rich buggers on Wall Street....)