When I reviewed Rains of Liscor I said that it was the best book so far. And it was, for a wide variety of reasons. The build up to the Face Eater Moth attack on Liscor, the fight being broadcast around the world, the different viewpoints and opinions, the triumphant finish and finally the re-enactment was easily the best bit. But the Redfang Goblins terrifying journey through the dungeon, the segments about Selys and, of course, the wonderful ending with Rags all helped to make the book one of my favourite to read and reread.

So when I tell you that Blood of Liscor is better please take it as the highest possible praise.

I think part of what elevates this book to me is the focus. The Wandering Inn cast and world have gotten pretty big by this point and there’s a lot going on with a lot of people. As such a lot of the books are a little fragmented and show stories from all over the place. And they’re good and enjoyable and add to the overarching narrative but it does sometimes seem like it’s more of a collection of shorter stories than a cohesive whole. But with Blood of Liscor a solid half of the book is focused on one place and one event.

And that focus pays off. As usual I don’t want to include spoilers but wow, this is maybe one of the hypest books I’ve ever read. There’s a constant feeling of something building throughout the book, of people pushing harder and harder and not quite getting there, of heroes endlessly rushing into the dark to try and achieve an objective they can’t quite see.

And then the ending!

Just damn. That’s the good stuff right there.

I’ve got a bad habit of dropping into books I’ve read before, tracking down my favourite scenes and rereading them again and again. I can’t do that with this book because it’s half the book and once I start reading I just can’t stop. The reveals, the perils, the trials…just, it’s all so good and I’m honestly struggling not to just grab the book and reread it again right now.

Look, I’m not really sure who this review is for. If you’ve gotten this far in the Wandering Inn series then you’re probably in it for the long haul and have already decided to buy it. But if there’s a chance that you haven’t, if you’re wondering whether you should continue then all I can say is yes. So much yes.