"Come and stand at my right hand, son. Push that stupid swordsman out of the way."

It was a wonderful and strange experience for me, reading a new work in an already established, and hither too done with, world. Being late to the Duncan party I usually get to have the whole series at once, and plow through them with reckless abandon.

It's been exactly 1,191 days since I first picked up a Dave Duncan book; it was January 2009 and those first five days, when I consumed the then Seventh Sword Trilogy, will forever remain etched in my memory. I moved on to other works, and I think I prefer some of the others, but I did come back to the world of the Goddess and have read them at least twice since then.

So what of this forth installment, you ask? Well, it's as near a perfect novel as you could wish. A strong story, the characters we all know and love already, and some of Duncan's greatest hallmarks thrown in when the man is, undeniably, at the very top of his game.

Batty, fruit-cake-style monarchs, for instance; we've seen them cantankerous, indecisive, delightfully vindictive and everything in between and Arganari here does not disappoint. It's also a very clever use of what was a minor but poignant character from the earlier trilogy, bringing in the Arganari family with such flair. But what else can you expect of this genius of an author?

Then, there's the sublimely written characters. Duncan's always had a thing for bringing his characters through Adolescence, if not physically then emotionally. He takes the coming of age of a character, intertwines it with a problem of the world and lets his imagination and wit roam free and it shows in many of his works. Here, Addis and Vixini are in the limelight and I can't remember when I've enjoyed reading about characters quite so much.

Then, of course, there's Liege Lord Shonsu, Swordsman of the Seventh rank, who's world this was until the kids started to grow up. I must admit I wondered how Duncan would handle it, with an aging lead who must of necessity slow down physically in a world where the physical is everything. And yet I needn't have worried, for Shonsu never felt written in to fill a gap or just because his presence was expected.

I won't espouse anymore: if you haven't read the series and think you might enjoy it, this is a most worthy addition thereto. I've tried not to spoil anything whilst giving my impressions, so will simply conclude by saying that it's been a long time since I bought a book with every intention of staying awake until I'd read it on the eve of purchase. Even longer since that book has actually lived up to and surpassed every expectation. What more can a reader ask?