Not quite as good as the last one. I continue to really enjoy Lirael and the Disreputable Dog, and there seems to me much less of Sam in Abhorsen so that's a bonus. On the other hand, it seemed like it all wrapped up quite quickly - not an easy victory, but certainly much easier than I was expecting. I didn't feel any real sense of threat towards the end... in a way this book reminds me of the first in the series in that I'm just not feeling emotionally connected to it. It's clever, and I enjoyed the material at the end on making the bells, and Lirael's trip into death, but apart from her and Dog the rest could all die and I would be largely indifferent I think.