Blade of the Wanderer is the first instalment in the dark fantasy series Scars of Magic, written by Steven Raaymakers. A collection of short stories following Esterra Stake, a tractwalker whose arm was eaten by magic when she was younger, and that gives us a big glimpse to the world of Verpace, a great proposal of sword and sorcery adventures in a world in decay.

A fast-paced proposal that helps us to understand more of the past of the main character of this series, Esterra, in a style that remembers a bit of what Sapkowski did with his Witcher short stories. We have a cast of characters that vary from story to story, such as the librarian Tarr with an enigmatic past and his goals, or the botanical Naba, living in a kingdom full of corruption.

Particularly, the downside I see in this kind of format is that there are some gaps in how Esterra is presented; we have a competent adventurer that makes use of that disadvantage that threw her into the world when younger, but I kinda feel there is space for more, which I hope is solved in future instalments.

However, if there's an aspect that shines in this collection is the worldbuilding: Verpace is a fascinating place, not only for the tracts and the amount of danger there, but also with how it is being devoured by the lytchvallen, a decay that remembers to red rot from the Souls saga. Not only that, but the small kingdoms and settlements reveal a lot of potential for future stories, and this post-apocalyptic world definitely has my attention.

Blade of the Wanderer is a great introduction to Esterra and this world; if you like fast-paced adventures, post-apocalyptic worlds and much to explore, I totally recommend you to pick this book. I wonder where will Raaymakers take Esterra in the next instalments.