Sabriel

Not your typical necromancer. Read by Tim Curry!

One of my favorite books - the concept is unique, the writing superb, and contains a strong female protagonist!

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How do I review a book that I've read so many times I've actually lost count? For starters — this is a warning that I probably won't be as objective or unbiased as I could be, because at this point it's pretty hard for me to be either of those things. The Old Kingdom is one of my absolute favorite series. I first picked up Sabriel in seventh grade. I was a wee pre-teen, and I just fell in love with this story. And I have to say — it's held up pretty well for being close to thirty years old!

At it's heart, Sabriel is about a young girl thrust into an awful situation, and how she grows and learns from her experiences. A coming-of-age story, to a T. What I've always loved is that Sabriel doesn't really have YA main-character syndrome. She's not really described as being better than other girls. She's not described as beautiful when we first meet her. She's just a teenager, a young woman about to graduate from her school. She's shown to be competent, but not overly so, and there are more than a few times where she makes mistakes and owns up to them. Sabriel is an excellent role model for young girls.

I love the world, too, though we don't get a huge sense of how big it is in this particular book. It gets explored much more in the subsequent sequels, so I won't mention much of it here, other than to say that Nix does an excellent job of making the world feel old. We see the history in bits and pieces, the way the cities and towns are described, and how the people are living in them.

I'm also incredibly partial to the other characters in Sabriel, though my absolute favorite doesn't appear until Lirael. Mogget is a pretty close runner-up, though. Talking animal companions are some of my favorites, always, and he is so mysterious and funny that you can't help but love him. And then when you do find out what he is, oooh. It's such a good reveal, though you don't really understand the gravity of it until later books, again. Touchstone is another fascinating character — a berserker with royal blood. He and Sabriel fall in love very quickly, but they do spend the majority of their time together saving each other's lives over and over.

The villain of this book, Kerrigor, is properly terrifying, with some serious oomph behind his threats. Who and what he is just sends shivers down my spine every time I read this book. And the way they defeat him? GOD, IT'S SO GOOD.

See how it's hard for me to be unbiased?

Dudes, this book is so good. A private school girl has to take up the mantle of the Abhorsen - a reverse necromancer that puts the dead back to rest with seven strange bells - to find her missing father. There's also a cat sidekick and a naked dude. What more can a girl ask for?

It's been awhile since I've read this one now.. but it's an excellent book and I recommend it to everyone.

A perfect book to get me back into reading more consistently. It has the trappings of YA fantasy but the world building, magic system, and many of the characters drove past the 'just YA' label I tend to get with YA fantasy and intrigues me enough to want to see more of this world. The weakest aspect of the story for me was the romance. It felt a bit sudden to leap from youthful curiosity to being in love. However, again, it is YA so it isn't unexpected. I think I just outgrew that type of story arc.

Audiobook specific review section: Tim Curry is an excellent narrator and I will forever associate his Mogget voice with the character.

This has been my favorite fantasy world since I first read it, and it stands up to rereads. 4.5 stars only because the latter two in the series are better.

I don't know why this book never crossed my radar. It should be talked about more amongst fantasy enthusiasts. It's so great, with such an amazing magic system! It's simple, but not in a way that feels boring. More like a back to basics feeling, which is perfect when there's a lot of fantasy trying to have huge, sprawling stories (which I also love). It's almost a palette cleanser in that way. With a strong focus on necromancy, adventure and the main character finding her place in a world she wasn't completely aware existed, it both classic and fresh. I can't give a bigger recommendation for this book.

This was at least my 3rd time reading Sabriel over the course of the last 25 years and I have loved it equally every time. It has been a while since my last reading so I had forgotten enough to make it magical to read again. I plan to work through the remainder of the series this year; I think I've read the next two in the past but have definitely forgotten enough of those to make it worthwhile.

Very good read! A plot that moves along nicely, no veering off the storyline to discuss stuff I don't want to know about, not too many characters, and characters that I could get drawn into!

Nicely done world building! None of the throw you in the deep end and you either swim until the author gets around to it or you drown and throw the book into the recycle box.

The story is dark, lots of dead people and things in this one, but not as dark as some YAs I've read and not depressing as alot of books seem to be coming out as!

Be sure to listen to Tim Curry narrating! His speaking cat-shaped entity is wonderful!

I'll read the next book in the series.

Strange, fantasy adventure

Sabriel did a decent job of scratching a recent itch I've had for high fantasy novels, but it often felt unconvincing. While the world Nix has created is in itself interesting, the way it was explored and described left me acutely aware that I was reading someone's fantasy novel. Sabriel is a very isolated character until roughly halfway in when Nix introduces two compelling characters, Mogget (a demonic cat) and Touchstone (an amnesiac & fallen hero). It was only as Sabriel began to interact with them that I felt her personality became distinct and complex. Those two characters definitely didn't get enough time in the novel, and I think these relationships deserved to be explored a little more before the resolution of the story.

This turned into an unexpected ride and I'm glad I experienced it. I had some issues with pacing throughout the book, but I still really enjoyed reading about the world, Sabriel and her adventure. For those who like reading about necromancy and dead things this is a must read. I'm very stuck between 3 and 4 stars; I might change my rating later.

I was positively surprised. I didn't expect anything of this.

This is a story of a school girl, the daughter of the Abhorsen. What is an Abhorsen? Hard to say... They sort of control the dead... kind of like Death, except they aren't Death. Uh, just read the book, OK? :-D
She was sent to a school in the “outworld”, because of reasons - they are explained in the book - and her father visits her every now and then, but then one day, her father doesn't come, he sends a ghost to deliver his regalia, and Sabriel goes back to the Old Kingdom to find her dad. She finds out that he's missing, and she is now the Abhorsen. Her schooling becomes a bit of an obstacle, as there is so much she doesn't know. She insists on looking for her dad, and - well... things happen. In the end of the book she has accepted the role of the Abhorsen, and has grown to carry it.
There is also a cat who isn't a cat. I love him, even though... well... again, you have to read the book to know ;-)

I would say this is a YA fantasy, and not what I have thought all these years it would be.

dnf at page 44.

I wavered on how to rate this book throughout reading it and I still feel a bit torn on whether it deserves the 4 star or was more a 3. On one hand Sabriel's world and magic are quite unique and interesting and Garth Nix's writing manages to lend it a very atmospheric and phantasmal feel which I actually highly enjoyed. The misty, creepy and mythical feeling of the Old Kingdom and the surprising ways magic manifested was captivating. I also really enjoyed how Sabriel herself wasn't your typical YA heroine. At the beginning she already knows she has special powers (if not fully realized) and we don't have to go through the tedium of another character realizing they are ‘special'. She's independent, brave and level-headed - qualities we need more of these days. What I did have a hard time with, and maybe this is my vast history of reading tome-like fantasies filled with minute details getting in the way, was how much was just not explained or explained well. I felt that a lot could have been fleshed out more and I had a niggling feeling throughout that something was missing. It was like in the haste to get to certain exciting parts, pieces were skipped over or only briefly mentioned that I thought required more time to fill in the gaps and lend the story a bit more depth. The biggest thing for me was that I didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters. I liked them, but they didn't really make me laugh or cry or feel any special connection to them. This bothered me through the whole read, making me question if I really was enjoying it or not. Once getting to the end I thought it over and the aspects I did enjoy and the fact I didn't dislike it, made me give it the bump up to 4 stars. I'm actually looking forward to delving into book two, so overall I think I enjoyed the journey enough to continue on. I'm hoping maybe the lengthier second volume allows a bit more room for those missing pieces.

Really good. I liked how Nix balanced revealing secrets and keeping some back. It definitely has me interested in coming back to read book #2.

A fantastic teen fantasy novel about a young girl assuming the role set out for her in youth to follow in her father's footsteps.

I always enjoyed Garth Nix books in the past, but I was worried they wouldn't feel as compelling now I'm older. The novel was fast paced and very interesting, I only wish there had been more.

The audiobook was read by Tim Curry! That added so much to the book. To me this was high fantasy, which is more than I normally read. But this one was good enough to break that rule. I like Sabriel and the rules of the world. I like the her title, the Abhorsen, and her job. Then you add in resolving a 200 year old issue. It becomes wonderful.

Listened to this driving back across the country. The writing style is a little melodramatic (a lot is accomplished through “the sheer force of her will!”), but the story snuck up on me and Tim Curry is an awesome narrator. Good enough that we went right into Lirael (The Abhorsen Trilogy, #2), and now I have to read #3 to find out what happens next.

Sabriel by Garth Nix
is an engaging fantasy novel that delves into a realm filled with magic and necromancy. The protagonist, Sabriel, is a young woman thrust into a role for which she is unprepared. She embraces this destiny to locate her father and rescue the Old Kingdom. This book marks my introduction to Garth Nix's work.

Sabriel by Garth Nix
is an engaging fantasy novel that delves into a realm filled with magic and necromancy. The protagonist, Sabriel, is a young woman thrust into a role for which she is unprepared. She embraces this destiny to locate her father and rescue the Old Kingdom. This book marks my introduction to Garth Nix's work.

WOW WOW WOW. Recommended by a friend and so glad I picked it up fast. As a sucker for fantasy/scifi with a “special snowflake” protagonist, I couldn't put this one down. Reminded me a lot of the Kingkiller chronicles, The Martian, and Ready Player One. Immediately had to pick up the second book.

Listened to this one in the car. Very enjoyable. I look forward to the 2nd in the series.

I went into this book knowing pretty much nothing at all about it. It was recommended by a good friend who generally has good (i.e., similar to mine :D) tastes, so I felt good about picking it up! Funny enough, outside of Lord of the Rings, it's the oldest fantasy I've read. Which, I know I know, is hilarious, because it's only 20 years old. Haha. Fantasy isn't typically my gig, okay? Though lately I'm enjoying it more and more. Anyway!

My favorite part of this novel was the collision of old world and new - the archaic, medieval world “across the Wall,” and the more modern, WWII type world on the other side. The world (or worlds, I guess, even though they are definitely interconnected) is very layered and complex. Color me intrigued. Intrigued enough to keep reading, even when I felt the characters were kind of flat. Sabriel, god love her, was just...eh. Touchstone was slightly more interesting but also...eh. Mogget was definitely the most interesting character of the entire book. I...well, I'm not sure what I feel about Mogget! I want to love Mogget, but I'm kind of afraid to because...what is Mogget? As it is, the chain of events, piling sinister and weird on top of each other, was enough to keep me reading. Characters are, honestly, the biggest draw of a book for me. To not be totally in love with these was kind of a downer. They're sympathetic, don't get me wrong! Just kind of two-dimensional. Also, the romance? Better left out entirely than the way it was just thrown on top like too-stiff frosting. It could have been written so much better. That's really the only complaint I had about the writing though. The world descriptions were fabulous. I could see the gown Sabriel wore, could hear the winds behind the Paperwing and see its yellow eyes. I'll definitely be continuing with the series.