Title: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 336 Pages
Weight: 0.7 lbs
Date of Completion: June 10, 2013
Title: Lirael
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 371 Pages
Weight: 0.8 lbs
Date of Completion: June 12, 2013
Title: Abhorsen
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 720 Pages
Weight: 0.8 lbs
Date of Completion: June 15, 2013
Thoughts:
This trilogy is one of my all time favorites! No matter how many times I have read them, I always find myself being pulled back into Nix's world. I find it particularly unusual because for a book about necromancy (raising the dead), it is not evil or necessarily horror-creepy. It deals with dark themes and imagery surrounding death, and consequently falls under the title of dark fantasy. So while the books may be a little dark and creepy, they are immensely well-written. In addition, they are very, very British.
Nix's world is a mixture of a Tolkien-esque fantasy land separated from a modern world set in WWII England by a single wall. Although the author is Australian, there are more than enough gentle touches of British culture and humor to really hit the spot. Additionally, it is amazing to get such an amazingly in-depth back story to the culture of the novels without it getting dry or overbearing. Nix is the Tolkien of dark fantasy. (Don't worry, I will continue with the LOTR theme for the whole post. But in all honesty, I think the story is nearly on par with anything Tolkien has done.)
The imagery and geography of Death is absolutely captivating, as is the intriguing nature of the necromancer's bells. It carries hints of Grecian mythology with the river of death that pulls spirits to their final resting place through a series of gates, but is uniquely presented. With that, as you find out more as the trilogy progresses, the magic and history of the Charter and the bells is impressive. I think these two pieces of the story are what set these books apart for me.
Sabriel is one of the best heroine's in fantasy that I have ever read. She is neither a damsel-in-distress nor a warrior woman, but a young woman who thinks and acts precisely the way an 18-year-old (granted a fairly mature one) would in her position. Sabriel is not strung up in a hero complex, and she doesn't lack in heart or humanity-she gets angry, jealous, frustrated, loves deeply, and gets revenge, yet she retains the pure quality of opposing the evil that has invaded her Kingdom. It is almost a relief to meet a character with such basic reasons. Strong, intriguing, and remarkably handy with a sword, Sabriel is my favorite main hero of the whole trilogy, though she only stars in the first novel.
In the second and third books (Lirael and Abhorsen, respectively), you get a continuation of the unique, dark blend of humor and horror, but the stakes are much higher. Like LOTR, this story is about the Armageddon and the end of the world-both in the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre. Evil is more dangerous and abundant, the magic is more complex, and the entire story begins to take on larger dimensions Diving into themes of order vs chaos, and even the different kinds of order, it even approaches a metaphysical discussion of freedom. The struggles of the protagonists raise many philosophical questions: Is genuine freedom to be unbound? Is mastery the only form of power? Is order better than chaos?
My only real criticism is a desire for more. Nearly everything was tidied up nicely at the end of Abhorsen, but Nix clearly has more stories about this world, as it is continued in Across the Wall. The Disreputable Dog hints (I think) at a future relationship of Nick and Lirael, which I would find fascinating. He has so many problems with all of the Free Magic and Charter Magic warring in him now, not to mention he is is still an Ancelstirrian who knows very little about the Old Kingdom. On the other hand you have Lirael, who has no experience with men (or boys) and is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. I'm just waiting for Nix to continue on in this world and give them another story.
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