Abhorsen 01 Sabriel

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Average customer rating 4.7 (7 comments)

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Sabriel is very good. i am not a fantasy fan, but the story wraps you up, and the plot line is paced nicely. At f rst its a little confusing, because you wonder what this whole death thing is, but once you get it the book is great. i am a big fan of the trilogy now.

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While this pales a bit in comparison to its two sequels (Lirael and Abhorsen), this is the book that sets up the world and the way it functions. Sabriel is a great character; she's resilient and capable, but her confusion and grief at the disappearance of her father and her fear of taking on the mantle of Abhorsen is very real. On re-reading it, there were some things that bothered me a little, mainly that Nix skimps on the development of the emotional tie between Sabriel and Touchstone. The ending also felt resoundingly abrupt this time around, but overall I still greatly enjoyed it.

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when you love science fiction, heroic fantasy and those type of creative writtings, Garth Nix's books are a TREAT!!! those 3 books are just fabulous, unexpected, lovely, you just regret there's only 3, the characters are surprisingly delightfull, colorfull, full of emotions, it is also a great subject treated with intelligence and care. go for it.

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+ Strong female protagonist; incorporation of mythic and modern elements; frank and contextually appropriate references to sexuality; appealing cover art - Some deus ex machina elements; some dangling plot elements (perhaps to be resolved later in the series) The first of the Abhorsen trilogy. Somewhat evocative of Pullman's His Dark Materials, this volume is a coming-of-age narrative centered on Sabriel. Until she is about to graduate, Sabriel knows fairly little about her father, though he has taught her some magic. Upon receiving clear indications that her father has died, Sabriel undertakes a dangerous journey to find his body across the Wall in the Old Kingdom. As she journeys, she learns more about her father and the powerful role she must now assume. Nix does a good job creating the world in which the narrative takes place and constructs a convincing heterotopia. Some plot points are more ex machina than I'd like. Better written than Harry Potter, though slightly more picaresque, perhaps to allow more natural opportunities for exposition. Less well-written than The Amulet of Samarkand and the other two volumes in Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy. Like Stroud and Pullman, rather dark. Some imagery related to magic and death is similar to Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy and other Earthsea books. Considerably less light-hearted than Duane's Young Wizards series. Like all of the authors mentioned, with the exception of Rowling, magic is portrayed as both seductive and somewhat dangerous. There is a strong moral conviction related to using magic primarily in service to others rather than for the magician's own purposes. Given its incidental cast of thousands of the dead and almost-dead, Sabriel seems to be a good companion to McCarthy's The Road and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

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This is quite possibly my favorite book. I have 3 bookshelves full at home, and this is still probably my very favorite. I recommend this book, and this author, to anyone that will listen to me, and quite frequently, even to ones that won't.

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Nix is original and simply incredible. Pick this book up and see for yourself.

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I loved this book. Its so action packed. Its a bit dark but thats balenced off by sabriel. This book is best read in bed with a hot chocolate but keep your teddy close!