Sabriel (Abhorsen #1)- Garth Nix

Ha! I have not forsaken this blog as of yet. I will not fail you, imaginary readers!


Sabriel is the story of a young woman who was sent to boarding school in Ancelstierre by her father who decided that would be a more suitable environment for a young lady. While she does learn magic at school and her father teaches her to channel her necromantic powers, nothing can prepare her for her journey into the Old Kingdom. During her final semester at school, her father, the Abhorsen goes missing and Sabriel must enter the Old Kingdom to find him before the Dead overrun what is left of the kingdom. Her companions include, Mogget--a free magic entity in the form of a cat--and Touchstone, a charter mage imprisoned for centuries by magic. The three of them travel through the Old Kingdom in a desperate search for her father's body in hopes that he has not crossed too far into the world of Death to be retrieved. 

Overall Merit: This book was awesome. When it was first recommended to me, I was a bit reticent because I figured it would be the story of a young girl on a dangerous mission. Nope, Sabriel is all of eighteen years old and wickedly talented. One thing I really enjoyed about the book was the unique magic system. Sabriel uses a collection of bells to control and dispel the Dead. Very different from the traditional wand-waving, spell-casting cliches of fantasy literature. I mean of course you can see the romance coming from a mile away, but maybe that's because I've read way too many books with the same formula. The characters were great and I loved the story. Definitely a to-read book. Score- 10 

Characters: Good job Nix. I enjoyed Sabriel's character and therefore was willing to follow her story wherever it led. Mogget was nothing short of hilarious, at least in his cat form. Touchstone was interesting, he was a little too angsty in the beginning, but I suppose that was to be expected. I didn't feel like his character arc was all that it could have been, but overall not bad. Score- 8 

Blush Factor: This was cute, but might have been the only major issue I had with the book. I mean this might be because I'm a secret romantic (don't tell anyone), but there wasn't enough lead up for me. The characters kind of plodded along and then it was wham-bam I love yous at the end. I did like the coupling though so I'm not going to judge it too harshly, but I stick by my conviction that it needed more of a substantial lead up. Score- 8

Plot: I mean true it was a bit of a cliche--the slighted prince who rises from the ashes to rescue his ailing kingdom, the plucky heroine with her magical sidekick who may be his only hope--nothing too original. I did like the bit about the walking dead (they weren't exactly zombies, but close enough) it was an interesting element to draw into a fantasy novel seeing as they're usually reserved for post-apocalyptic stories. Score- 9 

Structure: Straightforward, not a whole lot to report. I would have liked a bit more clarification on the differences between the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre and how the division between the two worlds had come to pass. It wasn't crucial to the story and maybe it is clarified in one of the later books in the series, but it would have been a bit easier to understand the mechanics of the story with some more background regarding the world itself. Score- 8

Vervain Says: "Adriana and I definitely have plans to read the next book in the trilogy."