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naomi_k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
crufts's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After reading the Abhorsen trilogy something like 15 years ago, I heard about this new prequel book and was curious about it. Clariel reveals the sympathetic backstory of a villain from the main trilogy, although I didn't realize this until the end of the book.
So, how was it? Well...
There was nothing overtly wrong about the novel, and I didn't have any difficulty reaching the end. But it didn't have the same charm as the main trilogy.
Firstly, I had trouble attaching to Clariel as the main character. She's, uh... kind of a jock, I guess? Physically strong, not academically intelligent, and disinterested in the people around her, she just wants to escape from her noble family's expectations and go live in the forest.
I respected Clariel for being stubborn, headstrong, and refusing to take guff from anybody. But I didn't like her, and I didn't find her interesting. Her desire to live in the wild and escape the problems of city life is her most humanizing attribute, but she spends the majority of the book dealing with other issues that come up. Also, wanting to live in a forest isn't the kind of ambitious, dramatic, exciting, matter-of-life-or-death dream that I'd hope for in a protagonist.
When Mogget showed up, he was so much more interesting as a character that he basically stole the show.
That said, I did appreciate the asexual representation.
Secondly, Clariel didn't have the worldbuilding that I enjoyed in the main trilogy. Sabriel did the heavy lifting, introducing us to the Charter and the bells. Lirael expanded the world further by diving into the Clayr. Even Abhorsen had some spicy character reveals.
But Clariel didn't offer the same level of worldbuilding. The bells, the Charter, free magic, etc are all the same as before.
One thing I do like in the book (and the entire series) is the lack of sexism. Amongst many other examples, Clariel's mother is the breadwinner of the family while her father is effectively a stay-at-home dad. Nobody blinks an eye at Clariel's athleticism and other tomboyish traits: when her parents reprimand her for not being a "lady", they refer only to her gender-neutral duties as a noble heir. Meanwhile, important figures of state like the Abhorsen or guild leaders are just as likely to be women as men.
This was really refreshing compared to many other fantasy novels where sexism features heavily, even if all the goodie characters are staunchly against it.
Overall, the book was okay.
So, how was it? Well...
There was nothing overtly wrong about the novel, and I didn't have any difficulty reaching the end. But it didn't have the same charm as the main trilogy.
Firstly, I had trouble attaching to Clariel as the main character. She's, uh... kind of a jock, I guess? Physically strong, not academically intelligent, and disinterested in the people around her, she just wants to escape from her noble family's expectations and go live in the forest.
I respected Clariel for being stubborn, headstrong, and refusing to take guff from anybody. But I didn't like her, and I didn't find her interesting. Her desire to live in the wild and escape the problems of city life is her most humanizing attribute, but she spends the majority of the book dealing with other issues that come up. Also, wanting to live in a forest isn't the kind of ambitious, dramatic, exciting, matter-of-life-or-death dream that I'd hope for in a protagonist.
When Mogget showed up, he was so much more interesting as a character that he basically stole the show.
That said, I did appreciate the asexual representation.
Secondly, Clariel didn't have the worldbuilding that I enjoyed in the main trilogy. Sabriel did the heavy lifting, introducing us to the Charter and the bells. Lirael expanded the world further by diving into the Clayr. Even Abhorsen had some spicy character reveals.
But Clariel didn't offer the same level of worldbuilding. The bells, the Charter, free magic, etc are all the same as before.
One thing I do like in the book (and the entire series) is the lack of sexism. Amongst many other examples, Clariel's mother is the breadwinner of the family while her father is effectively a stay-at-home dad. Nobody blinks an eye at Clariel's athleticism and other tomboyish traits: when her parents reprimand her for not being a "lady", they refer only to her gender-neutral duties as a noble heir. Meanwhile, important figures of state like the Abhorsen or guild leaders are just as likely to be women as men.
This was really refreshing compared to many other fantasy novels where sexism features heavily, even if all the goodie characters are staunchly against it.
Overall, the book was okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Confinement and Grief
Clariel deals with a few awkward situations on account of her asexuality, but nothing downright acephobic.gothnailcare's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Without saying too much, this book had a frustrating arc: one where the general gist of what will happen is easily guessed early on (by design, I must assume, especially given the cover art and tagline of the edition I had , but learning the nature of how those events came to be was frustrating and sluggish rather than interesting. I had read the older books more than a decade ago, and did not remember the character Chlorr in any particular detail, yet I knew I was reading the origin story of a villain or something like one from nearly the start. While I am open to reading books that challenge traditional narratives of agency and self-sufficiency, spending the back half of the book waiting for Clariel to do whatever awful and misguided thing she was going to do with the free magic creatures so that Bel could come and save her was an absolute slog. I didn't dislike Clariel's character at all, which only made it more frustrating that towards the end of the book, her internal reasoning seemed to crumble under the weight of narrative necessity: Chekov's gun was provided hideously early, and for hundreds more pages we were forced to watch Clariel stumble around in the dark trying to find it. With that said, the prose is as beautiful and successful as always, and I look forward to re-reading the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Confinement
Minor: Blood and Gaslighting
jmcampbell57's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Minor: Confinement
bluejay21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Kidnapping
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nix's writing style has changed a lot since the final volume of the Abhorsen trilogy. I found him to be more verbose in Clariel and, specifically, to focus on detailing the settings in which his characters were moving (a not verbatim example: In the room there was a bed, next to which was a small table. There was a lamp on top of the table and a small, clay chamber pot under the table). Lots of extra words that didn't really add to the story. I found it rather distracting. Also, he gave many superfluous characters names, which were, again, extra details and extra words that had no value for the plot.
Clariel was an entertaining prequel to the Abhorsen trilogy (which is one of my favourite series of all time), but I am most excited for his upcoming books which continue Nick and Lirael's stories.
2022: I really appreciated the aromantic and asexual representation, but this world is a lot more jaded, corrupt and bleak than the world in the trilogy. Not an entirely enjoyable reading experience.
Clariel was an entertaining prequel to the Abhorsen trilogy (which is one of my favourite series of all time), but I am most excited for his upcoming books which continue Nick and Lirael's stories.
2022: I really appreciated the aromantic and asexual representation, but this world is a lot more jaded, corrupt and bleak than the world in the trilogy. Not an entirely enjoyable reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Murder
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