Reviews with content warning for Murder - Clariel

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Clariel by Garth Nix

7 reviews

pobi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I didn't enjoy most of this as much as I have the others just because the characters were SO annoying. That being said the ending makes the WHOLE thing totally worthwhile!!!

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Writing: 4⭐️/5

In contrast to the other books in the series, I found Clariel lacking a bit something. The start of this novel is a bit lackluster, taking a while to get started. In contrast, the ending wrapped up a little quickly.

Characters: 3.75⭐️/5
*Some Spoilers*

Clariel, unlike Lirael, Sameth, and Sabriel, lacks a bit of depth. While the Clariel we see as the novel progresses does get deeper and more interesting, she never gets to a point where I believe her fully. For her motives, she’s relatively one-dimensional, searching for a way to escape the city without giving up her lifestyle. At nearly every interval we are reminded of this as a core of her being and, while I appreciate this motive, it makes her feel less real that she rarely thinks of anything else. I did enjoy Bel and the character shift we see in Mogget when left alone for too long.

Plot: 4⭐️/5
*Some Spoilers*

I do find the plot interesting, though I wonder at the initial plan to trap a Free Magic creature using two children. I did like following Clariel and watching her sanity slip away as she craves more and more Free Magic. As a backstory for Chlorr of the Mask, it served its purpose, creating an interesting backdrop in an already well-established world. I wonder what might have been gained if the attention was split or focused more on Bel, and how that might have helped the pacing and the characters.

World 5⭐️/5

Here’s the thing: the Old Kingdom and the world in which it resides is fascinating, well-developed, and always interesting.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of The Old Kingdom
Fans of Garth Nix

Content Warnings?

Gaslighting, Emotional Abuse, Murder, Death, Death of Parent, Animal Death, Animal Cruelty

Post-Reading Rating: 4.25⭐️/5

It’s always a good adventure into The Old Kingdom.

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

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ohmage_resistance's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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naomi_k's review against another edition

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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

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addie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-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

4.25

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gothnailcare's review

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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.

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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

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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.

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