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kberry513's review
Thoughts on Sabriel:
I haven't read this one for at least 10 years, maybe longer, and I forgot just how GOOD it is! It has been long enough that although I remembered bits and pieces, the whole story eluded me. For example, I remembered that Sabriel and Touchstone end up together and that he was a prince, and something about a final battle back at her school, but I didn't recall the way her father sacrificed himself of the whole Mogget storyline. I only vaguely recalled Sabriel's journey across the Wall and who the Clayr were. This book can definitely be a stand alone, and I think it was when I first read it, but I'm looking forward to rediscovering the rest of the original trilogy as well as reading the prequel. And amazingly, it sounds like a new addition is coming in October! How convenient for me! This would make a really good movie and/or miniseries...especially with other similar series being popular right now.
Thoughts on Lirael:
I had almost zero recollection of what this one was about, apart from remembering that Lirael is actually Sabriel's half sister, so Sam's (brief) romantic interest in her was a bit cringeworthy. I had a difficult time feeling as much empathy for Sam as I did for Lirael and I don't know if it's because I was angry with him for being so dumb when his parents were not or if he was just to full of self pity, but to be fair he admits it to himself. Also, his sister is much more competent, albeit a bit pushy. I am hoping that he comes into his own a bit more now that he is no longer the Abhorsen-in-Waiting.
The only disappointment here is how the story ends on such a large cliffhanger - with Sam, Lirael, Mogget, and the Disreputable Dog about to head out to confront Hedge and save Nick. Otherwise, I loved getting some more insight into the Clayr and the beginning of the Charter.
**Thoughts about Abhorsen**
Sabriel and Touchstone died in the first five pages?!?!
Okay, phew, they aren't dead. Clearly I blocked out this whole book. I had no recollection of who the Disreputable Dog turned out to be (Kibeth, of course) or that Lirael's hand gets cut off while they are binding Orannis or that Sabriel, Touchstone, Sameth, Emmeline, Sanar and Ryelle, and Lirael, along with Kibeth/Disreputable Dog form the new Seven to bind Orannis and Mogget/Yrael jumps in at the end to lend a paw. I also had no recollection that Nick died and was resurrected - I was pretty sure he was gone for good till the Dog licked him.
I love the side characters, even the ones that only appear for a few pages. Like Felicity, the schoolgirl at Sabriel's alma mater who (after first holding them at crossbow point for their identities to be verified) volunteers to fly Sabriel and Touchstone in a one person airplane across the Wall where technology no longer works. I'd like to see more of her! Also, I'd like to see more of Ellimere - she seems pretty awesome. I mean, the whole time Lirael and Sameth are traversing the Kingdom, all she knows is her brother (the Abhorsen in Waiting) disappears, her parents are presumed assassinated, and she is left in charge of the whole Kingdom, which is currently under seige from an ancient evil that even the Clayr cannot see, at 18 or 19 years old. That's pretty badass. I mean, obviously, the bulk of this story isn't hers, but still.
I have to say, overall Garth Nix creates amazingly nuanced characters; I still haven't quite gotten over the death of Horyse from the first one. And his female protagonists are kickass and sensitive and authoritative all at once. Hell, the Clayr are a bunch of extremely powerful and respected (almost exclusively) women who procreate via affairs with travelers visiting the Glacier and this is considered normal and not shameful -- the only reason it's difficult for Lirael is that generally Clayr at least know who their fathers are and their mothers are involved in their lives.
Speaking of, I'm still curious as to what happened to Lirael's mom Arielle - I wonder if that gets addressed in Goldenhand? I'm so glad I decided to reread these before I realized there was a new one being released in a month! Also, I'm intrigued by the prequel. And the short stories - I think maybe Nick and Lirael will end up together, and I'm hoping Ellimere and Felicity both make appearances.
**Clariel***
As I started reading this I had a thought - does Clariel turn out to be Chlorr of the Mask?!? I'm intrigued. The more I read, the more I'm worried about it.
I feel for Clariel, although I'm a bit concerned about her propensity for Free Magic....Add that to her berserk nature and the results could be catastrophic.
I'm really upset at the way the king is acting like a spoiled child and about whatever has happened to his granddaughter- the city is devolving fast. I have to say, I'm a little surprised at how fast things have turned, though. Clariel and her family were just there for dinner and it turned into a bloodbath, starting with her father being shot by a crossbow and ending with her mother's decapitation. That's about where I am right now, so we'll see how I feel at the end.
*
Well, I was right - Clariel is Chlorr of the Mask. This one was kind of a bummer...I mean, things end up sort of kind of okay for Clariel, having been tricked by the Free Magic creatures (including Mogget) but the whole time I was screaming at her in my head, going "whyyyy are you so dumb! They are clearly evil!" but all the characters in her life who should have been teaching her important things, her parents, her Charter Magic teacher Kargrin who uses her as bait before even really teaching her anything, the captain of the guard Gullaine who tries halfheartedly to teach her to control her berserk-ness, the king who is like a petulant child waiting for his granddaughter to return to rule, his granddaughter for shirking her responsibility and hiding with the Clayr, the Clayr for not making Tathiel return sooner, Bel for not explaining that Mogget shouldn't be trusted, and the Abhorsen(s) who have been shirking their responsibility for generations. I was mad at literally everyone involved. I was also a bit mad that Clariel seemed like she was too lazy to learn Charter magic and that's why she liked Free Magic -all she had to do was will something to be.
I did like the way Clariel was an independent woman who eschewed romantic entanglements - that was a bit refreshing and I think it's nice to see representation of asexuality in literature, without making that the central conflict of the story. I was a little disappointed that Bel fell for Clariel so quickly and completely, but I suppose that was inevitable...I also like that it wouldn't have been a big deal if she'd been into women.
I didn't like how Tathiel came swooping out of nowhere and had been with the Clayr the whole time. It seems like the whole thing could have been entirely avoided if the Clayr had at least just told everyone where she was. It felt a bit deus ex machina-esque, but to be fair - this was Clariel's story and from her perspective, it would have been that way.
This was my least favorite installment in this series, but I think it's because there's no happy ending.
I haven't read this one for at least 10 years, maybe longer, and I forgot just how GOOD it is! It has been long enough that although I remembered bits and pieces, the whole story eluded me. For example, I remembered that Sabriel and Touchstone end up together and that he was a prince, and something about a final battle back at her school, but I didn't recall the way her father sacrificed himself of the whole Mogget storyline. I only vaguely recalled Sabriel's journey across the Wall and who the Clayr were. This book can definitely be a stand alone, and I think it was when I first read it, but I'm looking forward to rediscovering the rest of the original trilogy as well as reading the prequel. And amazingly, it sounds like a new addition is coming in October! How convenient for me! This would make a really good movie and/or miniseries...especially with other similar series being popular right now.
Thoughts on Lirael:
I had almost zero recollection of what this one was about, apart from remembering that Lirael is actually Sabriel's half sister, so Sam's (brief) romantic interest in her was a bit cringeworthy. I had a difficult time feeling as much empathy for Sam as I did for Lirael and I don't know if it's because I was angry with him for being so dumb when his parents were not or if he was just to full of self pity, but to be fair he admits it to himself. Also, his sister is much more competent, albeit a bit pushy. I am hoping that he comes into his own a bit more now that he is no longer the Abhorsen-in-Waiting.
The only disappointment here is how the story ends on such a large cliffhanger - with Sam, Lirael, Mogget, and the Disreputable Dog about to head out to confront Hedge and save Nick. Otherwise, I loved getting some more insight into the Clayr and the beginning of the Charter.
**Thoughts about Abhorsen**
Sabriel and Touchstone died in the first five pages?!?!
Okay, phew, they aren't dead. Clearly I blocked out this whole book. I had no recollection of who the Disreputable Dog turned out to be (Kibeth, of course) or that Lirael's hand gets cut off while they are binding Orannis or that Sabriel, Touchstone, Sameth, Emmeline, Sanar and Ryelle, and Lirael, along with Kibeth/Disreputable Dog form the new Seven to bind Orannis and Mogget/Yrael jumps in at the end to lend a paw. I also had no recollection that Nick died and was resurrected - I was pretty sure he was gone for good till the Dog licked him.
I love the side characters, even the ones that only appear for a few pages. Like Felicity, the schoolgirl at Sabriel's alma mater who (after first holding them at crossbow point for their identities to be verified) volunteers to fly Sabriel and Touchstone in a one person airplane across the Wall where technology no longer works. I'd like to see more of her! Also, I'd like to see more of Ellimere - she seems pretty awesome. I mean, the whole time Lirael and Sameth are traversing the Kingdom, all she knows is her brother (the Abhorsen in Waiting) disappears, her parents are presumed assassinated, and she is left in charge of the whole Kingdom, which is currently under seige from an ancient evil that even the Clayr cannot see, at 18 or 19 years old. That's pretty badass. I mean, obviously, the bulk of this story isn't hers, but still.
I have to say, overall Garth Nix creates amazingly nuanced characters; I still haven't quite gotten over the death of Horyse from the first one. And his female protagonists are kickass and sensitive and authoritative all at once. Hell, the Clayr are a bunch of extremely powerful and respected (almost exclusively) women who procreate via affairs with travelers visiting the Glacier and this is considered normal and not shameful -- the only reason it's difficult for Lirael is that generally Clayr at least know who their fathers are and their mothers are involved in their lives.
Speaking of, I'm still curious as to what happened to Lirael's mom Arielle - I wonder if that gets addressed in Goldenhand? I'm so glad I decided to reread these before I realized there was a new one being released in a month! Also, I'm intrigued by the prequel. And the short stories - I think maybe Nick and Lirael will end up together, and I'm hoping Ellimere and Felicity both make appearances.
**Clariel***
As I started reading this I had a thought - does Clariel turn out to be Chlorr of the Mask?!? I'm intrigued. The more I read, the more I'm worried about it.
I feel for Clariel, although I'm a bit concerned about her propensity for Free Magic....Add that to her berserk nature and the results could be catastrophic.
I'm really upset at the way the king is acting like a spoiled child and about whatever has happened to his granddaughter- the city is devolving fast. I have to say, I'm a little surprised at how fast things have turned, though. Clariel and her family were just there for dinner and it turned into a bloodbath, starting with her father being shot by a crossbow and ending with her mother's decapitation. That's about where I am right now, so we'll see how I feel at the end.
*
Well, I was right - Clariel is Chlorr of the Mask. This one was kind of a bummer...I mean, things end up sort of kind of okay for Clariel, having been tricked by the Free Magic creatures (including Mogget) but the whole time I was screaming at her in my head, going "whyyyy are you so dumb! They are clearly evil!" but all the characters in her life who should have been teaching her important things, her parents, her Charter Magic teacher Kargrin who uses her as bait before even really teaching her anything, the captain of the guard Gullaine who tries halfheartedly to teach her to control her berserk-ness, the king who is like a petulant child waiting for his granddaughter to return to rule, his granddaughter for shirking her responsibility and hiding with the Clayr, the Clayr for not making Tathiel return sooner, Bel for not explaining that Mogget shouldn't be trusted, and the Abhorsen(s) who have been shirking their responsibility for generations. I was mad at literally everyone involved. I was also a bit mad that Clariel seemed like she was too lazy to learn Charter magic and that's why she liked Free Magic -all she had to do was will something to be.
I did like the way Clariel was an independent woman who eschewed romantic entanglements - that was a bit refreshing and I think it's nice to see representation of asexuality in literature, without making that the central conflict of the story. I was a little disappointed that Bel fell for Clariel so quickly and completely, but I suppose that was inevitable...I also like that it wouldn't have been a big deal if she'd been into women.
I didn't like how Tathiel came swooping out of nowhere and had been with the Clayr the whole time. It seems like the whole thing could have been entirely avoided if the Clayr had at least just told everyone where she was. It felt a bit deus ex machina-esque, but to be fair - this was Clariel's story and from her perspective, it would have been that way.
This was my least favorite installment in this series, but I think it's because there's no happy ending.
charleeorchuck's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
katekat's review
4.0
This series is beautifully written and the characters are deeply compelling. There is definitely a dark element to these books but it is written in such a way that it is not overly disturbing. Despite the fantastical elements I find the characters to be extremely believable.
pinguicha's review
3.0
3,5
Kind of a disappointment, mostly due to the slow beginning and the character of Clariel herself. Action came kind of late (as well as Mogget. I needed more Mogget), but toward the ending it got SO GOOD.
Kind of a disappointment, mostly due to the slow beginning and the character of Clariel herself. Action came kind of late (as well as Mogget. I needed more Mogget), but toward the ending it got SO GOOD.
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