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A review by sorumn
Sabriel by Garth Nix
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I didn't dislike the book. But I wasn't over the morning on about it either. Many times while reading it I caught myself looking at how much was left because I was bored. I was never able to fully get immerse myself into the book frequently my mind woupd wander while listening to it. Alot of the time it felt like a man writing a woman in the worst way.
I'm pretty baffled with the world building. In the beginning it seemed like it was the Middle ages to me. No one has running water. They use horses to get from place to place and then as the story progressed they got guns and tractors and buses??? And if that's the case, why does no one have hot running water? It just seemed very counterproductive to me I still don't fully understand the magic system and I think that is a flaw for the book. What makes a mage? Can anyone become one?? Do you have to get marked to become a mage? Why do you get a little shiver every time someone touches your little birthmark?
The characters were nothing really to write home about sabriel was kind of two-dimensional in my opinion. I wanted her to have more personality than what we were given. Cat was fine sometimes Obnoxious. I think I liked Rosetta Stone the most cuz he had an actually interesting kind of thing going for him being a figurehead and also a king???? It does feel like a case of because there's a male and female character they have to get together. Like I don't know how strong I would consider that chemistry between Sorbet and Rosetta Stone. But I mean they are cute together.
I'm kind of floored that they beat the big bad. That has been bad for 200 years with a cat collar. I felt like that was very anticlimactic. My other question is can she just keep doing this with everybody that pops up in the next several books in the series like? Oh there's a bad guy. Guess I got up. Put a little ring around their neck and then make him a new pet. Do you get to collect all the coat types?
All in all, I didn't think that sabriel was a bad book. I think it was probably a product of his time and I can understand that there is a lot of nostalgia and intrigue wrapped up in a story like this More than once I thought "I'm surprised that this isn't a movie or something" however, the confusing world building the men writing women tendencies and the anticlimactic ending is the reason why I'm giving it the rating that I am.
I'm pretty baffled with the world building. In the beginning it seemed like it was the Middle ages to me. No one has running water. They use horses to get from place to place and then as the story progressed they got guns and tractors and buses??? And if that's the case, why does no one have hot running water? It just seemed very counterproductive to me I still don't fully understand the magic system and I think that is a flaw for the book. What makes a mage? Can anyone become one?? Do you have to get marked to become a mage? Why do you get a little shiver every time someone touches your little birthmark?
The characters were nothing really to write home about sabriel was kind of two-dimensional in my opinion. I wanted her to have more personality than what we were given. Cat was fine sometimes Obnoxious. I think I liked Rosetta Stone the most cuz he had an actually interesting kind of thing going for him being a figurehead and also a king???? It does feel like a case of because there's a male and female character they have to get together. Like I don't know how strong I would consider that chemistry between Sorbet and Rosetta Stone. But I mean they are cute together.
I'm kind of floored that they beat the big bad. That has been bad for 200 years with a cat collar. I felt like that was very anticlimactic. My other question is can she just keep doing this with everybody that pops up in the next several books in the series like? Oh there's a bad guy. Guess I got up. Put a little ring around their neck and then make him a new pet. Do you get to collect all the coat types?
All in all, I didn't think that sabriel was a bad book. I think it was probably a product of his time and I can understand that there is a lot of nostalgia and intrigue wrapped up in a story like this More than once I thought "I'm surprised that this isn't a movie or something" however, the confusing world building the men writing women tendencies and the anticlimactic ending is the reason why I'm giving it the rating that I am.