I just finished re-reading the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. I say re-reading because I’m fairly sure that I read at least one of these books when I was a kid… certain things from the story seemed familiar. However, I couldn’t remember a lot of it, and I can’t imagine having been able to truly ‘get’ the story when I was ten years old. Plus, some of it is SCARY.
I loved these books. The first one, Sabriel, is entirely action packed. It follows a young woman named Sabriel who is thrown into her birth right as Abhorsen when her father is kidnapped. Abhorsen is the person in charge of keeping the dead, well, dead. In the Old Kingdom, a place full of two conflicting kinds of magic – the ordered Charter Magic and destructive Free Magic – keeping the dead from walking in life is more than a full time job.
Sabriel grew up away from the Old Kingdom, her father’s way of keeping her safe. Things in the Old Kingdom are bad and getting worse, and as Sabriel tries to find her father, she uncovers an undead evil that threatens the entire kingdom.
Sabriel is a stand alone book, but I picked up Lirael, the second in the series, within five seconds of the final page. You know when you finish a great book and wish that there was more? I was in luck! Lirael, and the final book in the series, Abhorsen, follow the events set in motion by Sabriel and her enemies.
When I finished Abhorsen, I cried a little. I didn’t want it to be over, one of my favourite characters was killed, and most of all, I was just happy that something so beautiful had been created in the world.
Thanks, Garth Nix! I look very forward to reading more of your work!
If you’re looking for a good read, the Abhorsen Trilogy is it.
