The Abhorsen Trilogy Box Set

Book Description

To preserve life,the Abhorsen must enter Death

Customer Reviews:

Here's a different take.......2007-09-07

I found the first book, Sabriel, readable, if not fantastic. The second book, Lirael, is really quite awful, and I only made it 100 pages or so. The writing is poor....blocky sentences and remedial storyline. Anyways, the love fest for this trilogy needed some perspective.

Good series.......2007-08-31

This is a highly enjoyable and well-written series. Garth Nix is an author that I'll be watching for to see what he does next.

Good quick service.......2007-08-09

I recieved the product before the date that i was supposed to recieve it in the mail. The books were in awesome condition. Thanks for the excellent service.

A path seldom taken ..........2007-04-13

The land of death opens up in front of the reader of this surprising fairytale. The author adroitly juxtaposes a realistically drawn modern world with an ancient magical kingdom where the doors between life and death open easily, and the perilous journey into darkness becomes more often than not reversible. The epic quest entices the reader with unique tools of enchantment, such as the charmed servants and paper planes, to explore the differences between the rational and the intuitive world, and dares them to trod the path not easily taken.

The character that readers can probably identify with the most of the triology is Lirael. As child and young adult she feels thoroughly alienated by her immediate surroundings, a feeling that no doubt is shared by many. In the end she discovers that much like the ugly duckling she has powers far beyond those of her peers, leading to a thoroughly satisfying ending of the triology. Lirael much reminded me of the woman in The Woman and The Raven.

A must read for fantasy lovers.......2007-03-12

This is one of my favorite story series. I love the strong female characters. I am really thrilled to see a very strong and clear writing style. There is depth to the characters, clarity in the relationships, and a forward moving plotline. The best part is that Nix wraps it all up with a satisfying conclusion, leaving us with an appetite for more, rather than being overdone on it!
This was a really well imagined and developed realm that almost seems real.
Excellent choice of book.

Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories

Average customer rating:

Australian SF Reader
A lot of stories...
"I Am Going Back to the Old Kingdom, Uncle..."
New Stories Fall Short
Nicholas will do anything to get across the wall

Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060747153
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Book Description

Nicholas Sayre will do anything to get across the Wall

Thoughts of Lirael and Sam haunt his dreams, and he has come to realize that his destiny lies with them, in the Old Kingdom. But here in Ancelstierre, Nick faces an obstacle that is not entirely human, with a strange power that seems to come from Nicholas himself.

With "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case," Garth Nix continues to explore the magical world of the Abhorsen Trilogy. In additional short stories that range from two widely different takes on the Merlin myth to a gritty urban version of Hansel and Gretel and a heartbreaking story of children and war, Garth Nix displays the range and versatility that has made him one of today's leading writers of fantasy for readers of all ages.

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Nicholas Sayre will do anything to get across the Wall, back to the Old Kingdom.

Thoughts of Lirael and Sam haunt his dreams, and he has come to realize that his destiny lies there, along with all those he cares for. But here in Ancelstierre, far south of the Wall, the Charter is dormant, and among the obstacles Nick faces is one that is not entirely human, and which has a strange power that seems to come from Nicholas himself.

With ""Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case,"" Garth Nix continues to explore the magical world of The Abhorsen Trilogy. In additional short stories that range from classic fantasy -- two widely different takes on the Merlin myth -- to a gritty urban version of Hansel and Gretel, to an unusual take on the role of nature in matters of love, and to a heartbreaking story of children and war, Garth Nix displays the range and versatility that have made him one of today's leading writers of fantasy for readers of all ages.

Customer Reviews:

Australian SF Reader.......2007-08-01

One mainstream war story here, and a couple of joke pieces done for appearances at different places, and a choose your own adventure parody for one of the good old Australian game magazines.

It also appears the novella in the book is related to his popular trilogy, none of which I have read, so a taste of that will be useful for some. Seems to be some sort of magic kingdom next to a Victorian technology type place with trains and guns, but still aimed at kids, so not really for me by the looks.

Across the Wall : Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Under the Lake - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : From the Lighthouse - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : The Hill - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Heart's Desire - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Hansel's Eyes - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Hope Chest - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Three Roses - Garth Nix
Across the Wall : Endings - Garth Nix

Spymaster's murderous magic monster defeated by flower power.

3.5 out of 5

Demon Lady's Merlin deal.

4 out of 5

Luckily toy has right batteries and keeps going and going and going and going...

3.5 out of 5

Those old buildings make more than they seem to.

2.5 out of 5

Lightning Lad vs Lightning Lord.

3.5 out of 5

Greedy magic girl bad for Britain.

3.5 out of 5

Witchy would-be organlegger.

3.5 out of 5

Superspeed shootist sheriff slays sister on the way to silver bullet showdown with supervillain shyster.

3.5 out of 5

Dead wife is good for the garden.

3 out of 5

Same names again.

3 out of 5

Same names again.

3 out of 5

Family real estate deal.

4 out of 5

A lot of stories..........2007-02-14

I do recommend this book, but it's more an anthology than a book itself. When the title says "...and Other Stories", it means it. Only about 1/4 of the book is the story of going "Across the Wall", but everything else contains short stories that don't connect at all. I got to one that is sort of a game/maze kind of story, but I just stopped because about 1/4 of the book is of it.

I recommend this book if you like the story of the "Abhorsen" to read the first part, but I'm just telling you that all the other stories are okay, if you have to time and patience to read the other stories.

"I Am Going Back to the Old Kingdom, Uncle...".......2007-01-12

Most fans will find that the most exciting feature of this Garth Nix anthology is undoubtedly the short story "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case", set in the world of the Old Kingdom (the setting of the Old Kingdom trilogy; "Sabriel", "Lirael" and "Abhorsen") and acting as a type of coda for the character of Nicolas Sayre, left damaged and traumatized in the last book. Set six months later, Nick is desperate to return to the Old Kingdom, to visit his old friend Sameth and - particularly - to see the Abhorsen-in-Training Lirael again. Unfortunately red tape is making it difficult for him to get across the Wall, until his political uncle drops him off at the country house of Alastor Dorrance, the leader of Department Thirteen, a spy network. In return for answering some questions about the Old Kingdom, Dorrance is willing to help Nick get back across the Wall.

But that's before Nick is shown the underbelly of D13, and the secret that they have concealed in the underlying passageways of the house; a creature of Free Magic that is not as dead as they all might think. I loved the first half of the novella, and even the desperate chase that Nick makes after the terrible creature and its deranged servant, but was ultimately a little disappointed at the lack of previous characters present (of his extensive cast, only Lirael appears), and the fact that Nix doesn't take the opportunity to wrap up a few loose ends that were left dangling in "Abhorsen". Perhaps it's an indication that more "Old Kingdom" books are the works? Let's hope so. There is also an interesting snippet at the end of the book that reads as a lost document of the Clayr library: the journal of a power hungry necromancer. It's short but sweet (though perhaps gives us too much exposition on the Precincts of the Death, unnecessary since we've been told it all in the original trilogy).

The rest of the short stories are a mixed bag; a varied collection of several genres including Arthurian legend, satirical comedies, original fairytales and some stories that seem somewhat mundane (that is, not fantasy) if not for the thread of magic realism running through it. Some are certainly written with more skill than others, considering the stories are taken throughout his entire writing career (he even presents an *extremely* short story that he wrote when he was six), but the range of the stories mean that there's a good chance that at least one will appeal to you! Furthermore, Nix personalizes his anthology by adding a small introduction to each story, giving a background to the inspiration and the crafting of each tale.

"Under the Lake" and "Heart's Desire" are two very different takes on the Lady of the Lake; the first of which portrays her as a somewhat psychopathic goddess who gives the dubious gift of Excaliber to mankind, the latter of which explores her relationship to Merlin and the reason behind why she entrapped him beneath the earth.

"Down to the Scum Quarter" and "My New Really Epic Fantasy Series" are both tongue-in-cheek paradies of the fantasy genre, the former being an elaborate "Choose Your Own Adventure" story; the latter being a pitch for a forty-seven book series chock-full of every possible fantasy cliché.

In "Charlie Rabbit" two brothers are caught in a war-stricken country, with only themselves and a clockwork rabbit to protect them, whilst in "Lightning Bringer" a young boy meets a man with a (literally) electric personality, who has the power to take whatever he wants - including the protagonist's girlfriend. "In the Lighthouse" concerns a pompous land-developer buying an island - much to the bemusement of its inhabitants. This story has a great imaginative setting, one that I would have loved to have seen developed further.

On the downside, there is "Hope Chest", a fantasy-cum-Western that had previously appeared in "The Firebirds Anthology", and which (unfortunately) just didn't work for me, and "The Hill", which concerns a boy and his great-great-grandfather attempting to save a piece of land in the Australian outback. According to Nix's introduction, the story had originally contained aspects of Aboriginal mythology, which was cut due to disapproval from his publisher. Because Nix is white, it was deemed inappropriate for him to draw on a mythology that was not his own - a great pity, as I couldn't help that it would have been a better story with the Aboriginal components intact. And surely the world's mythology is not exclusive to one culture - isn't a story about Aborigine legends as written by a white person better than no story at all?

But I loved "Hansel's Eyes", a contemporary (and somewhat macabre version) of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale; and Nix's two original fairytales: "Three Roses" and "Endings" two very short and sweet tales; almost poems in their conception and style.

Although I would have much preferred that all the books in this series at been centered around the Old Kingdom, this is a perfectly adequate anthology of short stories, varied and well-written, as well as whetting our appetite for future Old Kingdom books. Pretty please?

New Stories Fall Short.......2007-01-10

I greatly enjoyed the other tales of the Abhorsen adventures. Unfortunately I felt that the short story in this book was hastily created and put together. There is neither time nor details enough to make any of the characters come alive. While it is an okay read, it falls far short of Garth's other works.

Nicholas will do anything to get across the wall .......2006-09-15

Nicholas will do anything to get across the wall even exploring the source of a strange power that will change his life. Across The Wall features a fine novella and additional short fantasies which take on aspects of the Merlin myth and bring it to the modern world.

Average customer rating:

NOT Harry Potter--Adults, here you go
Fantastic Fantasy
A Very Good Mystery
With Sword and Bells Ringing...
good book

Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0064471837

Amazon.com

After receiving a cryptic message from her father, Abhorsen, a necromancer trapped in Death, 18-year-old Sabriel sets off into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands. Unlike other necromancers, who raise the dead, Abhorsen lays the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him--and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties--to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible exhaustion, violent confrontations, and terrifying challenges to her supernatural abilities--and her destiny.

Garth Nix delves deep into the mystical underworld of necromancy, magic, and the monstrous undead. This tale is not for the faint of heart; imbedded in the classic good-versus-evil story line are subplots of grisly ghouls hungry for human life to perpetuate their stay in the world of the living, and dark, devastating secrets of betrayal and loss. Just try to put this book down. For more along this line, try Nix's later novel: Shade's Children. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorson, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life'and comes face to face with her own hidden destiny. . . Garth Nix's first young adult novel, Sabriel was recently nominated for the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Science Fiction in Australia.

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Vampire historical horror erotic romance novel. Madelaine de Montalia, beloved of the Count Saint-Germain, comes to America to study the Indian nations, and survives the Civil War in the South, sustained by her decades-long affair with William Tecumseh Sherman. All the color and historical detail, all the wild romantic adventure you expect from a Yarbro novel.

Customer Reviews:

NOT Harry Potter--Adults, here you go.......2007-06-28

OK, the writing and characterization is *somewhat* less complex than one would normally expect in adult fiction; however, it is much more so than much of what passes for adult fantasy these days. The world is very richly imagined and inherently coherent and the characters are real people to an extent rarely found in what is purportedly YA lit. This is an excellent story very well told, all in all, and if you admire Hobbs for her complexity, Martin for his compelling characters, or Zelazny or Bishop for their fascinating worlds, you will enjoy Nix's "Abhorsen" trilogy. For true YA audiences, parents should be warned that, while there are *no* even minorly sexually explicit scenes, the text does on occasion refer to "lovers" and bastard children in the second and third books. My recommendation is that you read it yourself first--if you share an interest in fantasy with your kids you will *not* find it merely an exercise in judicious parenting. Overall, in my opinion, the bravery and perseverance of these very real characters outweighs other considerations in what they have to communicate to younger audiences, but I am not a parent. I am, however, a grateful adult to Nix for not pulling his punches in order to make this trilogy more clearly suitable to one audience or the other.

Fantastic Fantasy.......2007-06-25

My friend gave this book to me for my birthday several years ago and I never got around to reading it until a few weeks ago during vacation. I read through it in only three days (and I was on vacation, so it wasn't just like I was sitting around reading it all day). It really is a fantastic book.
Filled with action, adventure, and fantasy (with a bit of reality too), Sabriel is a great read for anyone. And the book is pretty fast-moving too, so I had trouble putting it down!
I tried reading Lirael, but it lacked the constant fast pace of Sabriel. I'm going to try and read it again, but Sabriel is my favorite so far (but I haven't gotten around to the third book, Abhorsen). Sabriel has a lot of action and is very comical in some parts. Definitely a book that should not be passed by!

A Very Good Mystery.......2007-05-24

Sabriel is a book about an eighteen year-old girl who is sent on a journey to save her dad from death. As she is waiting for her dad to meet her at school, an extremely weird event happens. Instead of her dad arriving, a strange creature shows up. The creature drops off her dad's supplies such as his sword, bells and suit of armor. What happened to her dad? Did this creature from death have any connection to he dad?
As Sabriel travels through caves, fields and some amazing ruins, she realizes that this journey she is on is not just to save her dad. It is to save the entire planet! An evil being named Kerrigor is trying to take over the world and engulf it in death. Sabriel travels all over searching for her dad and searching for the truth about her past family. During her travels she meets new friends like Touchstone and a cat named Mogget.
I really like Sabriel because the action and the mystery kept up throughout the entire book. The writing was very descriptive and I could picture everything really well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries and fantasy books. However, the reader must be prepared for a challenging read because it takes some effort to understand what is happening.

With Sword and Bells Ringing..........2007-03-19

Quite good. I enjoyed this about as much as Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass. I think Pullman's work juggles weightier philosophical issues, but Nix's may be a bit more fun, faster. Nix uses cliffhanger endings to chapters frequently, and to good effect.

Sabriel is a strong main character. It's refreshing to see her struggle with the weight of responsibility thrown upon her. Like characters from Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1), she doesn't always make the right decisions and isn't always confident in her abilities. Because of that she feels much more genuine than a fearless hero type. But, worry not, she still takes care of business with sword and bells ringing.

Also, the world (or worlds) that Nix has created are unique and intriguing. I like it that he drops you right into it, without spending too many words explaining the difference between Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom, or the difference between the Charter and Free Magic, or giving a history of necromancy or anything. He doesn't explain, he just lets the story unfold and you come to understand the rules of his world by travelling through it with Sabriel. Quite effective, enough so that I've just picked up Lirael and look forward to continuing the series.

good book.......2007-02-26

Great book for a young but competent fantasy reader. Lots of adventure. Sophisticated vocabulary, harrowing events and travel back into the land of the dead. The heroine is a girl.

Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (The Abhorsen Trilogy)

Average customer rating:

Like all garth nix - fantastic fantasy
Lirael
With the second and third novel, Nix elevates the Abhorsen story to something larger than fantasy
Extraordinary Read!
A great book.....

Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (The Abhorsen Trilogy)
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060590165
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Book Description

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr's birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to Sabriel, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, New York Times best-selling author Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

Customer Reviews:

Like all garth nix - fantastic fantasy.......2007-06-27

My favorite fantasies are by garth nix. The seventh tower series (also by garth nix) was the best - but this is an excellent trilogy and appeals to an older audience.

Lirael.......2006-07-31

Lirael is about a girl feeling outcast, and searching for her destiny. She cannot see the future, which is a birthright of her family the Clayr. Her mother has died and as she grows older, the only friend that she has is her dog. The only comfort from her life is that she is a very good Charter Mage. She meets Sam, Abhorsen Sabriel's son. They must put aside their differences to save their home, the Old Kingdom, and Sam's friend Nicholas.

With the second and third novel, Nix elevates the Abhorsen story to something larger than fantasy.......2005-08-19

Unlike Sabriel, which stands alone as a complete novel, Lirael ends on a cliffhanger, with its completion in Abhorsen. This is not a complaint, since the same can be said of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a whole. More significantly, though, than the continuity of plot in the last two novels, is that the last two novels complete the cosmological implications of the first novel -- elevating this world and its story to something more than merely a cool or interesting place (more than a fantasy), and into the status of significant myth (at least: fairly significant myth, I don't want to overstate the case -- this is a good fantasy read with some interesting ideas built into it). What I mean by that, is that the story begins to take on larger dimensions than merely a story of a few interesting characters in an interesting world. It becomes a story of the contrast between order and chaos (a dimension in every founding myth), and of the tension between different kinds of order (a tyranny and a democracy are both ordered states). It also becomes (especially in Abhorsen) a profound meditation on the metaphysical dimensions of freedom: something to be seen, for example, in the contrast between the "Disreputable Dog" and the "cat" Mogget (whereas the cat is a "free magic" creature who is bound against his will by the charter; the dog is apparently a free magic creature who has taken upon herself the charter, submitting herself to its ordering principles). While there is a sense in which this is a classic story of the struggle of good against evil, these underlying tensions make it much more interesting. The story thus raises philosophical questions like: is genuine freedom to be unbound? is mastery the only form of power? is order better than chaos? More than just a great read and a well told story, this trilogy aims to provide subtle and interesting answers to such questions.

Extraordinary Read!.......2005-07-19

WOW. This book is an impossiby amazing read. "Down points" in the book are virtually nonexistent, and you will continue reading till the very end. "Lirael" is just...just..too good!

A great book............2005-04-16

just not as good Sabriel in my opinion. Sabriel is 5 stars, and i would rate Lirael as a 4 3/4 stars. Now if Sabriel had been the main character, probably it would have been 5 stars. when the truth comes out about Lirael and who her parents are(more father than mother) at the end was stunning. Never would i have guested. When they encounter Chlorr and Sam rages into the fight the unknown necromance at that time, u could tell Sam and Touchstone are father, son. Just like Touchstone, excpet not as wimpy. As i said in my review of Sabriel, Garth has a gift for suspense. all through the book, i kept saying to myself, with is this evil and i want to no now. I definitely gonna read Abhorsen.

Average customer rating:

Great conclusion
Clean Fantasy
Abhorson
Wonderful Book
Something deadly this way comes

Abhorsen
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0007137354

Book Description

Orannis the Destroyer has been freed

And only Lirael, newly come into her inheritance as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, has any chance of stopping it. She and her companions -- Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget -- have to take that chance. If Orannis's unspeakable powers are unleashed, it will mean the end of all Life. With the help of her companions and a vision from the Clayr to guide her, Lirael must search in both Life and Death for some means to defeat the Destroyer -- before it is too late. . . .

Download Description

Book Three of the Sabriel-Lirael-Abhorsen Trilogy.

Customer Reviews:

Great conclusion.......2007-04-09

I gave "Sabriel" and "Lirael" positive reviews at a four-star level. This one closes out the series in a way that deserves that fifth star. There's nothing surprising in terms of the characters heading toward ever more difficult challenges - most of which seem completely insurmountable. You know you're going to get that, and you know the characters are largely going to find the ways to prevail.

What's great about this is that Nix's characters find surprising answers to the things challenging them. As the novel heads towards it conclusion many different threads are tied together into a satisfying, surprising and emotionally involving conclusion. I enjoyed it right up the end, and I recommend it to all readers of quality fantasy. Be sure to start with the earlier novels, though. It would be a shame to start at the end, especially as so much of what makes this one special are things first begun in "Sabriel" and "Lirael".

Clean Fantasy.......2007-01-31

I realize that this book is geared towards young readers, but as an adult, I also found the story interesting and well written. While I would like to discuss some of the unique aspects of the book that captured my attention and imagination, I will refrain so as not to spoil it for somebody else.

Although this is written for young readers, it is a good train or plane book for adults as well.

Abhorson.......2006-10-27

I think that this was a good read. In my mind I interpreted the message of the book. The author kept you wanting to know more and learn about the intreging characters. The authors intent to keep readers on the edge of their seats was successful and a usual author technique. I enjoyed
Miguel Sanchez

Wonderful Book.......2006-08-15

I just finished the Abhorsen. What a wonderful read. The book picks right up from where Lirael left off. We find Lirael, Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget off on their quest to stop the Destroyer and all that stand with It. I went through the book wondering if Lirael would be able to handle being the Abhorsen in waiting, what the role of Wallmaker, for Sam, would be, who really was the Disreputable Dog and which side is Mogget really on? It was very fast paced and I could hardly put it down. Sad to see it end though.

Something deadly this way comes.......2006-08-01

Picking right up from the end of book two, we rejoin Lirael and Sameth at Abhorsen's house, with the cast of "Night of the Living Dead" hanging around outside getting ready to crash the party. Lirael has finally admitted to herself that she's the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Sameth isn't arguing. Mogget the cat and the Disreputable Dog are still along for the ride.

The adversaries they face in this final showdown are the most dangerous ever - Chlorr of the Mask, Hedge the Necromancer, oodles of crumbly dead hands and the most powerful enemy of all - a Destroyer so deadly that he had to be split in two, encased in two silver hemispheres, sealed in by seven magical bonds, and buried under the earth, and he still hasn't gotten the hint that he's not wanted.

Using Sam's friend Nicholas as a puppet, the Destroyer, through Hedge, has organized the construction of a lightning farm across the border, thereby generating enough power for all Hell to break loose again.

Using her gift of 20/20 hindsight, Lirael knows how the Destroyer's plan was ruined the last time he acted up, but since this required the assistance of the Seven Bright Shiners at the time, she has to send in the substitute team for the final innings. A little help from unexpected quarters helps to improve the odds, but it's still touch and go until the fat lady sings.

A fast paced and thoroughly enthralling grand finale to one of the most imaginative fantasy series this side of the Old Kingdom.

Amanda Richards, July 31, 2006

Average customer rating:

Constant Action
Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy is one of the best ever
A modern classic
The Abhorsen Trilogy

The Abhorsen Trilogy

Manufacturer: Science Fiction Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0739432176

Customer Reviews:

Constant Action.......2005-05-12

I really enjoyed the trilogy, but it's my in my preferred genre of fantasy. This trilogy is great and throroughly recommended if you also like fantasy, especially young adult fantasy. There's tons of action, coupled with the coming of age stories of two girls which are quite compelling.

It's not as strong as His Dark Materials trilogy (which I recommend to everyone). I wouldn't recommend this to all adults regardless of their interests. I wouldn't even recommend this to all adults who are interested in fantasy, because it really does read like a children's book (things I know are supposed to be revealed in the end were predictable because of foreshadowing). I would however recommend this to all children.

Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy is one of the best ever.......2004-10-04

For those of you who feel that dragons, unicorns, and bards are a bit overdone nowadays, this fantasy trilogy offers up a heroine who binds the dead with a bandolier of bells. The Geography of Death is lovingly delineated, from the prologue where Sabriel is born and dies and is rescued from the First Gate of Death by her father, to the third book in the trilogy, where the new Abhorsen braves Death in the form of a river, a waterfall, pools of black water, strange currents that suck the spirit from the flesh.

Sabriel herself is an English schoolgirl, recently graduated from Wyverley Academy with a "first in English, equal first in Music, third in Mathematics, seventh in Science, second in Fighting Arts and fourth in Etiquette. She had also been a runaway first in Magic..." A visitation from the Dead sends Sabriel on a quest through the magical Old Kingdom, in order to reunite her father's body with his spirit which is trapped within the Fourth Gate of Death. She has to do battle with a really nasty necromancer-Adept, and rescue a prince who is a bit of a figurehead at first but who finally develops into a memorable character in his own right. Sabriel is both helped and hindered by a very non-cuddly cat named Mogget.

"Lirael" is the middle book this remarkable fantasy series. If I ever die and go to fantasy heaven, I hope it resembles Nix's immense library beneath glacier and mountain, where each door opens into a separate mystery. In the catacombs beneath the library, Lirael discovers how to turn herself into an ice otter or a barking owl, reads "The Book of Remembrance and Forgetting", and duels with the monstrous Stilken.

However, "Lirael" isn't just about Lirael. Prince Sameth, heir apparent to Sabriel as the Old Kingdom's champion against evil necromancers, also comes of age in this volume. There are plenty of evil necromancers to go around. In fact, at the end of this book, it appears as though they are winning the war to turn the Old Kingdom into a kingdom of the dead.

"Abhorsen" is a direct continuation of "Lirael," with the ex-assistant librarian and her companion, Prince Sameth carrying on the battle against Hedge and the evil he is digging up at Red Lake. Although Prince Sameth was meant to be the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, heir to the powers of 'The Book of the Dead' and the seven bells, Lirael now takes up that role, and Sam seeks his destiny as a descendant of the mysterious Wallmakers, who built the barrier between the magical Old Kingdom and the mundane kingdom of Ancelstierre. The two will need all of the magic they can conjure up against an enemy that threatens not only the Charter, but all living beings.

The swirl and cross-currents of life gradually ebb as the dead pass through gate after gate on Garth Nix's nameless river--a river like Styx or Lethe that runs through each of our subconscious underworlds as a legacy of our water-bound gestation. It is an eerie experience to remember that journey of birth--only this time in the wake of the dead--in this marvelous fantasy trilogy.

A modern classic.......2004-05-12

Garth Nix delves into the dark heart of high fantasy in the Abhorsen Trilogy, three interconnected fantasies about a strange family of necromancers who lay the dead -- and forces of evil to rest. With detailed writing and nuanced, likable characters, this is a modern fantasy classic.

"Sabriel" is the story of a teenage girl living happily at a girl's school, while her necromancer father (the Abhorsen) roams around putting the dead to rest. All that changes when a sending brings her father's sword and bells, meaning that he is dead or incapacitated. So Sabriel takes on her father's duties... and the specter of a horrible evil creature that is reaching out from death to snare her.

"Lirael" takes us to the cold citadel of the Clayr, a race of seers. Young Lirael is depressed because she doesn't have the gift of Sight yet, even though everybody else her age does. But things take a sinister turn when she sets a horrifying, bloodthirsty creature loose, and must work (with the help of the mysterious Disreputable Dog) to get rid of it. But what Lirael doesn't know is that the outside world is in danger too -- from a new evil threat.

"Abhorsen" brings the series to an explosive conclusion. Lirael and her nephew Sameth (along with "cat" Mogget and the Disreputable Dog) are in danger from the Dead. What's more, the Destroyer Orannis has escaped from his prison and is being assisted by an evil necromancer and the Dead called Chlorr -- and a pal of Sameth's. Now Lirael has to stop the Destroyer before he... well, destroys all life in the world.

The Abhorsen Trilogy is a perfect example of dark fantasy, with its grotesque dead, magical bells, enchanted and shadowy beasties. It takes the trappings of high fantasy and lets us see them through a mirror darkly. Not to mention that the characters are likable -- especially the gutsy Sabriel -- and the acid-tongued animals and black humor add a wry spin to the fantasy stories. "Lirael" is a bit limper than the first and third books, since it takes a long time to get going, but it's still a worthy and spellbinding book.

Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy is a thrilling fantasy epic, and not to be missed by anyone who enjoys a little chill down their spine. A must-read for fans of fantasy and horror.

The Abhorsen Trilogy.......2004-04-20

This is an adventure that will keep you on your toes. You never know what will happen. Garth Nix develops the characters in detail and describes so well that you can almost feel what the characters are going through. It is a well balanced series that contains just the right amount of adventure, magic, and suspense.

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Abhorsen (The Abhorsen Trilogy)
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Abhorsen: La Novena Puerta
Celia Filipetto
Manufacturer: Molino
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (Abhorsen Trilogy, Bk. 2)

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Worthy "Daughter"

Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (Abhorsen Trilogy, Bk. 2)
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

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Abhorsen (The Abhorsen Trilogy)

ASIN: 0007137338

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Worthy "Daughter".......2005-10-24

Garth Nix changed the face of dark fantasy (usually just horror with a prettier cover) with his instant hit "Sabriel." It provided fans with a unique type of magic, a well-crafted alternate world, and talking animals that were anything but cute. Without missing a step, "Lirael" follows in "Sabriel"'s footsteps, with the same dark blend of humor and horror.

Lirael is a daughter of the Clayr, but she won't be a full Clayr until she gains the Sight. On her fourteenth birthday, she is the oldest girl to not yet have gained the Sight. After contemplating suicide, Lirael is assigned to work in the library, and inadvertantly sets loose a hideous Free Magic creature: a Stilken that will call other Free Magic creatures and destroy the Clayr. Desperate to deal with her mistake, Lirael calls up the Disreputable Dog (somehow made both of Free and Charter Magic) and soon ends up finding out more about her past -- and her future.

Elsewhere, Sabriel's son Sameth is pursued by the Dead, and is almost killed in the process; the only thing he gets for his trouble is a threat from a mysterious necromancer. Sam is supposed to be the future Abhorsen, but the problem is that he's petrified by the things his mother handles easily. And he's helped loose Free Magic on a world increasingly torn by a mysterious masked necromancer...

Nix takes the rich world he created in "Sabriel" and makes it even richer. It's a bit like a melding of typical high fantasy with an early twentieth-century setting (phones, buses, cricket matches, electricity, guns). Old faves like Sabriel, Touchstone, and Mogget appear here (although Mogget's appearance is a bit brief), along with new and equally likable characters.

Some readers may not like Lirael as well as they liked the more self-assured, kick-butt Sabriel, but Sabriel knew who she was, where she was coming from, and knew what she needed to know. Lirael is only learning those things, which makes her a more vulnerable, confused heroine. She becomes stronger and more self-assured as she learns more about Charter magery and her background.

"Lirael" has the same balance of humor and horror as the first book. We have things like the bodies of refugees being turned into decayed Dead Hands, the clawed insecto-human Stilken, or just the aura of darkness around the Book of the Dead. But we also have funny things like Nick or the running joke about the Dog and food.

The Disreputable Dog is a lot like Mogget, in that she's more than she seems and a handy source of info, but not as quietly menacing as Mogget was. And Sam is endearingly unsure of himself, and is one of the few fantasy characters to be genuinely terrified of his "duties," not just apprehensive. His sister was the one character who fell flat; she seemed a little too "bossy princess."

The biggest problem with "Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr" is that it ends on a "to be continued" note. So be sure to have the concluding novel, "Abhorsen," ready while you read this book. Dark, funny, creepy, and immensely well-written.

Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (Unabridged)

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Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr (Unabridged)
Garth Nix
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

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