For our second edition of Book Tuesdays, I'm going to be talking about ... idk. Um, I could talk about the dictionary .. no, too long and I only have two hours before this becomes Booky Wednesdays. Hmm. Ah, ha! -drumroll- THE ABHORSEN TRILOGY. That's by Garth Nix, for those of you who don't know.
Sabriel, the first in the series, was about a girl of about eighteen whose father was the Abhorsen, the famous necromancer who worked for the good guys, putting dead things back in Death. Sabriel was raised from a young age in an all-girls school in a country named Ancelstierre, which was located right below the Old Kingdom, where her father lived and worked. Ancelstierrans didn't believe in the things those from the Old Kingdom did though - like magic and dead things. But Sabriel's school was close to the Wall - a magical wall that separated the two countries and kept many dead things out of Ancelstierre. It also prevented magic from being used in Ancelstierre the farther it got from the Wall.
One night, a night when Sabriel's father was expected to astral-project into her room to discuss her future, he doesn't show up. In his place is a dead creature carrying the Book of the Dead and his bells - the seven bells of a necromancer. From this, Sabriel gathers that her father is in trouble and takes on the responsibilities of the Abhorsen, journeying into the Old Kingdom for the first time since she was a child, to find her father. But the Kingdom has not been right for centuries, ever since the royal family was killed.
And that's enough about that one, for people who haven't read it. At first, I was a little skeptical about the story. But was pleased to see that Nix had used a female lead character for such an adventurous and gruesome story. It is now one of my favorite books.
Lirael, the sequel, centers on a Clayr girl. Clayr are the seers of the Old Kingdom. We'd come across twin Clayr in Sabriel, but Lirael takes us into the glacier where they live. And it tells us of their customs and why there are so few male Clayr. And, of course, it tells the story of Lirael herself. A motherless young teen as she grows up without receiving the Sight, but instead buries herself in the Clayr Library where she works, discovering the secrets of the Old Kingdom. Soon Lirael's curiosity leads her far from the Glacier and out into the Kingdom proper to try and stop the old evil that's threatening to break free of its bonds.
Of course, the story also follows Sameth. But I can't really talk about him without revealing secrets that are talked about in Sabriel. For the same reason, I can't talk about Abhorsen, the third book in the series. I will, however, say that Nix is an amazing author and if you like adventure novels, you should definitely check out this series. Especially since Garth is writing a fourth book, planned to be out sometime in the next two years! Oh, and don't forget about The Creature in the Case. It's a short story taking place after Abhorsen. You can find it in Across the Wall, a collection of Nix's short stories.
That's all for now, loves. I'm expected to do some role-playing before I get offline in about fifteen minutes.
xoxo,
Lizzy <3
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