allanvdh's review against another edition
2.0
Graeme Malcom reads this like a bed time story and his narration becomes very drowsy and monotonous. Story isn’t that interesting (maybe the slow narration put me off) but I didn’t enjoy this as much as I enjoyed reading the Abhorsen series long ago.
firewolffred's review against another edition
4.0
Clariel takes us into the past to explore the Old Kingdom 600 years before Sabriel in a time of peace and prosperity.
The story focuses on themes of dreams, repression, family, and destiny. The protagonist Clariel knows exactly what she wants, a simple life living in the forest, but the rest of the world has other ideas that drag her away from peace and towards a conflict that will consume her.
My only real fault with this book is that the last few chapters feel rushed. It is already a chunky novel, but I think it would have done well as a duology, allowing more room to develop Clariel's turn from the charter.
Despite this, I still had so much fun returning to Nix's world, and Moggot is an eternal delight.
The story focuses on themes of dreams, repression, family, and destiny. The protagonist Clariel knows exactly what she wants, a simple life living in the forest, but the rest of the world has other ideas that drag her away from peace and towards a conflict that will consume her.
My only real fault with this book is that the last few chapters feel rushed. It is already a chunky novel, but I think it would have done well as a duology, allowing more room to develop Clariel's turn from the charter.
Despite this, I still had so much fun returning to Nix's world, and Moggot is an eternal delight.
autrumregina's review against another edition
3.0
If you are a fan you will love this book. Garth does set up a lot of questions with the new lore he introduces, which are going to drive me crazy specially because they won't be answered as the next book picks up with Lirael again. But I still throughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to all Abhorsen fans !
emdowd's review against another edition
4.0
Took longer to get into than the other Old Kingdom books, but I really liked Clariel as a character, especially compared to Sabriel and Lirael. She's an asexual, introverted antihero who doesn't really get a happy ending.
amandatastic's review against another edition
3.0
I'm unsure if I just have a completely untarnished view of the original Abhorsen trilogy in my mind, or what... but this book receives a resounding "it's ok" and nothing more.
It was interesting to see a truly asexual and aromantic character in Clariel, however to an extent that part of her character seemed to exist only to back up her resolute stubborn side. "I want to go to the forest" can sum up most of Clariel's character.
It seemed every character in this world (except Bel, Gully, and Karrigan) had no drive, no ambition, no sense of duty or honor, or really any desire to do their jobs or hold any sort of real responsibility. I could barely stand that, and that was a focus of a good 3/4 of the book.
I think my favorite character (other than Mogget... because Mogget) was Bel. Had he been more of a focus I think it would have redeemed the book a bit for me. I would be interested to return to this part of the Old Kingdom to hear more of his story, or of Mistress Ader's, but based on the author's note at the end I don't expect a return to this era any time soon.
It was interesting to see a truly asexual and aromantic character in Clariel, however to an extent that part of her character seemed to exist only to back up her resolute stubborn side. "I want to go to the forest" can sum up most of Clariel's character.
It seemed every character in this world (except Bel, Gully, and Karrigan) had no drive, no ambition, no sense of duty or honor, or really any desire to do their jobs or hold any sort of real responsibility. I could barely stand that, and that was a focus of a good 3/4 of the book.
I think my favorite character (other than Mogget... because Mogget) was Bel. Had he been more of a focus I think it would have redeemed the book a bit for me. I would be interested to return to this part of the Old Kingdom to hear more of his story, or of Mistress Ader's, but based on the author's note at the end I don't expect a return to this era any time soon.
twaldrop's review against another edition
3.0
This was my least favorite of the Old Kingdom series I’ve read so far, I think. It eventually becomes an interesting story that fleshes out the Old Kingdom in the times before Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, and it provides some interesting insight into why someone in this series might turn to Free Magic. It takes a long time getting there, however.
I don’t regret reading the book, but I probably won’t ever reread and I doubt I’ll recommend others read it unless they’re really interested in the lore of this series.
I don’t regret reading the book, but I probably won’t ever reread and I doubt I’ll recommend others read it unless they’re really interested in the lore of this series.
allygogo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fruitcd's review against another edition
3.0
I know I read this one when I was younger but I basically remembered nothing. Clariel herself is a confusing, hard to love protagonist. I don’t hate her but it’s just hard to sympathize with her motives— her parents are and she just shrugs it off and tries to run away back to the forest. Then she’s kept for her own safety in a beautiful luxurious vacation home with her every whim catered to and she’s like, “This is LITERALLY prison.” I would be more sympathetic to this if she was younger, but she’s like nineteen and wants to be treated like an adult. She reads as much more immature than I think was meant. Overall, this book is interesting less because of Clariel and more because of the glimpse of the Old Kingdom before everything went to shit.