Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Sabriel

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Sabriel by Garth Nix

19 reviews

trintrin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The most paradoxical book ever. So very interesting, yet so very boring. The writing is good, and simultaneously bad. Decent plot, unimpressive characters. Intriguing world building, bland romance. Binge it for several hours, forget about it for months on end.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading it for a long, long time. Maybe it’s the excessive praise people have for the series, creating an unrealistically high expectation. Maybe it’s got to do with the author’s fascination in describing Sabriel’s breasts and nakedness at every opportunity. But I can’t really see what makes people rave about this series to this extent.

I wanted to love the book, I really did, but it failed to click with me. There are plenty of fantasy novels out there with better characters, writing, world-building, and romance. The characters were one-dimensional and their motives were unclear. The protagonist keeps swaying from knowing nothing about anything and having zero experience, to beating every hurdle in the path and every force of evil ever. Because destiny. The writing felt like it was trying too hard to be intimidating that it came off as condescending at times. The world building was such a near-miss. Why create something as intriguing as necromancy and Charter magic and the thing with the bells, only to thrust the reader into it instead of explaining it properly? The “romance” that came out of nowhere can barely be called a friendship. Acquaintances at best.

I can acknowledge it’s probably because this book was written in the 90’s where there weren’t too many fantasy books with a female main character and romance, but is that a valid excuse? Shouldn’t a good book stand the test of time, regardless of when it was written?

Audiobook is great, though. For that, and for the fact that I have a cautious hope that it will get better with the next book, I’ll nudge the rating up a star.

Content Warnings

remescient's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

My favorite book from middle school, and it still holds a very special place in my heart ❤️

Content Warnings

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Please note: With this book, I’m incapable of removing the amount of bias I generally try to remove before writing reviews. Sabriel is a book I read when I was in my teens, and it has stayed with me over the years. Further, it would transgress my own values to give this book anything other than a five-star review, given the lasting and impeccable impression it left on me. Lastly, in a world where young women are often handed books full of dangerous, exhausting, and demeaning tropes, I fully love Garth Nix for introducing me – at a young, impressionable age – to a female character who is strong, capable, powerful, and loves fully.

Writing: 5⭐️/5

I love how Garth Nix uses the perfect mixture of language to hook us into this story. Starting with a young woman who wants to save a rabbit, it’s clear through his language that this story will supersede those simple expectations. I love how the dialogue feels natural and I really love his clarity to expose such a complicated world with ease.

Characters: 5⭐️/5

Sabriel is one of my all-time favourite characters. She is a badass without being snippy, she’s sassy without being harsh, and she’s strong without giving up her femininity. I also fell in love with Touchstone the first time I read this novel. I loved his gallantry, his humility, and his growth throughout the book. Beyond those two, the side characters are invaluable and fascinating. I love Mogget: a small cat-like creature who desires freedom from its cage without truly wanting it, who defends his Abhorsen, who appears innocent and actually holds immense power. Sabriel’s father, full of flaws and regrets, feels real – instantly real and vibrant – despite getting very little “screen” time. A whole cast of fantastic, deep characters to enjoy and read about.

Plot: 5⭐️/5

I mean, I love this book, and the plot follows suit. With a mixture of fast-paced adventure and world-building, I really love (and have always loved) how the plot progresses, slowly introducing us to our world and then quickly identifying our big bad. No notes.

World 5⭐️/5

The Old Kingdom is a rich world. I love the mixture of high and low fantasy elements, with a world similar to ours edging on a world that’s very different. I love the references to technology, I love the thoughtfulness of the world’s politics, structure, and beliefs. To quote Leigh Bardugo: “There is no joy like returning to the Old Kingdom.”

Who Should Read This Book?

Readers looking for a fantastic fantasy read with a drop of romance
Young adult readers looking to bridge into high fantasy
Readers looking for a good fantasy read with a great female lead.

Content Warnings?

Blood, injury, injury detail, death, death of parent, death of child, slavery, body horror, gore, sexual content, confinement, grief

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

*sigh* I just love it.

Final Rating: 5⭐️/5

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jupitermond's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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jjohnson265's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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soph22's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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twistykris's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I have a vague recollection of reading this as a teenager, so I thought it would be fun to revisit. As it turned out, the only thing I remembered were the bells, so it ended up being more of a "new" read.

I appreciate the world-building, in that it builds gradually throughout the course of the book, instead of info-dumping. And the descriptions Nix uses are just SO incredible. Pages of descriptions that actually felt like a sheet being dragged off of a scene- rooms and areas being revealed slowly, letting your mind focus in. I liked the characters, but I didn't really feel much of a connection to them. Their personalities didn't feel very developed and the romance between Sabriel and Touchstone felt very unestablished. Mogget was honestly my favorite character, if only for his snarkiness.

I went back and forth between reading a physical copy of the book and listening to the audiobook narrated by Tim Curry and I found myself more drawn towards the audiobook. I just can't help it with his voice- even if a couple character voices were very Nigel Thornberry-esque... SMASHING xD

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pobi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

As always Garth Nix books have wonderful world building, and the characters were fab. A romance that strong over just a few weeks is a little bizarre to me but it was still cute. Also the audiobook narrator's voice for Moggett was simply my fave.

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

how was this written in 1995? with such a strong female lead??

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spacerkip's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

A shame I didn't discover this when I was younger - if I read this as a teenager, I think it would have become part of my personality.

The worldbuilding immediately drew me in. The magic system wasn't ever really explained, but it clearly operated on a concrete set of rules - both narratively and in-universe - that made me curious. Sabriel herself is a wonderful character, emotionally mature and yet sheltered to the world of Old Kingdom. She struck a wonderful balance between being competent and still out of her depth.

I didn't realize this was part of a series, but even though this first book can stand on its own, I'm definitely picking up the next one. I wanna know more about Old Kingdom! And Charter magic! And I definitely want to see what happens to Sabriel as she steps into her role as Abhorsen.

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