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erikajoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Gore and Violence
trintrin's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
christinamartin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Medical content, and Pregnancy
caseybones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The world Garth Nix introduces in Sabriel is complex, and I finished wishing I knew more about it and it’s history. His prose alternately frustrated me with avoidable word repetition, and impressed me with beautiful descriptive flourishes. The whiplash was sometimes maddening, but not enough to ruin anything.
My primary critique is the lack of character development . Although Sabriel grows in knowledge and experience, her core character attributes remain mostly unchanged by the end of the story. Touchstone’s trajectory is similarly flat, despite the information we learn about his past and his parentage.
Finally, the romance between our protagonists felt predictable and unnecessary. Developed over the course of what felt like only a few pages, it’s based more on proximity than anything else. I wish their platonic relationship could have been solidified by the events of this story so that a romantic connection based on more than shared trauma could be explored in another.
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Vomit
lucidstack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death and Violence
businesswife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent
mageofvoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
ejbiscuit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Death and Violence
cait's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail