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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.
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
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
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Medical content, and Pregnancy
businesswife's review against another edition
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent
cait's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
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
nottooscarythanks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
misskimmers's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Such a clever and unique story with a lovingly crafted world and comprehensive magic system. Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a fantasy adventure in a similar vein to Sanderson, Jordan or Hobb but a slightly lighter read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Murder and Injury/Injury detail
mattiedancer's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: Violence, death, blood
Sabriel by Garth Nix is book one in the Abhorsen series. This was a book that I somehow missed out on when I was growing up. It was published in 1995, but honestly, it could have been published today it holds up so well.
We follow Sabriel, the daughter of the Abhorsen, a kind of necromancer that puts the Dead to rest when they walk when they shouldn't. When Sabriel's father goes missing, she is plunged into a quest to find him and defeat the Great Dead that took him and caused the fall of the Old Kingdom.
I really loved Sabriel as a main character. She has lots of growth throughout the book. She starts off as kind of timid and in denial about being the new Abhorsen, but as she goes on her quest, she becomes stronger and more confident in using the Abhorsen sword and the bells. The magic system is fascinating. In this world they use Charter magic (similar to runes) to spell things, and necromancers use bells to bind or get rid of various Dead that won't cross the gates of Death. There is a neat mix of technologies too. I would say this world is similar to our WWI era as far as technology goes.
Sabriel also travels with two other characters: Mogget, a Free Magic entity that has been bound in the body of a white cat and is the most sarcastic (I love him your honor); and Touchstone, a man found frozen in wood in the Old Kingdom. I do wish we had gotten a bit more world-building, but that may come with the sequel.
This was a great read that I can see myself rereading at some point. I'm very excited to read the rest of the series after that cliffhanger!
Sabriel by Garth Nix is book one in the Abhorsen series. This was a book that I somehow missed out on when I was growing up. It was published in 1995, but honestly, it could have been published today it holds up so well.
We follow Sabriel, the daughter of the Abhorsen, a kind of necromancer that puts the Dead to rest when they walk when they shouldn't. When Sabriel's father goes missing, she is plunged into a quest to find him and defeat the Great Dead that took him and caused the fall of the Old Kingdom.
I really loved Sabriel as a main character. She has lots of growth throughout the book. She starts off as kind of timid and in denial about being the new Abhorsen, but as she goes on her quest, she becomes stronger and more confident in using the Abhorsen sword and the bells. The magic system is fascinating. In this world they use Charter magic (similar to runes) to spell things, and necromancers use bells to bind or get rid of various Dead that won't cross the gates of Death. There is a neat mix of technologies too. I would say this world is similar to our WWI era as far as technology goes.
Sabriel also travels with two other characters: Mogget, a Free Magic entity that has been bound in the body of a white cat and is the most sarcastic (I love him your honor); and Touchstone, a man found frozen in wood in the Old Kingdom. I do wish we had gotten a bit more world-building, but that may come with the sequel.
This was a great read that I can see myself rereading at some point. I'm very excited to read the rest of the series after that cliffhanger!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Blood
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is so good. I was captivated immediately by the prologue, I wanted to learn more about this world and how it worked. The writing is very atmospheric and immersive without being overly descriptive. I connected with and rooted for Sabriel throughout the story, she's a very competent protagonist so it's believable when she succeeds, but she's also young and inexperienced so there's constant tension as she has to understand and overcome obstacles. The supporting cast is small and doesn't have a lot of focus compared to how much introspection we get from Sabriel, but they are still likable and engaging (or horrible and terrifying in the case of the villains) and leave you wanting more. I wish I had read this as a young adult, I can see how goth teen me would have adored it, but apart from the age of the protagonist it doesn't have a lot of the negative tropes associated with YA and I enjoyed it very much as an adult reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent