Reviews with content warning for Violence - Sabriel

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

queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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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!

Content Warnings

jrdnltrn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

One of my all time favorites. Phenomenonal.

Content Warnings

blewballoon's review against another edition

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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

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

Content Warnings

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring 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

5.0

Content Warnings

kanadrallegria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

Content Warnings

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