This is book is marketed to the YA crowd but I found it to be just as good as a really good adult fantasy novel. In fact, I thought this story was wonderfully inventive and exciting. It's one I'd like to re-read some day. ( )

I've just re-read this again and I still love it - somewhat a coming of age novel, somewhat sword and sorcery in a unique and well crafted world, I highly recommend this. ( )

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

The first thing that hit me when I finished reading this book was that I should have read it much sooner. I'd been meaning to read it for the past six or seven years but never quite getting around to it--and that was a mistake. In SABRIEL, Garth Nix introduces the reader to a compelling fantasy world that comes alive through the actions of the title character and others.

The Old Kingdom is a place of magic, both Charter magic, wielded by those with some connection to the ancient Charter that bound magic to benevolent purposes, and Free Magic, the creatures that escaped the binding and defy the Charter. Free Magic is also used by necromancers desiring to defy the Charter by animating dead bodies. Only one person, the Abhorsen, combines use of Charter and Free Magic for the purpose of returning dead spirits to their final rest and dead bodies to their graves. As the Abhorsen's daughter, and herself Abhorsen-in-Waiting, Sabriel must learn how to use the Abhorsen's tools to venture into Death and bind destructive spirits so they cannot cause harm to others.

However, things in the Old Kingdom are becoming more and more dangerous by the minute, and as a result Sabriel grows up in Ancelstierre, the Old Kingdom's southern neighbor, close enough to the border that she is able to learn and practice Charter Magic, but far enough removed that she is ignorant of the customs and traditions of her home country. The story begins when eighteen-year-old Sabriel, about to finish preparatory school in Ancelstierre, receives a messenger from her father, carrying the bells and sword of the Abhorsen, a signal that he is in danger and requires her help. Sabriel must cross over into the Old Kingdom, a place she knows little about, and somehow find a way to save her father from whatever fate has befallen him before his spirit is pulled too far into Death. Along the way, she meets a fickle magical spirit in the form of a talking cat named Mogget, the traditional helpmeet of a long line of Abhorsens, and a former Royal Guard called Touchstone who has been frozen in the form of a ship's figurehead for the past two hundred years. Together, Sabriel, Mogget, and Touchstone journey through the Old Kingdom as they learn more about the necromancer who has tried to kill Sabriel's father and who will wreak destruction upon the land on both sides of the border if they cannot stop him.

Nix's writing is lean and easy to read, creating characters whose thoughts are clear and whose motives are intensely human. The relationship that develops between Sabriel and Touchstone is emotionally real and rich, and I enjoyed reading about all of their interactions. Even secondary characters are detailed and have personalities of their own. I was also impressed by Nix's concept of magic, which is deeper and more textured than the point-and-spell world of Harry Potter or countless other similar stories (although this book will certainly appeal to fans of the former class of fantasy). In the Old Kingdom, performing magic depends upon a deep knowledge of the required Charter marks, and in Sabriel's case, upon her mastery of the seven bells that assist the necromancer's trade by helping command the dead. This book is truly original--I have not seen anything like it before. ( )

Quick Summary: Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of "Free Magic," and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage, Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world. Though her journey begins alone, she soon finds companions: Mogget, whose seemingly harmless feline form hides a powerful- and perhaps malevolent- spirit, and Touchstone, a younger Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. With threats on all sides and only each other to trust, the three must travel deep into the Old Kingdom, toward a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death- and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own hiddden destiny. A tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic.

My reaction: This is one of my favorite supernatural YA fiction books. I love the completely unique premise of it: the setting is a place that is somewhat like 1940's England with a wall separating the borders of the contemporary world from those of the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is a place where magic still exists. There are sorcerers, monsters, and technology fails there. The boundary between life and death is weak in the Old Kingdom, so it's the role of the Abhorsen to travel between the realms of life and death and make sure the dead stay dead. The Abhorsen, Sabriel's father, and then Sabriel, herself, use bells to control the dead. Certain tones the bells make can influence the dead in different ways.

I found Sabriel to be one of the most realistic female protagonists I've encountered in fiction. She is strong yet has self-doubt. She's not a damsel in distress, yet she's not unrealistically strong. She's courageous, smart, and REAL. The world this book is set in is captivating. There's the contemporary world, not much unlike our own, then just across the wall is a world of magic, danger, and adventure. It feels as if there could be such a place in our own world. I enjoyed all the characters, and the narrative moved at a good pace.

This book is full of action -- there are battles with zombies, and dead spirits. There is also lots of magic in this book, as you will see when Sabriel meets her romantic interest, Touchstone, and also, when she meets her cat, Mogget. It's a classic epic quest or adventure story, but it has a dark, magical spin on it. You've got to read this one!

The sequels are Lirael, Abhorsen, and Across the Wall.

I would like you to please notice what a wonderful cover this book has. It's not what I'd expect for a fantasy novel. The cover reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Alphonse Mucha, or of art with Byzantine origins.

Who I would recommend this book to: I recommend this book to everyone, but especially women who love a strong, female protagonist! Readers of all ages can enjoy this book. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than 12, unless they are a precocious reader, because they might have trouble understanding some of the plot details and words (ex. necromancer). The great thing about this book is that it can be read as a stand alone, or it can be read as the first in a trilogy. I recommend this book to everyone who loves fiction with action, suspense, strong female leads, magic, supernatural, romance, and the epic quest. It's a brilliant fantasy, aimed at the young adult reader but still thoroughly pleases all age groups.

Worth buying? YES!!!

Quotes from the book:

"Sabriel digested this in silence, staring at the swirls of fish and sauce on her plate, silver scales and red tomato blurring into a pattern of swords and fire. The table blurred too, and the room beyond, and she felt herself reaching for the border with Death. But try as she might, she couldn’t cross it. She sensed it, but there was no way to cross, in either direction – Abhorsen’s House was too well protected. But she did feel something at the border. Inimical things lurked there, waiting for her to cross, but there was also the faintest thread of something familiar, like the scent of a woman’s perfume after she has left the room, or the waft of a particular pipe tobacco around a corner. Sabriel focussed on it and threw herself once more at the barrier that separated her from Death." (p.73)

"'I am a necromancer, but not of the common sort, while others of the art raise the dead, I lay them to rest - or try too - and those that will not rest I bind, for I am Abhorsen...father of Sabriel.'"

"Sabriel rang the bells again, concentrating on the difficult counterpoint between them, forcing all her will into their magic. Kerrigor would fall under her domination, he would walk where she willed!"

"(She) whistled the notes of the lifting wind, visualising the requisite string of Charter marks in her mind, letting them drip down into her throat and lips, and out into the air." (p.96)

"The marks became silver blades as they left her hand, mind and voice, flashing through the air swifter than any thrown dagger." (p. 107) ( )

Here is the first book in a trilogy by Garth Nix. It tells the tale of Sabriel, a young girl with an unusual father, who lives in Ancelstierre. When she was five her father Abhorsen took her to a boarding school on the Ancelstierre side of the Wall, away from the magic and peril of the Old Kingdom where she was born. Abhorsen regularly visits with her, using Charter magic (the opposite side of this is Free Magic, without out of the rules that governs Charter Magic). But on one occasion he fails to make their rendezvous and Sabriel, realising that her father is in terrible danger, decides to travel into the Old Kingdom to find him.

On her journey she meets some intriguing characters, such as the cat Mogget and the mysterious young man she knows only as Touchstone. Sabriel is drawn into an age-old battle against evil when she takes her place as the Abhorsen (discovering that her father's name was more a title).

This book was incredible! I loved Sabriel - she is brave, clever and compassionate. I also enjoyed the irascible cat Mogget - and his terrifying alter ego. Once we had known Touchstone for a while, he became a character to invest in. Because the cast list of the book is so pared down the main characters really come alive and are definitely three dimensional. I really cared what happened to them by the thrilling climax of the story.

Nix introduces a truly original idea in the Abhorsen - a Charter mage who has the ability to travel beyond the veil into death and move people back and forth across that veil. I absolutely loved the different bells that Abhorsen/Sabriel uses to tie the dead and ensure they do her bidding. It is rare to find a fantasy book that produces a concept that is so completely unique.

This book - as well as being full of adventure and even a little bit of romance - was also incredibly scary! Sabriel's encounter with the Mordicant as she flees to her father's house kept me on the edge of my seat. The occasion when she meets Mogget's alter ego was even more terrifying, since Mogget had been til that point a character on the side of good.

The world-building was also of exceptional quality. Ancelstierre is created to look much like a Britain of the 40s/50s - motor cars are fairly rare and lanterns and candles are still the norm - while the Old Kingdom is, as the name suggests, older. Here, swords are used instead of guns and it feels more medieval. In the area around the Wall, magic is more erratic - especially the further you travel into Ancelstierre - and the soldiers who guard the waypoint use both machine guns and bayonet-type spears in order to force back the restless dead.

I can't praise this book enough - it was imaginative, compelling and full of wonderful characters. Not one part of the book felt like filler. I can't wait to pick up the sequel! ( )