I abosolutely loved this book 100% this fantastic read combines all my favourite elements of fantasy, thriller, action, and the classical element.

Dealing with a kingdom where the dead do rise, Sabriel dauughter of the Abhorsen is destined to take over her fathers job of putting the dead back through the gates of the raging river into the underworld. She must use her only weapon against the dead to save her father and the kingdom are The Abhorsen's bells.

I really have no words to describe how awesome this book is. For a genre of fantasy i think anyone in the world would read it and appreciate it for its universal themes of fighting for family and the connection between us and the spiritual world. ( )

Sabriel unfolds slowly at first. The first hundred pages read like exposition as Sabriel travels to her father's house. She is the only developed character until that point; the other people in the story are props for her journey. When she finally finds the cat creature Mogget, the story becomes more dynamic. The rescue of Touchstone rounds out the flatness of the novel. Sabriel is intricately written, and its world is well imagined. But the action is mostly surface, and the characters' journeys are physical rather than internal, leaving the reader somewhat uninvested in this book. ( )

Garth Nix is one of Australia's most well-regarded writers of young adult fantasy, and the Old Kingdom trilogy is apparently considered one of his best works. I've been meaning to read more young adult books lately, so I picked up the first book in the trilogy, "Sabriel."

A disappointment. "Sabriel" follows the titular protagonist through her adventures as she leaves the nation of Ancelstierre, analogous to early twentieth century England, and ventures north into the Old Kingdom, a dark and mysterious land of magic. Her father, a sort of reverse-necromancer titled the Abhorsen who is tasked with laying the dead to rest in the Old Kingdom, has been imprisoned in the land of the dead and now something evil is heading south to Ancelstierre.

I dislike reading about magic. I like fantasy, I like made-up stuff, but reading about the mechanics of spell-casting is like reading about chemistry or physics - it just isn't interesting. From Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, I've never been anything but bored by novels that make magic a centrepiece of the plot (with the notable exception of Susannah Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell," because she focuses more on the world and the political and social ramifications of magic than on the magic itself). Unfortunately, "Sabriel" is virtually overflowing with magic. Every main character is a magician or magical creature, and we're treated to long and tedious passages where Sabriel uses spells and wardings and blah blah blah to fight creatures of the Dead. That was another thing - the Old Kingdom lies in ruins, a post-apocalyptic winter wasteland ravaged by horrible undead monsters. Yet Nix fails to instil any sense of horror or dread, and not through lack of trying.

There was nothing absolutely terrible about this book, but nor was there anything that rose above mediocre. The characters were bland. The world was uninteresting. The prose was unremarkable (and good prose is not too much to expect of a young adult novel; Philip Pullman and Philip Reeve both write with excellent visual language). I don't recommend "Sabriel," and I doubt I'll bother reading the sequels. ( )

I've only heard good things about the trilogy and I've gotten the impression that it was a must for fantasy lovers.

Here's the summary: "Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead."

Nah. I wasn't impressed. At the most, it was okay. I just couldn't get into it. I would find myself unconciously skimming it before reminding myself that I was supposed to be paying attention. I guess the fantasy was unique, but it was hard for me to picture. Despite it being action-packed, the overall plot progression was slow. I could easily put it down without being compelled to pick it up again. The prose served it's purpose but wasn't particularly well-done. I was also never really sure what Sabriel's goal was or who the bad guys were. By far my least favorite part of the book was the characters. All the characters, including the MC, weren't granted even the thinnest wisps of personality. They were simply names of the page, used as plot devices. I never felt any connection to them at all. Sabriel was the "perfect" character. She didn't have any flaws and did everything without the slightest bit of difficulty. Perhaps if Nix had made the book in first person POV it would be more compelling. The "romance" between Touchstone and Sabriel made me gag. Don't make me mention the talking cat...

Anyway, do I recommend it? No. Will I read the sequels? Possibly.

P.S. My little cousin Michaela wants me to say that the girl on the cover looks like Michael Jackson. ( )

I finished this book feeling slightly underwhelmed but not sure quite why as it does have much to enjoy:
a fiesty heroine with a personal and 'for the good of the Kingdom' battles to win;
intriguing companions with their own stories and backgrounds to discover;
some interesting concepts with the Free magic and Charter magic - the bells and gates to death etc;
and a plot that has pace and some exciting combat sequences.

I think, for me, I struggled with the speed that Sabriel was introduced and then into the life/death situations without me feeling fully engaged in her battles. The landscape and rules are not very clear and I found myself regularly thinking 'oh isn't that convenient' when certain Charter magic was introduced and solved the problem. There are 2 more books in the series and I will probably get hold of them but I don't have the usual pull, that I get with fantasy series, to start reading the next book now! ( )