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Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:Before she went to join Sam and Mogget downstairs, Lirael paused for a moment to look at herself in the tall silver mirror that hung on the wall of her room. The image that faced her bore little resemblance to the Second Assistant Librarian of the Clayr. She saw a warlike and grim young woman, dark hair bound back with a silver cord rather than hanging free to disguise her face. She no longer wore her librarian's waistcoat, and she show more had a long Nehima at her side rather than a library-issue dagger. But she had kept her library whistle, tucking it into the small pouch at her belt. Though she was many, many leagues from any help the whistle might summon, she felt the need to cling to some small part of her past and her identity.She had become an Abhorsen, Lirael thought, at least on the outside. show less
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MinaKelly Suitable for the older end of YA, who like a solid adventure story and can handle some adult themes.
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This is one of the most unrelentingly terrifying/suspenseful books I have ever read, and part of that is because it follows directly upon the ending of Lirael (they're really more like two volumes of the same novel), which while featuring horror and suspense elements, has a lot more pauses and exploration of the Old Kingdom world-building.
Much of the horror in Abhorsen, at least for me, is the powerlessness of the characters in so many ways, and even the specific paralyzation of one character, whose will is over-ridden so that they are literally unable to even think for themself, much less move or talk as they wish. There's also quite a lot of zombie-analogues, which frankly just trigger more of those same terrors in me, as that other show more character's powerlessness does.
The plot of Abhorsen involves Lirael and Sam finally reaching Red Lake and discovering exactly what lies there, then trying to do what they can to combat it. The thing is the Destroyer from the Beginning, and it threatens to annihilate the entire world, as its name suggests. It is very, very powerful and very, very old, and neither Lirael nor Sam are well-rested or very experienced. This makes for a very tense story.
This being a story about at least one necromancer, it's perhaps unsurprising to say that people die, but they do. There are even deaths of people grown close to over the series, some temporary and others not so much so.
Abhorsen is a very good book, though somewhat stressful to read - I suppose the depth of feeling I have for it, and the years of wariness I've had towards rereading it, is evidence for how richly written it is. It's probably going to be another few years before I attempt it again, if I do, because of how strongly I feel it. show less
Much of the horror in Abhorsen, at least for me, is the powerlessness of the characters in so many ways, and even the specific paralyzation of one character, whose will is over-ridden so that they are literally unable to even think for themself, much less move or talk as they wish. There's also quite a lot of zombie-analogues, which frankly just trigger more of those same terrors in me, as that other show more character's powerlessness does.
The plot of Abhorsen involves Lirael and Sam finally reaching Red Lake and discovering exactly what lies there, then trying to do what they can to combat it. The thing is the Destroyer from the Beginning, and it threatens to annihilate the entire world, as its name suggests. It is very, very powerful and very, very old, and neither Lirael nor Sam are well-rested or very experienced. This makes for a very tense story.
This being a story about at least one necromancer, it's perhaps unsurprising to say that people die, but they do. There are even deaths of people grown close to over the series, some temporary and others not so much so.
Abhorsen is a very good book, though somewhat stressful to read - I suppose the depth of feeling I have for it, and the years of wariness I've had towards rereading it, is evidence for how richly written it is. It's probably going to be another few years before I attempt it again, if I do, because of how strongly I feel it. show less
{3rd in original Old Kingdom series; fantasy, sword and sorcery, magic, necromancy} (2003)
This story picks up exactly where Lirael finished, with Lirael, Sameth (the son of the current Abhorsen), Mogget (a being, currently in the shape of a white cat, who serves the Abhorsens - when it feels like it and who may not be completely trustworthy) and the Disreputable Dog (a being cast into its current shape of an irrepressible terrier by Lirael) in the Abhorsen's House in the middle of a river on the edge of a waterfall; (literally a cliff-hanger) so have this one ready to go when you finish the previous book. To say much more would be to give away spoilers for the first two books (Sabriel and Lirael) - and, really, you should read them show more first. But I will clarify that Abhorsens are necromancers who send spirits back into Death to counter the workings of evil necromancers; they usually use a set of seven bells, each a different size with different names and properties, to help them.
Lirael learns a little bit more of her heritage at the House, Mogget and the Disreputable Dog (who, it is hinted, are more than just familiars and who seem to know each other) have formed an uneasy truce and Sam regains his courage with the relinquishing of an unwanted burden - and the sendings, who maintain the House and some of whom are ancient, are either a bit senile (Sam's opinion) or know something our protagonists don't. We also get a side glimpse of Abhorsen Sabriel and King Touchstone who, somewhat unwillingly, are on a diplomatic mission over the border in Ancelstierre where magic doesn't work (except near the border with the Old Kingdom and when the wind is in the right - or maybe that should be 'wrong' - direction) where they suffer an assassination attempt, and we also get updates on Sam's Ancelstierran friend, Nick, who has been possessed by an evil sorcerer.
Lirael, Sam, the Disreputable Dog and Mogget decide to continue on to the Red Lake to rescue Nick and to try to prevent Hedge, the evil necromancer who is killing refugees from the south and resurrecting them to labour for him, from excavating an artefact which will raise an ancient enemy who is inimical to life. If they cannot get there in time, all life on both sides of the border - and, indeed, on the whole world of this story - will be wiped out. Hedge has coerced other necromancers, such as Chlorr of the Mask, and their minions to fight against them to delay them.
I am enjoying this series. Somehow Nix can make me care more about tertiary characters that we see for less than a chapter than some other writers can for characters that are with us for a whole book. I do like the light touches of humour that he weaves into the fabric of these books and the trips to the border of Ancelstierre resonate with my particular weakness for Golden Age (school) stories.
This is the last book of the original Old Kingdom trilogy but Nix has since written three more books; two prequels and a sequel which comes after Abhorsen. I look forward to reading them - and hope that Nix writes some more books set in this world.
March 2025
4-4.5 stars show less
This story picks up exactly where Lirael finished, with Lirael, Sameth (the son of the current Abhorsen), Mogget (a being, currently in the shape of a white cat, who serves the Abhorsens - when it feels like it and who may not be completely trustworthy) and the Disreputable Dog (a being cast into its current shape of an irrepressible terrier by Lirael) in the Abhorsen's House in the middle of a river on the edge of a waterfall; (literally a cliff-hanger) so have this one ready to go when you finish the previous book. To say much more would be to give away spoilers for the first two books (Sabriel and Lirael) - and, really, you should read them show more first. But I will clarify that Abhorsens are necromancers who send spirits back into Death to counter the workings of evil necromancers; they usually use a set of seven bells, each a different size with different names and properties, to help them.
Lirael looked at the bell in her hand, and the spirit fragments, pools of inky darkness that were already creeping together, seeking to join for greater strength. The bell was Kibeth, which was appropriate, so she rang it in a quick S shape, producing a clear and joyful tune that made her left foot break out into a little jig.(Quick aside - we learn the origin of the bells in this book. We also walk the path all the way into Death in this book for the first time in (not just to the First Gate), along the river and through all nine Gates, each of which is different and with different traps for the unwary.)
Lirael learns a little bit more of her heritage at the House, Mogget and the Disreputable Dog (who, it is hinted, are more than just familiars and who seem to know each other) have formed an uneasy truce and Sam regains his courage with the relinquishing of an unwanted burden - and the sendings, who maintain the House and some of whom are ancient, are either a bit senile (Sam's opinion) or know something our protagonists don't. We also get a side glimpse of Abhorsen Sabriel and King Touchstone who, somewhat unwillingly, are on a diplomatic mission over the border in Ancelstierre where magic doesn't work (except near the border with the Old Kingdom and when the wind is in the right - or maybe that should be 'wrong' - direction) where they suffer an assassination attempt, and we also get updates on Sam's Ancelstierran friend, Nick, who has been possessed by an evil sorcerer.
Lirael, Sam, the Disreputable Dog and Mogget decide to continue on to the Red Lake to rescue Nick and to try to prevent Hedge, the evil necromancer who is killing refugees from the south and resurrecting them to labour for him, from excavating an artefact which will raise an ancient enemy who is inimical to life. If they cannot get there in time, all life on both sides of the border - and, indeed, on the whole world of this story - will be wiped out. Hedge has coerced other necromancers, such as Chlorr of the Mask, and their minions to fight against them to delay them.
They waded across, Mogget clinging to Sam’s shoulder and the Dog swimming in the middle. Unlike most dogs, Lirael noticed, her friend actually stuck her whole head underwater, ears and all. And whatever power fast-moving water had over the Dead and some Free Magic creatures clearly didn’t apply to the Disreputable Dog.Where Lirael covered the title character's childhood as well as the first part of the quest that took her away from the Clayr glacier, this book covers a shorter time period being the completion of that quest - namely, to save the world from a dark magic from beyond the beginning of time. The story is narrated (in the third person, past tense) mainly from Lirael's point of view but also from Sameth's and other secondary and occasionally tertiary characters'.
“How come you like to swim but hate baths?” asked Lirael curiously as they reached dry ground and found a sandy patch between the rocks to set up a makeshift camp.
“Swimming is swimming and the smells stay the same,” said the Dog. “Baths involve soap.”
“I understand. It’s just not that simple...” the Major began. Then he paused, and his red face went blotchy and pale at the temples. Lirael watched his brow furrow up as if a strange thought were trying to break free. Then it cleared. Carefully he put his hand into his pocket, then suddenly withdrew it and punched his newly brass-knuckled fist into the Bakelite exchange board, its delicate internal mechanisms exploding with a rush of sparks and smoke.The Old Kingdom, where most of the story occurs, is a place where magic exists. Ancelstierre is a country which is similar to the Commonwealth/ British Empire of our world of about a century ago where there are such things as trucks, landlines and biplanes.
“Damn it! It is that simple! I’ll order the company to go. After all, the politicos can only shoot me for it later if we win. As for you, Private, if you mention a word of this to anyone, I’ll feed you to the cat thing here. Understand?”
“Yum,” said Mogget.
Not that landing in the Old Kingdom would be easy. Touchstone looked at the fabric wing shivering above him and hoped that most of the plane was man-made. For if parts of it were not, they would fall apart too soon, the common fate of Ancelstierran devices and machinery once they were across the Wall.Of course Ancelstierrans scoff at such things as magic (which adds whole layers of complications to explanations and diplomatic relations) - except at the perimeter of the boundary between the two countries where the two planes coexist ... and when the wind blows especially strongly from the north.
“I am never flying again,” muttered Touchstone. Then he remembered Ellimere’s message. If they did manage to land on the other side of the Wall and get to Barhedrin, then they would have to fly somewhere in a Paperwing, to engage in a battle with an unknown Enemy of unknown powers.
Touchstone’s face set in grim lines at that thought. He would welcome that battle. He and Sabriel had struggled too long against opponents manipulated from afar. Now whatever it was had come out in the open, and it would face the combined forces of the King, the Abhorsen and the Clayr.
Provided, of course, that the King and the Abhorsen managed to survive this flight.
I am enjoying this series. Somehow Nix can make me care more about tertiary characters that we see for less than a chapter than some other writers can for characters that are with us for a whole book. I do like the light touches of humour that he weaves into the fabric of these books and the trips to the border of Ancelstierre resonate with my particular weakness for Golden Age (school) stories.
This is the last book of the original Old Kingdom trilogy but Nix has since written three more books; two prequels and a sequel which comes after Abhorsen. I look forward to reading them - and hope that Nix writes some more books set in this world.
March 2025
4-4.5 stars show less
Maybe 3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous. Certainly improved over [b: Lirael|47624|Lirael (Abhorsen, #2)|Garth Nix|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266458951l/47624._SY75_.jpg|2067752], if only because it has a story with an actual plot and ending (albeit carried over from the previous book). Oddly, like its predecessor, however, the book's title implies that the story is about one person when in fact it is primarily about another. I'm not sure who's responsible for naming these books—whether Nix or someone at his publisher or perhaps a Shadow Hand stuck in a cubicle somewhere—but the titles of the second and third volumes of this series leave a lot to be desired.
Now that I've gotten to the show more end, I can't help but think that the story itself suffers from the absurdity of the escalation. It's the same sort of thing that happens in TV shows, where the Big Bad gets bigger each season, until the showrunners have painted themselves into a corner.In Sabriel, the title character had to fight and defeat one of the Greater Dead; however, by Lirael and Abhorsen, the fight is against an entity called The Destroyer, who can unmake all life and existence itself. There could have been a way to ease into it further, giving Lirael more of a (realistic, IMO) Sabriel-esque journey, but that didn't happen.
I also should bring up something that has bugged me a bit with Nix's writing, but which hit a peak in this book: His tendency to use words and phrases that come out of very specific events, persons/groups, or products. An example from an earlier book is when Nix describes Touchstone as a berserker, which has a primary world etymology that doesn't really fit with the world Nix created. For the most part I can get past this, but a more egregious example occurs in this book: Bakelite, an actual brand name from the primary world, named after a real person, which makes no sense at all in the Ancelstierran history. That's the sort of thing that pulls me right out of the story as my brain tries to figure out a way to resolve the discrepancy, to no avail.
To end more positively, I do enjoy the continued explorations of the two types of magic, as well as the larger mythology behind them. show less
Now that I've gotten to the show more end, I can't help but think that the story itself suffers from the absurdity of the escalation. It's the same sort of thing that happens in TV shows, where the Big Bad gets bigger each season, until the showrunners have painted themselves into a corner.
I also should bring up something that has bugged me a bit with Nix's writing, but which hit a peak in this book: His tendency to use words and phrases that come out of very specific events, persons/groups, or products. An example from an earlier book is when Nix describes Touchstone as a berserker, which has a primary world etymology that doesn't really fit with the world Nix created. For the most part I can get past this, but a more egregious example occurs in this book: Bakelite, an actual brand name from the primary world, named after a real person, which makes no sense at all in the Ancelstierran history. That's the sort of thing that pulls me right out of the story as my brain tries to figure out a way to resolve the discrepancy, to no avail.
To end more positively, I do enjoy the continued explorations of the two types of magic, as well as the larger mythology behind them. show less
When we left Lirael and Sam, they had retreated to the Abhorsen's house, pursued by the Dead. We find them much as they were, preparing to leave, knowing that they have to go up against what is known as the Destroyer, a being that was bound but now is trying to put itself back together, with the help of a necromancer, Hedge, and the unwitting help of Sam's friend Nick. Lirael still has to try to meet Nick, to make what the Clayr Saw become true before it's too late.
The third book in the trilogy is essentially a race against the clock, as Sam and Lirael try to stop Hedge before the hemispheres that are the Destroyer can come together. It also nicely rounds out the world-building that Nix has been doing all along, giving us a fuller show more picture of the Charter, Free Magic, and the beginning of the Old Kingdom. If I wasn't quite as engaged with this one as I was with Sabriel and Lirael, I know it was primarily because I had read the books right on top of the other and I had more calls on my time in the last several days that distracted me from reading. I would certainly consider this a trilogy worth rereading. show less
The third book in the trilogy is essentially a race against the clock, as Sam and Lirael try to stop Hedge before the hemispheres that are the Destroyer can come together. It also nicely rounds out the world-building that Nix has been doing all along, giving us a fuller show more picture of the Charter, Free Magic, and the beginning of the Old Kingdom. If I wasn't quite as engaged with this one as I was with Sabriel and Lirael, I know it was primarily because I had read the books right on top of the other and I had more calls on my time in the last several days that distracted me from reading. I would certainly consider this a trilogy worth rereading. show less
"Wherever you walk, I will be there."
*sobs*
This third installment, the end of the main trilogy, was pretty darn good. There's something about Garth Nix's writing that just really does it for me. The subtle humor and wit, the syntax and sentence structure. It's all just so great. I love everything about it!
The world is the best fantasy world ever, in my not so humble opinion. It isn't overbearing, but it's intricate and unique and dark without being grimdark. Death is probably the coolest setting in any book ever, and you can fight me on that.
I loved the character arcs in this, especially Nick's. He didn't have much of a character in the previous book, but he really shone in this one, and his ending was just...*cries a little more* just show more perfect. I love how relatable all the characters are. I wish Sam had had a bit more to do in this, but as it is, I'm happy with how it all turned out.
"So I'll do that, and I'll do my best and if my best isn't good enough, at least I will have done everything I could, everything that is in me. I don't have to try to be someone else, someone I could never be."show less
Lirael, the new Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Prince Sameth of the Old Kingdom race to prevent the Destroyer from becoming unbound, a race that is tied to the fate of Sam's old school friend Nick, who is being used as the Destroyer's conduit. Helped by the Disreputable Dog and the bound Free Magic being Mogget (in the shape of a cat), but facing a terrifying necromancer, one of the Greater Dead and a multitude of the Lesser Dead, will Sameth and Lirael be on time to prevent the Destroyer from rising again?
Picking up the narrative thread seamlessly from the end of the previous volume, Lirael, the entire book is a frantic chase across the landscape of the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre, but the author still manages to fit in some character show more development and to make it believable. Titled Abhorsen, this is really Lirael Part II, as Lirael takes up the mantle she's been destined to wear. I felt very sorry for Nick, who is undergoing quite the ordeal but who really hasn't been given anything to do apart from increase the sense of urgency as his internal battle against the fragment of the Destroyer inside him looks more and more like one he can't win, and in which he will likely have to pay the ultimate price.
The reader learns a lot more about the mythology of the Old Kingdom, the Charter, the Seven and the Nine, while all the information builds up to a satisfying, if slightly drawn-out, climax, and I had no idea how the novel was going to end as more than one character's life hung in the balance. While the novel's ending can be seen as an ending to the trilogy, I'm glad that Garth Nix has picked up the story again in Goldenhand, as I'm not quite ready to part with the characters just yet; I've become fond of them, having watched them grow up and grow into their individual personalities and choose their paths through life. Fortunately, it's already lined up. show less
Picking up the narrative thread seamlessly from the end of the previous volume, Lirael, the entire book is a frantic chase across the landscape of the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre, but the author still manages to fit in some character show more development and to make it believable. Titled Abhorsen, this is really Lirael Part II, as Lirael takes up the mantle she's been destined to wear. I felt very sorry for Nick, who is undergoing quite the ordeal but who really hasn't been given anything to do apart from increase the sense of urgency as his internal battle against the fragment of the Destroyer inside him looks more and more like one he can't win, and in which he will likely have to pay the ultimate price.
The reader learns a lot more about the mythology of the Old Kingdom, the Charter, the Seven and the Nine, while all the information builds up to a satisfying, if slightly drawn-out, climax, and I had no idea how the novel was going to end as more than one character's life hung in the balance. While the novel's ending can be seen as an ending to the trilogy, I'm glad that Garth Nix has picked up the story again in Goldenhand, as I'm not quite ready to part with the characters just yet; I've become fond of them, having watched them grow up and grow into their individual personalities and choose their paths through life. Fortunately, it's already lined up. show less
"Wherever you walk, I will be there."
*sobs*
This third installment, the end of the main trilogy, was pretty darn good. There's something about Garth Nix's writing that just really does it for me. The subtle humor and wit, the syntax and sentence structure. It's all just so great. I love everything about it!
The world is the best fantasy world ever, in my not so humble opinion. It isn't overbearing, but it's intricate and unique and dark without being grimdark. Death is probably the coolest setting in any book ever, and you can fight me on that.
I loved the character arcs in this, especially Nick's. He didn't have much of a character in the previous book, but he really shone in this one, and his ending was just...*cries a little more* just show more perfect. I love how relatable all the characters are. I wish Sam had had a bit more to do in this, but as it is, I'm happy with how it all turned out.
"So I'll do that, and I'll do my best and if my best isn't good enough, at least I will have done everything I could, everything that is in me. I don't have to try to be someone else, someone I could never be."show less
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Author Information
Garth Nix was born in Melbourne, Australia on July 19, 1963. He graduated from the University of Canberra in 1986 and worked various jobs within the publishing industry until 1994. After a stint in public relations, he returned to books and took up writing as a career. He is the author of Blood Ties, Clariel, Newt's Emerald, the Old Kingdom show more series, The Seventh Tower series, and The Keys to the Kingdom series. In 1999, he received a Golden Duck Award for Australian Contribution to Children's Science Fiction. To Hold the Bridge was named Best Collection by the 2015 Aurealis Awards. His novella, By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers, was named Best Science Fiction Novella by the 2015 Aurealis Awards. In 2018, he won the 2017 Aurealis Award for the Best science-fiction short story. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Abhorsen
- Original title
- Abhorsen
- Original publication date
- 2003
- People/Characters
- Sabriel; Mogget; Touchstone; The Disreputable Dog; Prince Sameth; Princess Ellimere (show all 11); Hedge; Chlorr of the Mask; Orannis; Lirael; Nicholas Sayre
- Important places
- Ancelstierre; Old Kingdom; Abhorsen's House; Death
- Dedication
- To Anna and Thomas Henry Nix.
- First words
- Fog rose from the river, great billows of white weaving into the soot and smoke of the city of Corvere, to become the hybrid thing that the more popular newspapers called smog and The Times "miasmic fog".
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Then she wandered off, following a zigzag path along the border between Life and Death, her tail wagging so hard, the tip of it beat the river into a froth behind her.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Fantasy, Fiction and Literature, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .N647 .A — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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- 136
- Rating
- (4.21)
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