soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2019-11-24 07:11 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2019-11-24 07:11 pm
Sabriel, Lirael, & Abhorsen (Old Kingdom Trilogy), by Garth Nix
So this is a trilogy that I have been seeing around for what feels like forever, having been popular when I was in approximately the right age bracket to be its intended audience, but I never actually read it when I was of that age because it didn't really seem like my thing for some reason. I've finally gotten round to it though and....it wasn't what I was expecting? Basically all I knew was that there was magic and undead beings, so when the main character of the first book turned out to be a teenager in her last year of boarding school in a context remarkably reminiscent of early 20th century Earth, I was surprised.
Anyway, the trilogy might not have been exactly what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it! I think I was right that it's not exactly my kind of thing, but I definitely do understand why it was so popular.
I liked the three books to varying degrees. I feel like the first one (Sabriel) was overall the most successful for me, although my one major complaint would be that I feel the end needs a LITTLE more breathing space after the day is won, as the end feels a bit abrupt.
(Also: there's more than one YA novel from the late 20th century featuring a flamboyant undead evil sorcerer named approximately Roger? Okay!)
In the second book, Lirael, I really loved the main character Lirael and her efforts to try to make a place for herself and discover herself while being something of an outsider among her own people. Lirael's feelings about family and identity were very compelling to me. And I found the Clayr fascinating! I was kind of bored by Sam's parts of the book though, which are not insignificant. Also, by this point I was wondering more about what's with the generally evil nature of the dead? What's the motivation of the bad guys beyond just Being Evil?
The third book, Abhorsen, I got kind of bogged down in. Instead of the focus being on a particular character's growth arc, the focus was much more about Saving The World From Ultimate Evil. Also, there was more Sam. Sorry, Sam, but you're boring. And so's Nick. I got through Abhorsen in the end, because I wanted to know how it would end, but I was never particularly engaged by it.
Anyway, the trilogy might not have been exactly what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it! I think I was right that it's not exactly my kind of thing, but I definitely do understand why it was so popular.
I liked the three books to varying degrees. I feel like the first one (Sabriel) was overall the most successful for me, although my one major complaint would be that I feel the end needs a LITTLE more breathing space after the day is won, as the end feels a bit abrupt.
(Also: there's more than one YA novel from the late 20th century featuring a flamboyant undead evil sorcerer named approximately Roger? Okay!)
In the second book, Lirael, I really loved the main character Lirael and her efforts to try to make a place for herself and discover herself while being something of an outsider among her own people. Lirael's feelings about family and identity were very compelling to me. And I found the Clayr fascinating! I was kind of bored by Sam's parts of the book though, which are not insignificant. Also, by this point I was wondering more about what's with the generally evil nature of the dead? What's the motivation of the bad guys beyond just Being Evil?
The third book, Abhorsen, I got kind of bogged down in. Instead of the focus being on a particular character's growth arc, the focus was much more about Saving The World From Ultimate Evil. Also, there was more Sam. Sorry, Sam, but you're boring. And so's Nick. I got through Abhorsen in the end, because I wanted to know how it would end, but I was never particularly engaged by it.