I feel like I’ve overdone it a bit this month giving so many books 5 star ratings, but here we are again.
I was given Sabriel by my parents probably close to a decade ago for Christmas. It has been mocking me from my shelf since then and I hadn’t really had any urges to pick it up until I needed a book that started with an S to build a TBR based on my old school’s initials. After finishing the book I don’t understand why it took me so long.
This is the second series that I have started by Garth Nix. When I was younger, around the time that this would have been given to me, I was reading The Keys to the Kingdom series. As such, I felt that I would probably enjoy this book. I only own Mister Monday but had always planned on getting the other 6 books.
Much like that series, the Abhorsen series is set in a world that is not too dissimilar to ours, only with some great Victorian vibes, that has magic and trouble. The world itself has a rich history that is slowly revealed throughout the course of the novel, but in such a way that there are still many questions about its origin and problems that I hope will be revealed in forth coming books.
The story follows a girl Sabriel who is thrown into this world of trouble after the death of her father and all the things that come with his death. She has a trusty sidekick Moggot, a sassy cat who, although it was stated several times that he was pure white I pictured as a tuxedo cat because his personality so resembled that of Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the Cat from Little Bear, who offers comic relief to the plot which is often much needed.
Sabriel and her father are a special type of necromancer that hold the title of Abhorsen. Their job is to send the restless dead to their final resting place which is, more often than not, easier said than done. Although this is the main struggle through the novel, there is also a lot of coming to age stories scattered throughout the plot as Sabriel is only 18 and coming into this magical worlds that she grew up outside of.
This was originally a trilogy, but recently Nix has added a fourth book to the series. I don’t know much about it but it makes this even more of an opportune time to read this book. Although I will wait until the fourth book comes out in paper back before I purchase it, I sure it won’t be far off.
I finished Sabriel just before I started writing this review, a novelty I know, but I am currently very tempted to marathon the next two books as soon as I finish writing this because I am so enthralled with the story that I want to keep going. I have one other reading obligation to get through before I post my hall but maybe I’ll postpone it for a bit. It’s not like I don’t frequently post them late anyways.
I rated this book, as you might have guess from my opening line, 5 out of 5. I loved reading it. It was a quick read, but also rich. I look forward to exploring more of this world soon.
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