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embereye's review against another edition
4.0
Did a full on rereading of the whole series and figured, why not just put it here?
drraptors's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
3.0
This reminded me somewhat of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, but not quite as good. Where His Dark Materials is about Science and Religion instead of Swords and Sorcery, the substitute here is Necromancy.
My issue with this trilogy (and to a lesser extent with His Dark Materials), was how the second book started out with a new unfamiliar character. In the case of Lirael, her story was not compelling enough for me to want to read it. I wound up putting the book down for a while, and didn't pick it up for a while, finally forcing myself to trudge past the lull of Lirael's back story.
Besides that one complaint about the middle of the three books, the series is good, and worth a read by any fantasy fan looking for something a little different.
My issue with this trilogy (and to a lesser extent with His Dark Materials), was how the second book started out with a new unfamiliar character. In the case of Lirael, her story was not compelling enough for me to want to read it. I wound up putting the book down for a while, and didn't pick it up for a while, finally forcing myself to trudge past the lull of Lirael's back story.
Besides that one complaint about the middle of the three books, the series is good, and worth a read by any fantasy fan looking for something a little different.
mdwsn27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sabriel: 5⭐️ this book has such lovely and magical Ghibli vibes!! Definitely a new fave
Lireal: 4⭐️ I love any premise of a magical library/librarian
Abhorsen: 3⭐️ just silly
The last two seemed to drag on, overcomplicating some things while making other would-be challenges and obstacles resolve all-too quickly.
Lireal: 4⭐️ I love any premise of a magical library/librarian
Abhorsen: 3⭐️ just silly
The last two seemed to drag on, overcomplicating some things while making other would-be challenges and obstacles resolve all-too quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Stalking, Vomit, Murder, Death of parent, War, Abandonment, Death, Dementia, Grief, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
liedora's review
2.0
This is a huge book even by my standards, and to add to the confusion it is one of those that, by some strange reason is known under a different title depending on where in the world you live; for example in the Authors native Australia this book is entitled The Old Kingdom Chronicles. It is also a trilogy that not many fantasy readers appear to know about. As for me it took me some time to actually finish reading this, and that was not due to its size.
The characters in all three of the books, in my opinion, could have benefitted from a lot more time spent in their development. None of them really gripped me and made me want to invest more of my time in getting to know them. I really was expecting to like the characters, but they were flat and very one dimensional people who seemed to enjoy a lot of walking. You would have to read the books to understand that reference. Having said this, the character of Sabriel in the first book of the three was, by far, the most interesting of any in the Chronicles; she is a determined young woman with a definite plan for her life. When curve balls are thrown at her she is able to adapt and think on her feet making her the most impressionable of all the characters in these books. What really would have helped the characters come into their own in these books would have been more background and explanation into how they learned their skills and came to be in the place they are when the books open.
The world in which these books are set could have been so much more. It was a wonderful concept but I felt that the Author really did not do it justice and, like his character development, it would have benefitted from more time being spent in the descriptive aspects. At no time did I feel as if I had actually been transported into this world and was experiencing the events occurring; in a good fantasy novel a reader should feel themselves transported to the alternate world, as that is part of the pull of this genre.
After buying this trilogy on the recommendation of a friend, I now wish that I had kept my money in my pocket and will be donating my copy to the local library. If long and plodding fantasy books are something you enjoy, this is probably the book series for you; if not I would recommend you give this a miss.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/01/26/review-the-abhorsen-chronicles-the-abhorsen-trilogy-1-3-garth-nix/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The characters in all three of the books, in my opinion, could have benefitted from a lot more time spent in their development. None of them really gripped me and made me want to invest more of my time in getting to know them. I really was expecting to like the characters, but they were flat and very one dimensional people who seemed to enjoy a lot of walking. You would have to read the books to understand that reference. Having said this, the character of Sabriel in the first book of the three was, by far, the most interesting of any in the Chronicles; she is a determined young woman with a definite plan for her life. When curve balls are thrown at her she is able to adapt and think on her feet making her the most impressionable of all the characters in these books. What really would have helped the characters come into their own in these books would have been more background and explanation into how they learned their skills and came to be in the place they are when the books open.
The world in which these books are set could have been so much more. It was a wonderful concept but I felt that the Author really did not do it justice and, like his character development, it would have benefitted from more time being spent in the descriptive aspects. At no time did I feel as if I had actually been transported into this world and was experiencing the events occurring; in a good fantasy novel a reader should feel themselves transported to the alternate world, as that is part of the pull of this genre.
After buying this trilogy on the recommendation of a friend, I now wish that I had kept my money in my pocket and will be donating my copy to the local library. If long and plodding fantasy books are something you enjoy, this is probably the book series for you; if not I would recommend you give this a miss.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/01/26/review-the-abhorsen-chronicles-the-abhorsen-trilogy-1-3-garth-nix/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
laserjared's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kriko's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
crazy_psych0's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lauca's review
5.0
I really like the world Garth Nix created and the way the magic works.
Sabriel is quite short compared to the other books and it is a good introduction to this world.
But to be honest, after reading Lirael and Abhorsen, we learn so much more in book 2 and 3 I find them better than the first one.
Sabriel is quite short compared to the other books and it is a good introduction to this world.
But to be honest, after reading Lirael and Abhorsen, we learn so much more in book 2 and 3 I find them better than the first one.