Reviews

When I picked up this book, the main reason I wanted to read it was because the cover is AMAZING!! But as I started to read it, I found that it was really hard for me to get into. Although, the prologue made me want to read more, as I did I began to get sort of bored. I think that's because the only character in the first few chapters is Sabriel. She journeys in the first part of the book alone which I think is why it took me so long to get into. But once Mogget was introduced, I was hooked, then when Touchstone came in the picture the story just kept getting more and more interesting.

In regards to Touchstone and Sabriel, I really liked that Nix didn't emphasize a lot on their relationship. He kind of left it as a small part of the novel which pleased me because teen fiction seems to be absorbed in all of that. I understand that this is an older book and I think that it is one that teen fiction authors should refer to when writing. I say this because everything seems to be following the same trend and Garth Nix seems to be very good at breaking that.

Mind you, it still took me awhile to actually get sucked into the book as there were still some parts that bored me in the middle, but as you near the end it just gets really exciting and epic! The ending is BRILLIANT and I can't wait to continue the series!

scholarhect's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

5.0

calbowen's review against another edition

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2.0

This was not very well done for me. I enjoyed the concept, and I do think that one star was given to the unique magic system, though I did not care for it personally. I felt that the characters were too much of a cartoon cutout of themselves, and the cat felt very Cheshire (which is not bad, except that he is written poorly) and the stoic guard who is the guard/info-dump of the novel. And the lead, who just felt unconvincing to me. And, the style is very travelogue, without any descriptions of the places. When you name a fictional place and do not describe it, why give it a name at all? Just call it, the city! So exciting, the City. Why is it exciting? I don't know, because we are now passing through, The Town! Sarcasm aside, this was a very bad read.

flyingorcas's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tregina's review against another edition

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4.0

I've been meaning to read this for ages, and it turned out to be not at all what I was expecting. I am always and forever a sucker for good and layered worldbuilding, so despite some things that didn't quite work for me (random changes of POV, a bit of deus ex machina), I really enjoyed this. After all, on top of everything else, who doesn't love it when the prince is the one who's saved? (Even if the half-hearted romance felt wholly unnecessary.)

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