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soph22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, and Vomit
twistykris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.0
I have a vague recollection of reading this as a teenager, so I thought it would be fun to revisit. As it turned out, the only thing I remembered were the bells, so it ended up being more of a "new" read.
I appreciate the world-building, in that it builds gradually throughout the course of the book, instead of info-dumping. And the descriptions Nix uses are just SO incredible. Pages of descriptions that actually felt like a sheet being dragged off of a scene- rooms and areas being revealed slowly, letting your mind focus in. I liked the characters, but I didn't really feel much of a connection to them. Their personalities didn't feel very developed and the romance between Sabriel and Touchstone felt very unestablished. Mogget was honestly my favorite character, if only for his snarkiness.
I went back and forth between reading a physical copy of the book and listening to the audiobook narrated by Tim Curry and I found myself more drawn towards the audiobook. I just can't help it with his voice- even if a couple character voices were very Nigel Thornberry-esque... SMASHING xD
I appreciate the world-building, in that it builds gradually throughout the course of the book, instead of info-dumping. And the descriptions Nix uses are just SO incredible. Pages of descriptions that actually felt like a sheet being dragged off of a scene- rooms and areas being revealed slowly, letting your mind focus in. I liked the characters, but I didn't really feel much of a connection to them. Their personalities didn't feel very developed and the romance between Sabriel and Touchstone felt very unestablished. Mogget was honestly my favorite character, if only for his snarkiness.
I went back and forth between reading a physical copy of the book and listening to the audiobook narrated by Tim Curry and I found myself more drawn towards the audiobook. I just can't help it with his voice- even if a couple character voices were very Nigel Thornberry-esque... SMASHING xD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Blood, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Animal death
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
pobi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As always Garth Nix books have wonderful world building, and the characters were fab. A romance that strong over just a few weeks is a little bizarre to me but it was still cute. Also the audiobook narrator's voice for Moggett was simply my fave.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Death
ailsaod's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I never read this series when I was younger despite it being seemingly everywhere. I thought it was pretty good now but i suspect I would have liked it more when I was a bit younger as it ultimately a coming of age story.
The world building was very interesting for this book - beyond the wall feels very whimsical but also dark with all sorts of nasty things lurking about. The way the magic worked with certain sounds was interesting, although the thought of carrying around a bell that if it sounded would kill everyone who heard it was mildly stressful!
This book was fun but I wasn't impressed - partially because it is weirdly very horny in places? The main character gets annoyed as one point at hearing people next door having sex and straight away assumes it is the love interest even though there is no reason to assume so? It was kind of a lot to just casually throw in!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Death
kanadrallegria's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, War, and Death
spicewitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I would’ve been absolutely insufferable if I read this as a kid. This was such a lush, unexpected read and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Slavery
jaredt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I was recommended this book, and I am very grateful for it. It has really solid world building with an interesting premise. The story is pretty medium speed, there's foundation to build so readers can follow along, I was also pleasantly surprised by a moment in the book I thought was the ending part actually lead to an even longer stretch of story before the actual end.
Sabriel is a fascinating character, very confident, quick to understand the errors of her ways but still going through some minor growing pains to become the person she does by the end of the book.
I'm up in the air about wishing I'd read this book sooner, when I was younger. When I started this book I got a sense of nostalgia as the writing reminded me of another series I read often as a kid, but the further in I went, I feel like I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the lore and build up as much if I saw it earlier on.
The magical system is very neat, there's certainly rules in place, and Sabriel knows a lot of them, but it's neat in that we don't get easy explanations for every part. There's context that tells readers why something works (or doesn't work) the way it does. Sabriel will recall what she's learned to explained how she can do a thing, without going into the mechanics of it. I rather like this approach, and it felt like it allowed for more immersion.
It's hard to say who I liked the most. Mogget and Sabriel really shine to me, and Touchstone is a very interesting character, and I enjoyed how his presence is integrated with the other two.
There's quite a bit I am looking forward to with the rest of the series, seeing how else the lore will be expanded, finding out more on the history of Mogget, the bells, more on magic, and getting introduced to whatever new characters come my way.
Sabriel is a fascinating character, very confident, quick to understand the errors of her ways but still going through some minor growing pains to become the person she does by the end of the book.
I'm up in the air about wishing I'd read this book sooner, when I was younger. When I started this book I got a sense of nostalgia as the writing reminded me of another series I read often as a kid, but the further in I went, I feel like I wouldn't have been able to appreciate the lore and build up as much if I saw it earlier on.
The magical system is very neat, there's certainly rules in place, and Sabriel knows a lot of them, but it's neat in that we don't get easy explanations for every part. There's context that tells readers why something works (or doesn't work) the way it does. Sabriel will recall what she's learned to explained how she can do a thing, without going into the mechanics of it. I rather like this approach, and it felt like it allowed for more immersion.
It's hard to say who I liked the most. Mogget and Sabriel really shine to me, and Touchstone is a very interesting character, and I enjoyed how his presence is integrated with the other two.
There's quite a bit I am looking forward to with the rest of the series, seeing how else the lore will be expanded, finding out more on the history of Mogget, the bells, more on magic, and getting introduced to whatever new characters come my way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
oliverreeds's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
how was this written in 1995? with such a strong female lead??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Death