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It was less of a joy to read then the others. still great for the most part though.
Got this today. I have just finished it! Love love love!!! Also loving that because i am in Australia, I got it 2 weeks before the rest of the world.
What a book! I took so long to read it that I wasn't really sure how to feel about it, but that's partially because the beginning and the end are so drastically different. The book also moved pretty slow, much slower than I'm used to with Garth Nix. I spent so long getting to know Belisaere and its customs and its characters alongside Clariel only to have most of that take a backseat for pretty much the second half of the novel.
I really liked Clariel and the beserker trait was really interesting to follow, but she became a difficult protagonist for me. She was so cringeworthy and impulsive, it made me so anxious! I liked her as a character but at the same time, I couldn't stand some of her choices and that made it a little difficult to read. My internal monologue was just screaming at her to stop it!! It was only towards the end that I began to have a guess at who she would come to be in the series, and I think knowing that would've made a difference in my perception of the novel. Not my favorite Abhorsen book by far, but I did really enjoy it. Plus dragons! It's definitely worth a reread a couple years down the road to get the full effect!
I really liked Clariel and the beserker trait was really interesting to follow, but she became a difficult protagonist for me. She was so cringeworthy and impulsive, it made me so anxious! I liked her as a character but at the same time, I couldn't stand some of her choices and that made it a little difficult to read. My internal monologue was just screaming at her to stop it!! It was only towards the end that I began to have a guess at who she would come to be in the series, and I think knowing that would've made a difference in my perception of the novel. Not my favorite Abhorsen book by far, but I did really enjoy it. Plus dragons! It's definitely worth a reread a couple years down the road to get the full effect!
Not at all as good as the others. Disappointing, in fact :-(
When I start blogging back at the start of 2014, I watched news of upcoming releases closely. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered that there were other fans of Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series and that a fourth book was being released at year’s end. I added Clariel to my TBR pile quickly and awaited its release.
Sadly, Clariel did not live up to my expectations. It took me two months to finish this book. I’ll admit I had a lot going on in June and July, but read over 10 other novels or short stories during those two months before I buckled down and actually finished Clariel.
Right away, I struggled to connect with Clariel. She was whiney and her constant complaining grated on my nerves. She talked about getting away, but never once made an attempt. Her parents seemed to provide no supervision, she bragged often about her skills as a hunter and never once made the attempt.
I was lost in the Old Kingdom. It has been years since I read the original trilogy and that was a concern when I started the book. But this story is set several hundred years before the original books so I thought I would be fine. I was wrong. I’m not sure rereading the series would have help in this case. The politics and the people seem to be different. The Abhorsen is complacent. The only thing that seems the same is the Charter Magic and it would have been nice to have “a refresher course” on how it works.
The plot of Clairel plodded. It was like walking through shoe-sucking mud in a downpour. It seemed like I never made any progress. There would be a few chapters of action and then nothing for several more. The ending sped by because outside forces started to act to bring the story to conclusion. This was a book, when I was about 50 pages from the end, I couldn’t believe there were only a few pages left because I thought more needed to happen because nothing happened for a good portion of the book.
While I am still a fan of Garth Nix’s books, I am not a fan of Clariel. Too much of nothing happens for about three quarters of the novel and with a lack of connection with the main character, I don’t have a burning desire to travel to the Old Kingdom via new adventures any time soon.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
Sadly, Clariel did not live up to my expectations. It took me two months to finish this book. I’ll admit I had a lot going on in June and July, but read over 10 other novels or short stories during those two months before I buckled down and actually finished Clariel.
Right away, I struggled to connect with Clariel. She was whiney and her constant complaining grated on my nerves. She talked about getting away, but never once made an attempt. Her parents seemed to provide no supervision, she bragged often about her skills as a hunter and never once made the attempt.
I was lost in the Old Kingdom. It has been years since I read the original trilogy and that was a concern when I started the book. But this story is set several hundred years before the original books so I thought I would be fine. I was wrong. I’m not sure rereading the series would have help in this case. The politics and the people seem to be different. The Abhorsen is complacent. The only thing that seems the same is the Charter Magic and it would have been nice to have “a refresher course” on how it works.
The plot of Clairel plodded. It was like walking through shoe-sucking mud in a downpour. It seemed like I never made any progress. There would be a few chapters of action and then nothing for several more. The ending sped by because outside forces started to act to bring the story to conclusion. This was a book, when I was about 50 pages from the end, I couldn’t believe there were only a few pages left because I thought more needed to happen because nothing happened for a good portion of the book.
While I am still a fan of Garth Nix’s books, I am not a fan of Clariel. Too much of nothing happens for about three quarters of the novel and with a lack of connection with the main character, I don’t have a burning desire to travel to the Old Kingdom via new adventures any time soon.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
As usual a wonderful story by one of my favourite authors
I love how distinctive Garth Nix's Old Kingdom books are, how they capture a feeling of much older, more baroque young-adult-friendly fantasy instead of being based in the style and conventions of the Harry Potter or Twilight books that so many series are trying to emulate these days. This prequel has the benefits of working with an established world and magic system, so it doesn't need a bunch of explanation, and it feels fleeter and more thrilling than the original trilogy, though also lighter, in spite of the heavy emotions involved in much of the decision-making here. Full review for The A.V. Club here.
I am one of the many people who has been waiting for Clariel to come out since the publication of Abhorsen in 2004. Clariel really lives up to the rest of Garth Nix's series, despite being very different. It is set in a much earlier time period, so it contains details of a very different culture and lifestyle than the previous books. In fact, one of my few problems with the book is that i wanted to learn so much more about the lives and lifestyle of the people in Clariel's Belisaere, but unfortunately Clariel was completely disinterested. Clariel is much more difficult to warm to than brave school-girl Sabriel or the shy, quiet Lirael. However, I actually quite liked that she was so different from the previous two, and it all drew together her very complex character.
I loved the complete dismissal of a romantic subplot throughout the book, it was very refreshing to read a book where the character declares her- or himself to be uninterested in romance and actually follow through with it (cough, Hunger Games, cough).
On another note, I am very pleased that despite the change in publisher (from HarperCollins to Hot Key Books) Clariel is designed in the same style as the rest of my hardbacks.
This is such a lovely continuation of one of my favourite series of all time (despite the ending breaking my heart a little).
I loved the complete dismissal of a romantic subplot throughout the book, it was very refreshing to read a book where the character declares her- or himself to be uninterested in romance and actually follow through with it (cough, Hunger Games, cough).
On another note, I am very pleased that despite the change in publisher (from HarperCollins to Hot Key Books) Clariel is designed in the same style as the rest of my hardbacks.
This is such a lovely continuation of one of my favourite series of all time (despite the ending breaking my heart a little).
This is totally everything I loved about Sabriel, without the annoyance of Lirael.