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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.
It took me over a month to read this book. That almost never happens, especially for YA books. This book just didn't hold my interest until I hit chapter 18. And then I was interested, for about four more chapters and the. I was just interested in finishing.
Okay, so I loved the Abhorsen trilogy. But, I also read it a long, long time ago. In fairness to this story, perhaps I should have re-read them prior to reading Clariel because, well, I couldn't remember who the heck she was supposed to become. Obviously a bad guy. Obviously a necromancer. But...hm....just can't remember and that took out some of the pleasure away from reading an origin story. I fully recognized that this is my experience, and not the fault of the author. (However, what if someone was just picking up this book and not starting with the trilogy? I think showing the descent into evil would have been much stronger.)
Okay, so I loved the Abhorsen trilogy. But, I also read it a long, long time ago. In fairness to this story, perhaps I should have re-read them prior to reading Clariel because, well, I couldn't remember who the heck she was supposed to become. Obviously a bad guy. Obviously a necromancer. But...hm....just can't remember and that took out some of the pleasure away from reading an origin story. I fully recognized that this is my experience, and not the fault of the author. (However, what if someone was just picking up this book and not starting with the trilogy? I think showing the descent into evil would have been much stronger.)
Nix's follow up prequel to the amazing Abhorsen trilogy. Not as strong as the first three, but a thoughtful explication of how goodness decays with privilege and power and becomes ignorant of origins and falls to decadence at last, which leads us at last to the situation found in the beginning of the Abhorsen trilogy.
THIS BABY'S GOT SPOILERS~~~
***
* my initial thoughts about this book are that it's... fine.
* i wanted to know more about characters like kargrin and ader — heck, by the end even belatiel — but they weren't as fleshed out as i'd have liked them to be.
* clariel's insistence re: getting back to the forest got kind of tiring, idk. i wanted to tell her to shut up more than once once i hit the halfway point.
* my biggest thing: i enjoy failure as a theme, so seeing clariel fail at magic was fun, but the climax of the book was underwhelming. it's the origin story of this badass baddie from the last two books, and really it's about how she did this dumb thing that was, honestly? largely forgettable. a few people died who, had she not intervened, probably still would have died. her impact on the whole situation was kind of rendered moot. idk, it just didn't feel like the Beginning i was hoping for when i frantically texted my friend "IF SHE TURNS OUT TO BE CHLORR I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW I'M CALLING IT NOW." i wanted her to start with a bang, not an "oh-- oh... oh... oops. oh dear. oh well. bye."
***
* my initial thoughts about this book are that it's... fine.
* i wanted to know more about characters like kargrin and ader — heck, by the end even belatiel — but they weren't as fleshed out as i'd have liked them to be.
* clariel's insistence re: getting back to the forest got kind of tiring, idk. i wanted to tell her to shut up more than once once i hit the halfway point.
* my biggest thing: i enjoy failure as a theme, so seeing clariel fail at magic was fun, but the climax of the book was underwhelming. it's the origin story of this badass baddie from the last two books, and really it's about how she did this dumb thing that was, honestly? largely forgettable. a few people died who, had she not intervened, probably still would have died. her impact on the whole situation was kind of rendered moot. idk, it just didn't feel like the Beginning i was hoping for when i frantically texted my friend "IF SHE TURNS OUT TO BE CHLORR I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW I'M CALLING IT NOW." i wanted her to start with a bang, not an "oh-- oh... oh... oops. oh dear. oh well. bye."
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Clariel is a hard one for me. I enjoyed the plot but not the main character Clariel at all.
She just kept being stuck in her own little wants and bubble. Which is alright but not the way it was written in this story. It was really just annoying to me. Especially when you later find out
She just kept being stuck in her own little wants and bubble. Which is alright but not the way it was written in this story. It was really just annoying to me. Especially when you later find out
With such an interesting development you would think that the view from a
The city dynamics and later on Abhorsen ones however were interesting and as always Mogget shines again as my favourite character. Bel is also a joy of a side character even though I wish there were no romantic subplots with him. Especially since Clariel is clearly somewhere on the ace spectrum.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thought this was going to be a solid 4 stars, but the ending bumped it up to 4.5! A great prequel novel, though I did miss Tim Curry's narration.