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A review by jaredt
Sabriel by Garth Nix
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