zober 's review for:

Sabriel by Garth Nix

2.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Magic system pro: The necromantic tools (and the gates to Death) are very cool.
Magic system con: it's not entirely clear how Charter magic works. There are runes/marks. And only some people have them. And it lets them.... do things? If they know the right runes?

Main character pro: I like the strong female protagonist who isn't afraid to admit when she's afraid.
Main character cons: Sabriel didn't seem to have much of a personality. And she is seemingly naturally good at everything - academics, fighting, magic, etc.

plus she finds out her bloodline is important, oh my!

Other assorted thoughts:
- I love the setting; there's a wall that separates the old fantasy-style world with more modern/contemporary world
- Mogget is a mystery, but one that I found frustrating rather than intriguing. I assume you find out more about Mogget in future books, but I'm not sure I liked this enough to read the other books.
- There's a romance subplot which is laughable, and this book would have been better without.

Suddenly the two teenagers love each other, after no indication of romance other than a somewhat begrudging admission that the other is attractive.