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kitsuneheart 's review for:
Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
by Garth Nix
Eh. Really not all that necessary for fans of the Abhorsen series, as far as I can see. Yet I honestly found myself enjoying this more than the main Abhorsen series, and I think that is because Nix has produced so many other books in the meantime that he has really honed his craft. He was a good writer to begin with, but there's a definitely rise in quality in this volume. So if you're a BIG Abhorsen fan, you'll probably be all over this, but you will be so confused if you've never read the books.
It was pretty nice to see a return of Mogget, after the wrenching end of “Abhorsen.” Really, he's the most compelling character in the series, and him being gone is going to make the next book feel a bit odd. And I especially loved how, in this book, Mogget is pretty unashamedly chaotic in nature, if not downright evil. Mogget has always been a self-serving character, but here, he takes advantage of some great opportunities.
Clariel is a bit...TOO “not like other girls” for my tastes. Her parents are encouraging her to make a marriage deal, but all she wants to do is run off and live in the wilds. I did like that her school, ostensibly a finishing school for women going into married life, actually works WITH her, meeting her parents half way by putting her in some classes which will benefit her in a wifely/business position, and in some that will be best suited for a hard life out of civilization. But her time there is so brief that it almost feels like a tacked on section of the story.
This is definitely not to be placed first on an Abhorsen series reading list. It doesn't have the same draw as “Sabriel,” where we're thrown into the necromatic world of the actual Abhorsen, rather than the drama of a relative of the Abhorsen. So, if you have a child or friend that picked this up for reading, do them a favor and send over the original trilogy and make sure they go with that, first. “Clariel” may have better writing quality, but Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen have all the world-building and intense action that will make new readers into avid fans.
It was pretty nice to see a return of Mogget, after the wrenching end of “Abhorsen.” Really, he's the most compelling character in the series, and him being gone is going to make the next book feel a bit odd. And I especially loved how, in this book, Mogget is pretty unashamedly chaotic in nature, if not downright evil. Mogget has always been a self-serving character, but here, he takes advantage of some great opportunities.
Clariel is a bit...TOO “not like other girls” for my tastes. Her parents are encouraging her to make a marriage deal, but all she wants to do is run off and live in the wilds. I did like that her school, ostensibly a finishing school for women going into married life, actually works WITH her, meeting her parents half way by putting her in some classes which will benefit her in a wifely/business position, and in some that will be best suited for a hard life out of civilization. But her time there is so brief that it almost feels like a tacked on section of the story.
This is definitely not to be placed first on an Abhorsen series reading list. It doesn't have the same draw as “Sabriel,” where we're thrown into the necromatic world of the actual Abhorsen, rather than the drama of a relative of the Abhorsen. So, if you have a child or friend that picked this up for reading, do them a favor and send over the original trilogy and make sure they go with that, first. “Clariel” may have better writing quality, but Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen have all the world-building and intense action that will make new readers into avid fans.