Game of Thrones fans will love the New York Times bestselling Abhorsen series. Sabriel, the first installment in the trilogy, launched critically acclaimed author Garth Nix onto the fantasy scene as a rising star.
Dark Secrets, Deep Love, and Dangerous Magic
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the … young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories.
As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death—and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.
“Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. Here is a world with the same solidity and four-dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity and intelligence.” —Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy
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One of my all-time favorite books, Sabriel is first in the Old Kingdom series. With well written characters, an intriguing magic system, and a fascinating world slowly sliding into anarchy, Sabriel draws you in and takes you on an adventure unlike anything I’ve read before or since.
Finally had the chance to pick up Sabriel after I got it from a BookBub feature, and I loved it! Sabriel was a fantastic protagonist – she’s real and makes mistakes, but she’s also a total badass necromancer that wields swords and bells that banish the dead. Garth Nix created a vivid new world: the magical Old Kingdom that is under attack, the …
I now have feelings on Sabriel!! I’m a huge fan. Sabriel is a necromancer, which is a branch of magic not often explored in fantasy, particularly YA fantasy. It’s always refreshing to experience a unique and well-developed magical system. The plot was interesting, the world-building solid and intriguing, and Sabriel herself a powerful, competent, …
Fantasy readers, what was your “gateway drug” to the fantasy genre—the book that made you fall in love with fantasy?
Mine was Sabriel. A kickass teenage girl who also happens to be a necromancer, who controls the dead with bells? Exquisite world-building and high-stakes action? I was hooked.
Honorable mention: The Hobbit was the first pure …
“Sabriel” takes a contemporary world of science and sets it against an old world of magic, without getting lost in a bunch of cumbersome high-fantasy cruft. Necromancy is the name of the game, and it’s Sabriel’s bloodline that is responsible for maintaining the boundary. She’s a modern girl, finishing up school, but when the record finally …
It’s a miracle this isn’t a movie yet. This YA fantasy has a tough and intelligent heroine, magic bells, necromancy, the undead, the barest hint of romance, and a talking cat. And it’s part of a trilogy, and we all know how much the film industry loves its trilogies. (Please don’t let Peter Jackson direct this one, though.)
While this is a YA title by definition (protagonist is a young adult), because of the danger and hardship Sabriel goes through and the challenges she overcomes, I feel it is a gripping and inspirational read for all ages even more so than most YA fiction. Garth Nix paints a fascinating new world and a new take on Necromancers. I normally don’t …
The “Old Kingdom” series, which starts with “Sabriel,” is easily one of the best fantasy series I’ve ever read.
The Old Kingdom, where Charter Magic is almost commonplace, shares a border with Ancelstierre, a normal land where magic simply doesn’t work. Sabriel, who has been raised in Ancelstierre, is actually the sole heir to the Abhorsen, the …
Sabriel by Garth Nix is a YA fantasy novel with epic sweep, an intriguing setting, and great characters. Nevertheless, I found it a bit disappointing–but that’s based almost solely on my own expectations. Garth Nix is one of my wife’s favorite authors, and I had a read a glowing review of one of his books a few years ago. Those two things led me …
Going into this book, I was actually expecting it to be a book based on ghosts, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was actually based on Necromancy (A favorite class of mine).
The book follows a young girl named Sabriel who unwillingly becomes the next Abhorsen (Or reverse necromancer) after her father goes missing. After learning …
This book takes an intense look at familial relationships and duties as well as how much control we have in our own destinies. “Does the Walker choose the path or the path the walker”. Highly recommend if you like slightly darker fantasy and heroes that make use of both the righteous and evil forces to protect the world.
The old kingdom had me hooked! Magic, Necromancy for the good of the people. The bells… I loved it all! And that’s just the first book!!!
The world is very different and original
This entire series is one of my absolute favorites from my childhood. Garth Nix pioneered a world where necromancers are the heroes and not just the villain. Sabriel and Touchstone are flawless. Mogget is my favorite thing. Nix has created a world that is both creepy and magical and words are failing me right now to properly describe my love of …
Love the characters love the writer love the series
This was my very first book as I transitioned between younger reader and YA books as a kid. It’s just a bit twisted, has an amazing, complex world, and characters on both sides of the main conflict that you can’t help but root for. Best of all, it’s a series, with author Garth Nix planning to continue adding to his Old Kingdom series (between …
I love everything about this book – the strong female lead who takes charge and solves her own problems, the spooky setting, the fantastic world building and created lore and the adventure. It’s often marked as YA, and I wouldn’t hesitate to give it to a teen who wasn’t easily frightened, but the themes are quite dark and the descriptions are …
I couldn’t wait until my kid was old enough for me to share this book with. Garth Nix builds a complete and daring narrative that pulls you in from the first page ensnaring the reader with the possibilities of what exists after death and the consequences of returning from beyond the grave.
This is an AWESOME read!!!! From Sabriel’s past of hiding out, away from the, sort of, nuns’ bringing her up, to her unfreezing her love, it’s an epic, and confusing, slightly, journey for them to take down the mad king, who usurped the Prince who, though he doesn’t have many memories at first, and is travelling with Sabriel, to her “father” and …
Sabriel is the book I read when I want to know how to write well. Sabriel herself is compelling, compassionate, and vulnerable. Her relationships to the other characters are fascinating, and the juxtaposition of a 20s-style world and a medieval-ish world are fascinating.