Fantasy is probably my favorite genre to read from. I love all books, but there’s nothing like getting lost in a new world that you don’t know anything about. I’ve had a bit of a dry spell in reading just because university work takes up so much of my time. I was bored one night and decided to pick up "Sabriel"by Garth Nix because I’ve had people recommend this book to me for years and I have the whole series but I never picked it up until now.
"Sabriel" was an interesting read, to say the least. This book takes place in a world where there are two different kingdoms divided by a wall. The first, Anclestierre is where the main character, Sabriel, grows up and goes to a magic school (not unlike Harry Potter). The second kingdom is just called the Old Kingdom. There are many different kinds of magic in this book and the main form that is used is necromancy. This is basically a zombie fantasy book but the way that the Abhorsen binds the dead was very interesting to read. The Abohorsen is essentially the one person who has the ability to bind all the dead in this world. Other people have access to a kind of magic called Charter Magic but this is not very important with this first installment. It seems mostly to be a vessel for the “big bad” Kerrigor to gain extra power.
This book is essentially about Sabriel, the current Abhorsen, who goes on a journey after she discovers her father is missing. She must defeat Kerrigor in order to bring peace back to the land that she lives in. It is a typical hero’s journey, but I had a lot of fun while reading this. I think the easy, engaging writing style allowed me to get into the plot quickly and the characters were fun. It’s not a perfect book since I thought some elements of the story was rushed (like the unnecessary first book romance between Sabriel and Touchstone) but otherwise I just had a lot of fun reading this. If you’re looking for a book to get you out of a dry reading spell, I recommend this. Also, the way that this book left wasn’t technically a cliffhanger, but it was enough to get me invested in future books of this series.
