Sabriel

Fantasy

First published: 1995
Print length: 491 pagesHarper Trophy, 1996

Description

Sabriel is a young necromancer-in-training at a girls’ boarding school in Ancelstierre when an undead messenger arrives with instructions from her father, who is trapped beyond the Seventh Gate of Death. She must assume the Abhorsen’s role and stop the necromancer Kerrigor from returning to Life and breaking the Old Kingdom’s Charter. Carrying her father’s bells, sword, and map, Sabriel crosses the Wall toward Abhorsen’s House while Dead creatures assault the border and a powerful Dead hunter pursues her. She is joined by Mogget, a bound Free Magic construct in cat form, and Touchstone, a formerly imprisoned royal guard, as they travel toward the Old Kingdom’s capital.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Atmospheric · Descriptive · Direct · Lyrical

Pace

Brisk

Tone

Atmospheric · Dark · Eerie · Tense

Structure

Linear

Focus

Character · Plot · World

Emotional intensity

4 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

Coming of ageFamilyIdentityMortalityPowerSurvival

About Garth Nix

Australian writer Garth Nix is best known for children’s and young adult fantasy, particularly the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower, and Keys to the Kingdom series. His novels often begin with a young protagonist forced into an unfamiliar responsibility, then widen into adventures governed by elaborate supernatural systems. In Sabriel and the later Old Kingdom books, inherited offices, magical bells, and the boundary between life and death give the fantasy a firm structure. Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday likewise turn Arthur Penhaligon’s quest into an encounter with the rules, loopholes, and competing domains of the House. Nix combines atmospheric, descriptive settings with direct, plot-driven storytelling, using clearly defined objects, roles, and laws to make large invented worlds intelligible. Although fantasy dominates his work, his standalone novels range into post-apocalyptic science fiction, space opera, and fantasy romance. He has also written role-playing scenarios and articles, an adjacent form that suits his sustained interest in systems, quests, and world construction.

Series

The Abhorsen Trilogy · Book 1

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Harper Trophy
Language: English
ISBN: 9780060273224, 9780060273231, 9780064471831

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