Last week I finished Sabriel by Garth Nix. It was easy to enjoy, as I got the audiobook version from Audible and Tim Curry was the reader. He did an amazing job, especially with Mogget. There is a lot of excellent imagery here and a really well done magic system that manages to draw upon magic systems from history and literature without seeming derivative, especially the bells used in Necromancy.
I felt like the story drug a little bit sometimes, especially at the beginning, but mostly it really moves along. The action ramps up to a terrific and sometimes terrifying degree near the end, with some things that seemed really brutal. The romance elements were perfect and Sabriel is a crystal clear, understandable and very likeable hero. I am not sure I will read the rest of the trilogy, as this novel stands on its own pretty well.
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Do read the rest of the series. I agree, Sabriel is a fantastic stand-alone. However, the rest of the series is enjoyable because it is not a sequel. Sabriel, in fact, is a minor character for the rest of the story that is told. Different focusses, new information, and more of the same fantastic writing.
Also, Garth Nix did not make Abhorsen a sequel to Lirael - the one simply ends and the other keeps going. Literally with a "To Be Continued" sign.
They're good reads, and anyone interested in writing fantasy should read them, at least to say that they have gained a bit of experience and insight from probably the most complex and imaginative author in fantasy since JRR Tolkien.
(Yeah, that last remark is a risk :P)
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