Sabriel Review

I am familiar with Charter Magic.
I am familiar with dealing with the Dead.

The Abhorsen puts to rest those who refuse to remain dead.
I am the Abhorsen's daughter.

My father--the Abhorsen--has gone missing.
And I need to find him.

I have the tools of the Abhorsen.
I know the ways of the Abhorsen.

My name is Sabriel.
I am the next Abhorsen.

Hello, friends! Today, I am Sabriel, from Garth Nix's book Sabriel!

Book: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Series: Abhorsen
Book Status: Book one
Setting: The Old Kingdom, Ancelstierre
POV: told mainly by Sabriel, third person
Genre: YA fantasy

Reading: First time
Favorite line: "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"
Rating: 4 stars




I got to say, this is probably the oldest YA book I've ever read. It was published in 1995! That was ages ago, way before YA became the huge market success it is now!

Onto my talk about Sabriel. She's skilled in Charter magic (magic involving what are called Charter signs, like the one on the cover), but also in banishing the undead. No, I'm not talking about zombies. I'm talking about spirits, so to speak. They're called the Dead here, and the job of the Abhorsen is to lay the Dead to rest. They're sort of necromancers, dealing with the dead, but their job is the opposite of the regular dead-raising necromancers. 

Sabriel ventured from Ancelstierre into the Old Kingdome in search of her father, even though the only time she's been in the Old Kingdom was when she was young (younger than 4). It's a big place, vast, filled with mysteries and whatnot. So the fact that she's doing it for her father makes her both brave and dedicated.

Sabriel is equipped with a sword (yes to awesome sword-wielding women!) and a set of 7 bells, all which have a specific ability/power when rung. You'd think it's not very cool, but given that she deals with the dead, these powers are really neat. I won't spoil it, but just know that if I had a set of these bells, well, there would probably be a string of mischief left in my wake. That being said, that's probably why I'd never get to even touch those bells. But hey, as Sabriel, I can, so no harm no foul, right?

Sabriel is a really strong female, especially given the time period this was written in. She's smart, quick on her feet, understands her duty as Abhorsen, and frankly, is quite amazing at playing the whole solo-mission game.

I'm not really a solo-mission kind of girl...are you guys?