Review (Updated) of Sabriel (Old Kingdom #1) by Garth Nix
Sabriel is the first book in the series Old Kingdom, formerly known as Abhorsen.
Sabriel spends her childhood south of the Wall, the boundary between Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom where her father lives, attending a boarding school where she learns customs and knowledge of the world of science, electricity, and modern weapons such as guns and tanks.
North of the Wall, in the Old Kingdom, magic rules while modern weapons and technology fail. In the Old Kingdom, her father is Abhorsen, a necromancer who banishes the risen dead back into Death instead of bringing them to Life. He is the latest in a long line of Abhorsen stretching back to the building of the Wall.
He has taught Sabriel as best he could about the duties of Abhorsen, how the Old Kingdom works, the ways to banish the dead into Death, and placed her in a school that teaches the Charter Magic she'll need north of the Wall as his successor.
When something from Death arrives at her school with her father's sword and bandolier, the tools of the Abhorsen, she knows something is very wrong. With her father trapped in Death, Sabriel is now Abhorsen until she can find his body and bring him back.
With the help of Mogget, a magical creature bound to serve the Abhorsen appearing in the form of a white cat, she embarks on her mission to find her father before he falls further into Death and cannot be brought back.
This book is one of many introduced to me by my step-sister nearly twenty years ago. I adored the series, my second favorite fantasy series. I purchased my own copies several years later, and have re-read them many times. However, this time, I read it in audiobook form. The eleven hours flew by.
A few years ago, I discovered that the Abhorsen Trilogy had become a five-book series renamed the Old Kingdom, and has two novellas and a prequel. I purchased the fourth and fifth books, but the others are not yet on my shelf. I am embarking again on the journey of the Abhorsen to finally finish this series that is a favorite of mine.
When I first picked up the series, I had no idea what necromancers were other than they were magical beings who did something with dead things. The author, Garth Nix, did an incredible job of introducing the reader to the world of the Old Kingdom as Sabriel discovers how much she doesn't know about her home country and her duties, despite her father teaching her as much as he could. It's a wonderful example of organic world-building where the story does not require lengthy word dumps of exposition. It comes a bit at a time, the best way to build a new world for the reader. The world Garth Nix created is thick and rich with life. It feels real as the reader follows Sabriel's journey.
Sabriel herself is a great character, an example of someone with layers. She's terrified to take on the role of Abhorsen because she knows nothing of the Old Kingdom, and hates when people refer to her as Abhorsen because she's insistent her father is not dead. Despite this, she manages to appear confident with those who need her help. While she has little knowledge of the Old Kingdom and her knowledge of Charter Magic is lacking, she knows enough about Death and possesses the senses and instincts crucial to her duties to allow her to perform those duties.
Her fear often causes her to become angry and resentful of being called Abhorsen, and she fears taking on the role. This is completely understandable, even if not beneficial for the situation. Her unexpected confidence, her contradicting lack of knowledge in some areas and surprising amount in others, her relationships with her companions, her stubborn determination to find her father's body, and her slow acceptance of her newfound role as Abhorsen all makes for a wonderful character arc with a satisfying conclusion.
This series can only be described as fantastic. For any lovers of fantasy, I highly recommend diving into the Old Kingdom. I can't wait to finish my re-reads of the first three books and continue on to those I haven't read.
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