Sabriel

The book tells the story of Sabriel, the daughter of Abhorson. She received her father's necromancy tool, meaning he was either dead or alive. In an attempt to find her father, Sabriel leaves school. The adventure that follows is the story of her battle against the evil greater dead as the new Abhorson.

This was a book I read in middle school. Sabriel was a decent fantasy novel. As far as the second book goes, I can't remember if I read it or not.

The story relies heavily on an underdeveloped magic system. In my understanding, it involves speaking certain words that follow strict rules but are never fully explained to the audience.

The most frustrating part is that there’s no build to the magic, it’s just there.

I really wish I had liked Sabriel more than I actually did. I felt no connection with Sabriel since her emotions were rarely expressed, instead there was a massive amount of description about many other things that caused me to yawn endlessly. Her love interest is - well, not interesting. He was flat and dull.

Between the magic mayhem and the bland-to-non-existent-love, I never formed an emotional connection to any of the main characters or the plot.

It felt like I was being dragged on a journey rather than eagerly plunging into a new series.

I don’t see myself continue this series.

The cover of this book was what initially caught my attention when Virginia picked it up from the library. I’d never heard of it before, and the description on the back seemed interesting. Unfortunately I stuck it in the mental pile of Things That Would Be Cool To Read If I Had More Time, and moved on. Virginia finished it, and loved it, and then told me there was an audio version! At the library we discover that it’s read by none other than Tim Curry!

In some ways this is a fairly typical YA fantasy novel. Young heroine forced to take on a burden before she’s really quite ready, and face down the big bad guy. Along the way she picks up the obligatory side-kick and friend, neither of whom are what they appear to be.

Where Sabriel takes things in a new direction is the setting. The introduction of which is surprisingly slow, however the fact that it is slow allows the reader to really discover it, rather than just having it handed to you in one big lump.

Sabriel is a holy necromancer, tasked to aid the dead through the transition from life to death. It turns out that dying isn’t as easy as you might have thought. There are 7 gates a soul has to travel through, otherwise it may return to cause mischief! Just such an undead thing has dragged Sabriel’s father into the realm of death, forcing Sabriel to take her fathers tools and quest to rescue him from the BBEG.

Tim Curry did a wonderful job bringing this book to life, and I’m really looking forward to listening to the second book in the series!