Book Review – Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: EOS
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 1996
Award-winning author Garth Nix’s “Sabriel” is one of many dual-world fantasies. The title character, a teenaged girl, is a boarding student at the Wyverley College, “Established in 1652 for Young Ladies of Quality” in Ancelstierre. Ancelstierre is similar to our own world – it is a science-based land with cars, electricity and other modern conveniences. The main difference between Ancelstierre and our world is that the people of Ancelstierre are all too aware of their fantasy counterpart lying to the north. Beyond the military-guarded Wall (reminiscent of the Berlin Wall) is the Old Kingdom, where magic reigns and the populace is menaced by the Dead.
Sabriel is, of course, far more than just a talented student. She was born in the Old Kingdom and is the daughter of Abhorsen, part of an age-old line of necromancers who put the Dead away for good. When Abhorsen goes missing, Sabriel must take up the tools of his trade and journey into the dangerous Old Kingdom to find him. Along the way, she learns that his disappearance is part of a greater threat to both the Old Kingdom and to Ancelstierre. Although it is the first of a trilogy, “Sabriel” can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.
“Sabriel” is a familiar coming-of-age story that follows a familiar pattern with a familiar cast of characters. It also has a unique (if not fully explained) magical system involving, among other things, bells, whistling, humming, and other music. And it is dotted with great details, like bus loads of tourists gawking at the Wall, weather and time differences between Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom, Abhorsen’s enchanted household (reminding this reader of classic Walt Disney films), and the Paperwing (a glider, of sorts).
“Sabriel” is also part of the new breed of “young adult” fantasy that can be enjoyed by readers of almost any age. I particularly recommended this to those who enjoyed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
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