Lirael
and
Abhorsen
by: Garth Nix

Challenges: 2009 YA Challenge

Series: The Abhorsen Trilogy

Published: 2001 & 2003

# of pages: 705 & 518


I'm behind on posts! My dad gave me a National Geographic subscription for Christmas and I've spent a lot of my reading time on those!

These are the last 2 books of the Abhorsen Trilogy. It's fitting to review them together since they flow into each other with no time interruption between the books, unlike the first and second books. Lirael starts 14 years after the end of the first book, Sabriel. It started out a little slow, following the story of Lirael, a daughter of the Clayr, a group of women who can see the future. Lirael isn't a typical Clayr woman and struggles to find a place among all of her cousins and aunts. She finally discovers a companion, the Disreputable Dog. Together, the Dog and Lirael find many adventures in the Clayr's glacier.

The book also follows Sam, prince of the Old Kingdom. He's similar to Lirael, he knows what he should be, but struggles with fitting into that position. Adventure finds him as the Old Kingdom begins to fall to an evil force. He is forced to leave the castle. Mogget, one of the characters from the first book (and my favorite character in the series), joins him. So we have a girl and a dog and a boy and a cat. Needless to say, they bump into each other on their separate journeys.

The only reason I thought it was a little slow was because it seemed like Nix was dragging it out on purpose. As if he knew he couldn't put everything into one book, but had to have filler to make the second book as complete as the first and third. Lirael is the longest book, but not much really happens in it. However, I still felt like this was a great book and I enjoyed the characters just as much as I did in Sabriel. There is a little more "adult" content in this book, but it is still appropriate for the average young adult.

Abhorsen is a worthy ending to the series! It's action packed and I was even getting worried that the end would be rushed as I read closer and closer to the end. However, I thought the very end was great! It didn't seem rushed at all. The book follows the same characters as Lirael and is in the same time frame, beginning where the other left off. Now that the reader knows the characters, the story moves quickly and it is easy to forget you are reading a different book than the first. It all kind of blends together.

All in all, I thought this was an excellent fantasy series for young adults and adults alike! It was very original and worth reading. I'm always looking for good series that aren't too long and time consuming, and these were perfect. I hope you enjoy them as well!