Sabriel by Garth Nix

Sabriel by Garth Nix

My sister recently lent me this book to read. I had heard about it and saw it around a lot, especially in my middle/high school years but had never picked it up. I’ll admit that I was judging it from the cover as it has a solitary person on it in an unusual artistic style that frankly makes the main character look like a dude. That being said, I don’t avoid books with males on the cover but the style also looked more old-timey and so I just never got around to reading it.

Well, curiosity caught up with me and my sister happened to have a copy and I’ve finally read it. It is a super original and creative work that mixes the fantasy world with one that is hauntingly close to our own.

Sabriel is a girl that grows up on one side of the wall and has to cross over to the other when her father goes missing. Her travels are slightly more fast paced than I prefer but probably just perfect for the adolescent age range the novel is geared to.

Nix’s fantasy world is very different than our own but he doesn’t spend a lot of time describing it to us. Since the world is new to Sabriel too, we practically explore it together. However, as a avid fantasy reader and one who enjoys the longer, more detailed works, I would like to know more about it.

There are more books that follow this one and I have vague plans of eventually picking them up but isn’t a high priority since they don’t immidately follow the novel’s timeline and pick up on the same story.

I do recommend this novel as a light read that is entertaining and unique. The characterization is interesting, if not wholly revealing, and the adventure is desperately scary and rewarding at the same time.