Kevin's Watch

Sabriel. Lirael, and Abhorsen are the three books of an interesting and well-written fantasy trilogy. Has anyone else read these books?

The books involve two worlds, side by side, one a sort of normal rather British seeming (or maybe Australian) society, and another, The Old Kingdom, "across the Wall," which is ruled by Charter Magic. On the Ancelstierre side ("normal") side, close to the Wall, Charter Magic can still be used, but it gets weaker as you move farther the Old Kingdom. The Ancelstierrans, as a rule, fear Charter Magic, and have set a military guard along the Wall, some members of which are Charter Mages, to protect Ancelstierre from Charter Magic. The are also necromancers in the Old Kingdom, people who can walk in death, and bring the dead back to life.

Garth Nix weaves an engrossing story using these elements. I really loved the books and highly recommend them.

~MsMary~

Oh I love these books! I just finished Abhorsen not too long ago, I cried...it was so good, I wanted more. I haven't been in to the GF forum in a while, that's why I'm just now replying to this...These are right up there w/TCTC and Ender series for me.
I always thought it would make a great rp or tcg, actually, the wide variety of Undead creatures and Free Magic constructs, very detailed in description. I don't know how the bell system would work in a card game; and there would be limits to how NK items could be used in OK....it would need some extensive mapping. Maybe rp would be easiest, but the cards would be beautiful...and slightly gory... Anyway, I've always toyed w/designing rps and tcgs, this would be my masterwork if I ever got around to it...
I knew there was another fan around here somewhere...

Well, the Duchess has just informed a group of us having a Sat PM chat that she start Sabriel.

Hurry up and finish Duchess, so we can talk about it! And you could post any "in progress" comments if you want, too.

~MsMary~

I am in the middle of the middle book, called Liriel. So far it a very good, solid read, and I am really enjoying them. Just wish I had a bit more reading time right now, I've been very busy...

Well, I've made it to the third book and am really enjoying the books so far. Technically, they are considered young adult books, but they are interesting and well written, with a unique magic system and a lot of darkness, so don't let the YA label put you off.
Some things I like about them (in addition to what MsMary said in her first post)...there are beings of great power as characters -- one if the form of a cat and one in the form of a dog, and I am having a great time speculating what and who they are...
And there is a library with many many levels inside a hollow ice-girted mountain -- but there are all sorts of magical artifacts, monsters, and magical books in it. The librarians have to carry whistles and little mechanical devices with them to alert the others when they are endangered -- or killed -- in the line of their work...books bound in poison being one of the lesser dangers...

Glad you are enjoying the books, duchess. You have touched on some of the reasons I love these books. They tell an interesting story with some unusual twists.

And I want to second what you said about not being put off by the YA label. The stories are really quite sophisticated.

~MsMary~

Garth Nix has a new volume of short stories out titled 'Across the Wall : A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories'. The main story focuses on Lirael & Nick. I'd hoped for another full-length foray into the Abhorsen's world, but the other stories are well worth reading.

Yes, I just bought it from Amazon, though I have known about it for a while, and I believe Duchess has already read it.

Yes, I read it and enjoyed it.

Some of the other stories in the collection were very good, too. Nix is a good short fiction writer. Some of the stories were 5 pages or less, and were sparkling little gems.