It is already the final week of the Sabriel read-a-long. I actually finished reading this week’s chapters early instead of waiting until the night before. lol. So, this post is going up much earlier than previous weeks. The read-a-long was hosted by Jordyn @ Birdie’s Book Nook. You can find out all about it on her blog! So, be sure to stop by her page and see her thoughts on this book (and many others), as well.
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.
With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn’t always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.
NOTE: THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS WEEK’S DISCUSSION!! Here are my thoughts on this week’s questions:
1. Pick a character — were you satisfied with their journey in Sabriel?
I’ve really enjoyed Sabriel’s journey in this book. She started out super green with a single-minded mission of saving her father and ended up becoming a hero that helped save an entire kingdom despite all the odds being stacked against her. She had to learn how to translate her skills into action so that she could navigate the new, unfamiliar life she found herself inhabiting. I thought it was a compelling coming-of-age story. She still has plenty of room for continued growth as the series progresses since she’s barely scratched the surface of learning about the Old Kingdom and her role as Abhorsen, but she’s definitely grown into the role during the trials she faced in this story.
2. What did you think of the reveal for who Touchstone and what Mogget is?
I wasn’t really surprised by either reveal. I thought the context clues made Touchstone’s identity fairly obvious pretty early. It made sense for one of the main characters to be a royal with the importance of the royal blood in relation to the charter magic. So, I was fine with that reveal. I didn’t guess the specifics of Mogget’s reveal, but I got the general gist of him right. I thought the way his nature was used to defeat Kerrigor was particularly ingenious and liked it a lot.
3. Was Kerrigor scary enough for you, or do you wish he had been more menacing?
I thought he was scary enough. I just wish the story had spent a bit more time with him. The characters we followed were constantly running from him. So, we didn’t really get to see him being all that menacing until the very end. Even then, most of the gruesome stuff took place before he got to the main characters and wasn’t described in a ton of detail. I actually think we saw Mogget do more damage to the main characters when he blew up the wall than Kerrigor did in the final battle. As a side note, I’m really curious to see the personality that emerges from Kerrigor’s new form. So, I hope they keep him around in future books.
4. Where do you think the rest of the series is headed?
I’m sure the characters will probably return to the Old Kingdom and attempt to re-establish the monarchy or some other form of functioning government. Sabriel has her work cut out for her in rounding up all the dead/undead things wandering the kingdom, and Touchstone will have a big job of trying to rein in the anarchy. I’m sure the two of them will probably engage in some sort of romance, as well. That was probably my least favorite part of this book because it just felt a bit rushed and forced, but maybe I’ll like it a little better once their relationship gets fleshed out a bit in subsequent books.
Well. That’s it for this week’s questions! Have you read Sabriel? If so, what did you think of it?
Biblio Nerd Reflections 