Magic, Premonition and Necromancy (Lirael - Garth Nix)

Member Name: Caradawn

Product:	Lirael - Garth Nix
Date:	25/05/05 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy read, Captivating

Disadvantages: Hard to put down, There's always someone who's bound not to like it

I acquired Lirael by accident really, but the story has got me hooked on Garth Nix's writing. As it is the sequel to Sabriel, I was initially unsure about reading it before first reading Sabriel; but then I didn't want to buy Sabriel and find that I didn't like either book. So that settled it and I just got on with reading Lirael.

The story is set in a magical land called the Old Kingdom, which borders with the more normal Ancelstierre; a land without magic. Where the people of Ancelstierre use modern mechanics, the people of the Old kingdom use what is called charter magic.

Lirael is born a daughter of the Clayr, a people imbued with the gift of Sight (the ability to see possible futures). Lirael, however, is a misfit. Not only does she look different to the rest of the Clayr, the Sight still hasn't awakened in her which is almost unheard of at the age of 14. To try and escape from the feeling of being an outcast, she gets work in the library and finds herself a friend in The Disreputable Dog.

On her 19th birthday, still without Sight, she finds some items in a lost room which lead her to the destiny she was really born for. With just a vision from the Clayr and The Disreputable Dog as a companion, she leaves the Clayr glacier to try and save the kingdom from the evil free magic that threatens it.

******

As it turned out, I needn't have worried about reading Lirael first, as it is set a whole generation after Sabriel. Also, Garth Nix doesn’t assume that the reader knows what has previously happened in Sabriel and enough information is given for you to know what is going on. I was able to understand what an Abhorsen was, even though this book is more about the Clayr and I felt that he fully explained the differences between Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom. The only negative side I found to reading Lirael first was that I knew what to expect in Sabriel and missed out on some of the surprises in that book. I should probably mention here that although it works to miss out the first book, you probably shouldn’t start with the third book, Abhorsen, as Lirael ends mid quest. So although some pertinent discoveries are made, the story is incomplete and continues in Abhorsen.

I loved the characters and found them very realistic and believable. Another character who plays a big part in the book is Sameth, King Touchstone and Sabriel the Abhorsen's son. He seems to share a common problem with Lirael in that he doesn’t feel that the calling he has been lead toward all his life, namely becoming Abhorsen, is one that he can do.

I also liked the way Garth Nix introduces little mysteries into the story by just giving you little snippets here and there. Not only does it keep you reading to find out more, but it keeps you thinking and guessing. For instance what is the Disreputable Dog, who is made of both free and charter magic. As free magic is usually seen as evil, it seems a contradiction to have them both together.

Something I feel I must mention something about is the descriptions of death and the journeys into death. The idea is that death is something the living can enter (usually only Necromancers and the Abhorsen did this though) and it is a series of gates through which some of the dead can return; unless they are sent beyond the ninth gate which is final. It’s not something I can describe as well as Mr Nix so you really have to read the book to get the gist of it and how the bells work with the dead. And that is all I will say about that!

******

The Old Kingdom stories are classed as children's or young adult fiction. Personally I would put them more at the young adult end of this range. There are a few reasons for this. They are very easy to read and the descriptions of the surrounding scenery are no more detailed than what is needed to set the scene. This to me points to a young reader group and is in stark contrast to something like The Lord of the Rings which can often go into overly long descriptions of the surroundings. However, when I compare it to something like Harry Potter which attracts surprisingly young readers, I can't see it attracting that same young audience. Although the Harry Potter stories have scary scenes, these are well balanced with humour. Lirael has much less humour and what it does have is probably beyond the youngest readers. It also contains an awful lot of death and evil creatures which are a little more complicated than the standard monsters. Another clue to the audience is the main characters which are in their late teens. I feel that similar age groups identify better with each other so it seems to me that late teens is the age group that Garth Nix is writing for.

In a way Lirael is almost a typical outcast story. You know the ones; an outcast who doesn't fit in becomes the hero or discovers they have a particularly special talent. Let’s face it, a lot of youngsters feel like outcasts themselves at some time or another and this sort of book is bound to draw them in and hopefully give them that feel good factor. I think it will also do the same for the adults who read it.

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