Amazon.co.uk Review
In the Old Kingdom, while the Abhorsen Sabriel is off fighting the undead, who are waking in worryingly ever-increasing numbers, Lirael is alone in the glacial mountain kingdom of the Clayr dreaming of when she will receive the gift of "the sight"--which all true daughters of Clayr possess. She fills the long wait with years of self-taught charter magic and investigations into what lies in the depths of the Clayr library--a truly vast and ancient place.
In Ancelstierre, Prince Sameth, son of Sabriel and designated Abhorsen-in-waiting, is battling with his own inner demons. His own familiarity with charter magic is limited and it even sometimes scares him. This weight of expectation is crystallised when he is attacked by an evil necromancer intent on killing him. Sameth barely escapes with his life.
In these times of increased undead activity, Sabriel suspects a greater force at work. Sameth must return to the Old Kingdom and learn fast to help counter this enormous threat while Lirael too must play her part. She is a girl with an important destiny and is sent out towards the area of darkness and mystery that holds the key to what has been happening. Nix's imagination continues to impress all and his Sabriel trilogy is so far proving to be the award-winning spectacle that it has promised to be. The book is recommended for ages 10 and above. --John McLay --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“Lirael has taken this series into breathtaking, lyrical, fantasy status (and I hear that Abhorsen… is simply stunning).” The Bookseller
“I was spellbound from page one… Nix’s writing is masterful. Ithink we are seeing the emergence of a writing talent who will be here for many years to come and whose books will be read for a long time after.” Mrs Mad’s Book-a-Rama
“Readers who like their fantasy intense in action, magisterial in scope and apocalyptic in consequences will revel in every word.” Kirkus starred review
“What makes LIRAEL a delight is the magic that Nix brings to his story and to his characters. It is filled with twists and turns, playful inventiveness and dark magic, and is sure to satisfy his many readers.” Locus
Praise for Sabriel…
“Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. I congratulate Garth Nix.” Philip Pullman
“Fast pace, drama, vivid descriptions, excitement and humour… What more could you want?” The Guardian
"Every publisher thinks they have the next great children's fantasy writer. Harper Collins know they have." Nick Holt, AML
Product Description
When the future is unclear, who holds the key to destiny? Sequel to the spellbinding, award-winning fantasy adventure, SABRIEL.
Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Abandoned by her mother and ignorant of her father’s identity, Lirael resembles no one else in her large, extended family living in the Clayr’s Glacier. She doesn’t even have the Sight – the ability to See into the present and possible futures – that is the very birthright of the Clayr.
Nonetheless, it is Lirael in whose hands the fate of the Old Kingdom lies. she must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil – one that opposes the Royal Family, blocks the Sight of the Clayr, and threatens to break the very boundary between Life and Death itself. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, to help her, Lirael must find the courage to seek her own hidden destiny.
Garth Nix draws readers deeper into the magical landscape of the Old Kingdom and weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny and danger.
From the Publisher
What is your favourite piece of clothing?
My R. M. Williams elastic-sided boots
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you want to have with you?
I presume a satellite phone is out of the question, so:
1. "The How to Survive on a Deserted Island Manual"
2. A knife or machete
3. A very large clear plastic tarpaulin
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Absent-minded writer guy
What time do you get up in the morning?
Usually between 4:45am and 7:00am depending upon my young son. Preferably closer to 7:00am!
Do you have any pets? What are their names?
No pets, unless you count the two swallows that are building a nest under the canopy above my office door. Maybe I should give them names.
What are 3 things you love about where you live?
The sea, the trees, the birds
What makes you most happy?
A cup of tea, a good book and my family around me
Did you like school? What was your favourite subject?
I sometimes liked school. My favourite subject was History. Or maybe English. Or Drama.
When did you start writing and what gave you the inspiration to start?
I started writing stories when I was six or seven, but didn't seriously try to write and get published till I was nineteen.
What do you like to read? And what book are you reading now?
I like to read all sorts of books. I'm currently reading a history of Venice by John Julius Norwich.
What was the first book you can remember reading?
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
What is your favourite TV programme and pop band?
My favourite TV program is an old one, Dr Who. My favourite pop band changes, but I guess my all-time favourite would be The Beatles.
What is your perfect holiday?
Taking it easy at a beach house on the NSW South Coast in late Spring, before lots of people go there
If you could travel back in time, who would you be and why?
I would like to be all sorts of people, but I wouldn't mind being a long-lived, healthy medieval king who died in bed at an advanced age, mourned by all.
What is your favourite food?
Sausages and mash
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Give some of it away, invest the rest in interesting projects like making films, or producing a play, or re-publishing some old books that have disappeared
What is your favourite sport?
Fishing
If you could be invisible for the day, where would you go?
The Invisible Club, though it's a pain to find and you keep bumping into people
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Where I live now, near the beach in Sydney
What is your ideal Saturday/weekend?
To be at home with my family, with no obligation to do anything or be anywhere
If you had 3 wishes from a genie what would it be?
That would depend upon the nature of the wishes. If I could make really big wishes for other people I would wish:
* For everyone in the world to be healthy and vigorous (and if that was too hard for the genie, then I'd try for all children to be healthy and vigorous)
* For all the weapons in the world to turn into flowers
* For everyone to be able to experience compassion and understand kindness
If the wishes had to be for myself, I would wish for:
* A really good singing voice
* Extremely good health for my whole family
* A small very comfortable castle on a large private island in Sydney Harbour
From the Back Cover
Lireal has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. She doesn't even have the Sight - the ability to See into the present and possible futures - that is the very birthright of the Clayr. Nonetheless, it is Lireal in whose hands the fate of the Old Kingdom lies, while Abhorsen Sabriel is engaged in conflict elsewhere.
As an ancient evil casts its shadow - one that opposes the Royal Family, blocks the Sight of the Clayr, and threatens to break the very boundary between Life and Death - Lireal undertakes a desperate mission. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, to help her, Lireal sets out upon a perilous journey and comes face to face with her own fate ...
About the Author
Garth Nix was born in 1963 and grew up in Canberra, Australia. After taking his degree in professional writing from the University of Canberra, he worked in a bookshop and then moved to Sydney. There he sank lower into the morass of the publishing industry, steadily devolving from sales rep through publicist until in 1991 he became a senior editor with a major multinational publisher. After a period travelling in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia in 1993, he left publishing to work as a marketing communications consultant . In 1999 he was lured back to the publishing world to become a part-time literary agent. He now lives in Sydney, a five-minute walk from Coogee Beach, with his wife, Anna, and lots of books.
Excerpted from Lirael by Garth Nix. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Some whistled notes, redolent with power, drifted down to Lirael, and for a nausea-inducing moment she felt as if she herself were flying and must turn into the wind. Then she saw the Paperwing come swooping down once more, turn into the wind and come to a sliding, snow-spraying stop on the terrace – much too close to Lirael’s hiding place for comfort.
Two people climbed wearily out of the cockpit and stretched their arms and legs. Both were so heavily wrapped in furs that Lirael couldn’t see whether they were male or female. They weren’t Clayr, though, she was certain, not in those clothes. One wore a coat of black and silver marten fur, the other a coat of some russet-red fur Lirael didn’t recognise. And their goggles were blue lensed, not green.
The russet-furred one reached back into the cockpit and pulled out two swords. Lirael thought he – she was reasonably certain this one was a he – would hand one over, but he buckled both on to his broad leather belt, one on either side of his waist.
The other person – the one in black and silver – was a woman, Lirael decided. There was something about the way she took off her glove and rested her palm on the nose of the Paperwing, like a mother checking the temperature of a child’s forehead.
Then the woman also reached into the cockpit and she pulled out a leather bandoleer. Lirael craned forward to see better, ignoring the snow that fell down inside her collar. Then she almost gasped and gave herself away as she recognised what was in the pouches on the bandoleer. Seven pouches, the smallest the size of a pillbox, the largest as long as Lirael’s hand. Each pouch had a mahogany handle sticking out of it. The handles of bells, bells whose voices were stilled in the leather. Whoever this woman was, she carried the seven bells of a necromancer!
The woman put the bandoleer on and reached for her own sword. Longer than the ones the Clayr used, and older, too. Lirael could feel some sort of power in it, even from where she was hidden. Charter Magic, in the sword, and in both the people.
And in the bells, Lirael realised, which finally told her who this person must be. Necromancy was Free Magic, and forbidden in the Kingdom, as were the bells that necromancers used. Except for the bells of one woman. The woman who was charged with undoing the evil that necromancers wrought. The woman who put the Dead to rest. The woman who alone combined Free Magic with the Charter.
Lirael shivered, but not from cold, as she realised that she was only about twenty yards away from the Abhorsen. Years ago, the legendary Sabriel had rescued the petrified prince Touchstone and with him defeated the Greater Dead creature called Kerrigor, who had almost destroyed the Kingdom. And she had married the Prince when he became King, and together they had—
Lirael looked at the man again, noting the two swords and the way he stood close to Sabriel. He must be the King, she realised, feeling almost sick. King Touchstone and the Abhorsen Sabriel here! Close enough to go and talk to – if she was brave enough.
She wasn’t. She settled further back into the snow, ignoring the damp and the cold, and waited to see what would happen. Lirael didn’t know how you were supposed to bow or curtsy or whatever it was, or what you were supposed to call the King and the Abhorsen. Most of all, she didn’t know how to explain what she was doing there.
Having equipped themselves, Sabriel and Touchstone drew close together and spoke quietly, their muffled faces almost touching. Lirael strained her ears but couldn’t hear anything. The wind was blowing their words the wrong way. However, it was clear that they were waiting for something – or someone.
They didn’t have to wait long. Lirael slowly turned her head towards the Starmount Gate, careful not to disturb the snow packed around her. A small gathering of the Clayr was issuing out of the Gate and hurrying across the terrace. They’d obviously come straight from the Awakening because most of them had simply thrown cloaks or coats over their white robes, and nearly all of them still wore their circlets.
Lirael recognised the two in front – the twins Sanar and Ryelle – the flawless embodiment of the perfect Clayr. Their Sight was so strong they were nearly always in the Nine Day Watch, so Lirael hardly ever crossed paths with them. They were both tall and extremely beautiful, their long blonde hair shining even more brightly than their silver circlets in the sun.
Behind them came five other Clayr. Lirael knew them all vaguely and, if pressed, could recall their names and their familial relationship to her. None was closer than a third cousin, but she recognised all of them as being particularly strong in the Sight. If they weren’t part of the Nine Day Watch right now, they would be tomorrow, and probably had been last week.
In short, they were seven of the most important Clayr in all the Glacier. They all held significant ordinary posts in addition to their Sighted work. Small Jasell, for example, bringing up the rear, was First Bursar, in charge of the Clayr’s internal finances and its trading bank.
They were also the very last people Lirael wanted to meet somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
