Sabriel - Book Review and Discussion

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Published in 1995 by HarperCollins Publishers

Warning: some small spoilers.

Book Synopsis:

18 year old Sabriel has lived a sheltered life at a boarding school for girls in the country of Ancelstierre. After receiving a mysterious gift and message, she is little prepared for the dangers she will face on her journey when she returns to her homeland of the Old Kingdom to find her missing father; a man known only as The Abhorsen. The Old Kingdom is filled with dangerous magic and dark creatures that continually claw their way out of death to wreak havoc on the living. The only person who can help is the Abhorsen and now that he is missing, Sabriel must claim her birthright as the new Abhorsen in order to save her father, her homeland, and defeat a great evil.

Discussion:

This is a book I have had for a long time and have always had a love for its exciting and intriguing plot. The characters are very lively and unique and it is easy to get lost in the culture of this fantasy world. I find I related to the character of Sabriel as she was thrust into following in her father's footsteps. I can imagine how hard it would be facing a challenge like that and not really feeling prepared for the job. The interesting way that magic played a part in this world was also a great aspect of this book. The magic is called "The Charter" and is used through signing, singing, whistling, or speaking "Charter Marks" of which there is an innumerable amount and each one has a specific purpose or meaning. There is also the evil side of magic which is called "Free Magic" and it is uncontrollable and consuming to the people who use it. Going back to Charter magic, "Charter Mages" are people who are connected to the Charter and can therefore use magic and anyone can become a Charter Mage by being baptized into the Charter. I also find it interesting that magic is used musically in this book, I find it very different and its another way that it makes this world seem close and almost real. Anyway, the culture and world of this book are painted very vivdly in this story and I am very happy that this series continues in the next two books; Lireal and Abhorsen. I plan on reviewing these books in the future and, I have also heard about another book that apparently was lost and has now been found and released in October called Clariel.

Review:

I think I will come up with a points system later but for now, I give this book 4.5 Stars. I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, magic and adventure. The only complaints I have are that at times I found the main character to be a bit whiny, I would have imagined her as more of a 'step up to the plate' kind of person without all the somewhat juvenile outbusts. Although on that note, she is only 18 and she did have a very big task ahead of her. The other thing is that the romantic relationship in the book seemed to happen quite suddenly, one minute they barely talk or even know each other and the next minute they are in love. Personally, I think that if there is going to be love in a story there should be more relationship development. But then again, I am glad that the love part was not the main aspect of the book either. All in all this is a great book and series, enough so that I repeatedly return to the land of the Old Kingdom to relive this great adventure.

Dream Cast:

If Sabriel were to be made into a movie, this is who I think would be great for the main roles:

Emma Watson - Sabriel

Liam Neeson - Abhorsen

Chace Crawford - Touchstone

Martin Freeman - Mogget

Ian Somerhalder - Kerrigor

Sean Bean - Colonel Horyse

I feel that Emma Watson and Liam Neeson fit the look and have the outstanding talent for those roles for sure. I know that Martin Freeman would make a good voice actor for Mogget because he is both funny and sassy. I don't know much about Chace Crawford's acting, I know he was on Gossip Girl but I've never watched that show, I think he has the right look. Ian Somerhalder I know is a good actor, though honestly I didn't think about him for this role until I started researching. I had only really thought of a voice actor for the role (Benedict Cumberbatch) because when I imagine this character I think of what is on the cover, but now I realize that when Kerrigor appears he is actually mostly in physical form and his character is supposed to also be Touchstone's older brother. I think him and Chase could pass for that and I know he is good at playing the evil brother so this is why I picked them. And I think Sean Bean and Liam Neeson have a similar intensity and I feel they are supposed to be similar in that aspect so that is also why they seemed like ideal choices.

Anyway that is about all I have to say about this book for now, I really look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about this new blog and what you think of my review. What do you think I should do in the future?

Let me know!
Oriona



Image Credits:

http://www.kdramastars.com/articles/24457/20140609/emma-watson-boyfriend-matthew-janney-musical.htm

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0293509/

http://mashadutoit.com/2008/04/05/leo-and-diane-dillon/

http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/ian-somerhalder


http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/03/01/neeson-annoyed-with-ny-mayor-bill-de-blasio/

http://www.listal.com/list/0-chace-crawfords-face

http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/2013/famous-family-trees-sean-bean/