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Title: Abhorsen
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: YA fantasy (3 of 3)
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: In the conclusion of the trilogy, a necromancer in training and a royal prince must keep a horde of the dead from crossing the barrier between worlds and a being from the beginning of time from destroying the universe.
Thoughts: I've really been enjoying the series that started with Sabriel. The world is an odd one--a high fantasy realm called the Old Kingdom with some serious problems with necromancers on one side of a walled border and a non-magical one called Ancelstierre with WWI-style technology and politics on the other. We spent the better part of each of the books in the fantasy realm, which has a complicated and interesting interlocking sets of magics--the ordered Charter Magic, the dangerous Free Magic, and a shadowy netherworld that too easily crosses the borders back into life. Bells to control the dead, sentient paper airplanes, summoned creatures with minds of their own, a glacier that can scry the future, and more weave a really interesting world to play in. When you then add the complications of their southerly neighbors, most of whom do not believe in magic, and mysterious gods/founders/something who established the Charter and left magical bloodlines and are somehow tied into the bells, there's a lot to play with here.
Unfortunately, I think there may have been too much. The joy of the first two books was that there was always a sense of being in a much larger world that what you were seeing. The creatures that serve as familiars, Mogget the cat and the Disreputable Dog, are clearly more than they let on--who are they, really? The politics of Ancelstierre are a constant threat--what's going on, and how will it be resolved? Why do the bells have personalities? Who created the Charter?
But in the third, these pieces all get tied up without actually being fully explored. We know the true names of Mogget and the Dog, but only hints of what happened. Similarly, we get a hint of a conflict between the Shining Ones--but at the one opportunity to see what actually happened, the knowledge is kept from us to create tension of how the plot will be resolved. The people of Ancelstierre are never more than cartoons--while our characters even visit the capital, they never really engage with the politics we're told about but not shown, and we have no idea what happens to the government later. The entire country is an obstacle, not characters. We're technically given answers to each of these, but they're emotionally unsatisfying. Why does Astarael weep, and why does she linger? Why did Yrael stay when no one else did? Where did the bloodlines come from? There is a rich story of love and war and betrayal that we're never told, and that's the one I wanted to hear.
The action is exciting and the resolution fits well. I like Lirael and Sameth, along with Mogget and the Dog, and I'm glad to have spent more time with them. It's an enjoyable book. But much of what I found enjoyable, I also ultimately found frustrating.
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: YA fantasy (3 of 3)
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: In the conclusion of the trilogy, a necromancer in training and a royal prince must keep a horde of the dead from crossing the barrier between worlds and a being from the beginning of time from destroying the universe.
Thoughts: I've really been enjoying the series that started with Sabriel. The world is an odd one--a high fantasy realm called the Old Kingdom with some serious problems with necromancers on one side of a walled border and a non-magical one called Ancelstierre with WWI-style technology and politics on the other. We spent the better part of each of the books in the fantasy realm, which has a complicated and interesting interlocking sets of magics--the ordered Charter Magic, the dangerous Free Magic, and a shadowy netherworld that too easily crosses the borders back into life. Bells to control the dead, sentient paper airplanes, summoned creatures with minds of their own, a glacier that can scry the future, and more weave a really interesting world to play in. When you then add the complications of their southerly neighbors, most of whom do not believe in magic, and mysterious gods/founders/something who established the Charter and left magical bloodlines and are somehow tied into the bells, there's a lot to play with here.
Unfortunately, I think there may have been too much. The joy of the first two books was that there was always a sense of being in a much larger world that what you were seeing. The creatures that serve as familiars, Mogget the cat and the Disreputable Dog, are clearly more than they let on--who are they, really? The politics of Ancelstierre are a constant threat--what's going on, and how will it be resolved? Why do the bells have personalities? Who created the Charter?
But in the third, these pieces all get tied up without actually being fully explored. We know the true names of Mogget and the Dog, but only hints of what happened. Similarly, we get a hint of a conflict between the Shining Ones--but at the one opportunity to see what actually happened, the knowledge is kept from us to create tension of how the plot will be resolved. The people of Ancelstierre are never more than cartoons--while our characters even visit the capital, they never really engage with the politics we're told about but not shown, and we have no idea what happens to the government later. The entire country is an obstacle, not characters. We're technically given answers to each of these, but they're emotionally unsatisfying. Why does Astarael weep, and why does she linger? Why did Yrael stay when no one else did? Where did the bloodlines come from? There is a rich story of love and war and betrayal that we're never told, and that's the one I wanted to hear.
The action is exciting and the resolution fits well. I like Lirael and Sameth, along with Mogget and the Dog, and I'm glad to have spent more time with them. It's an enjoyable book. But much of what I found enjoyable, I also ultimately found frustrating.
