Abhorsen is a great conclusion to a narrative arc which started with Lirael, the second book in the series. The two main characters introduced in the previous book, Lirael and Prince Sameth, have now accepted their respective legacies and fate in what is to become a fight for the survival of the very world itself. Finally, we have a lot more action, a lot less moping and some solid character growth with two young protagonists, both who have vast potential stemming from their unique bloodlines. T...

This is the third instalment in the Abhorsen series.Decades divided the events between the first and second books, but this one followed directly on from the former instalment. Lirael is the abhorsen-in-waiting, Sam is descended from Wall Makers, and their animal companions, who are less easy to classify, make up the rest of the fearsome foursome intent on saving the kingdom from the dark designs of the dead. Action dominated but tears marked the end and I was not okay!

4.5 stars!This series just keeps getting better!We find Lirael and Sam immediately after book 2, on the hunt for Sam’s friend Nick and the evil he has accidentally gotten himself trapped in. Along with the Disreputable Dog and Mogget the cat we are taken on a fantastic ride through a world where the dead don’t stay dead! “Confused Dead Hands staggered out of her way, gobbling their distress from their decayed throats.” Nix has created such an incredible magic system; with both Charter Magic - t...

4.5 to 5.0 stars. Having just finished this, the final book in the Abhorsen Trilogy, I have to say that it RANKS AMONG THE BEST YA FANTASY SERIES I have ever read. The world created by Garth Nix composed of the Northern Old Kingdon (where magic exists) sitting side by side with the South (looking much like an early 20th century city in Europe) is so realistically portrayed that the whole story comes to life. The interplay between these two realms is very well done. Add to that one of the most in...

This has become one of my favorite series of all time.

I first read these when I was much younger, probably just a few years after they were published. I must confess, before I started them I could barely recall them at all, aside from a few episodes from the first book, Sabriel. I had hastily added 3 or 4 stars to them when I transferred them to GoodReads, so they must have had a lasting impression on me for me to do that.Second re-through and I could see a little why I liked them, but they weren't the kind of thing I would love to read nowadays. I...

RtcWouldn't be better if I had read previous books

Can I just say how shocked I am by how good this book was? I mean, I guess everything that happened in Lirael was necessary in setting the stage for Abhorsen, but man did Lirael put a damper on the Old Kingdom high I got from Sabriel. In book 2, Lirael was mopey, annoying, and the Mary-Sue from Hell. Sam was pretty angsty, too, and the book felt entirely like exposition with no real pay off at the end (with a long ways to go). Needless to say, I approached Abhorsen with distrust and apprehension...

[3.5 Stars]I liked the ending, but I've decided I'm not the biggest fan of Garth Nix's writing style.

Probably my favourite of the series so far! I adore these characters (especially the Disreputable Dog)!

I honestly just found this anti-climatic. Especially when compared to the first two.The conclusion just continues on for the spin off books; which I do understand.Sam’s growth in this was wonderful; I hated him in the second book but in this one I really rooted for him.I am interested in reading Goldenhand to find out what happens to Lirael and Nicolas.I just felt that this book and the previous one could have been shortened down to one big book instead of being dragged out over two when some of...

"Wherever you walk, I will be there."*sobs*This third installment, the end of the main trilogy, was pretty darn good. There's something about Garth Nix's writing that just really does it for me. The subtle humor and wit, the syntax and sentence structure. It's all just so great. I love everything about it!The world is the best fantasy world ever, in my not so humble opinion. It isn't overbearing, but it's intricate and unique and dark without being grimdark. Death is probably the coolest setting...

Audio #56So far this is looking like the best of the three! I think it’s because I’m getting g a lot of Tim Curry’s Moggat voice

I think probably the best way to describe what it's like to read the Abhorsen trilogy is to compare it to a snowball rolling down a very, very large hill. We are all familiar with this metaphor--it basically implies that the thing being compared metaphorically moves faster and becomes MORE on the way down, whether that thing is the plot or your emotions as a reader, or both. Abhorsen is like this, but also THE SNOWBALL IS ON FIRE.Sabriel introduced the world, the characters (most of them), the m...

As in "Sabriel" and "Lirael," Death is a riverine chasm from which the dead can be called back to the living by powerful necromancers. Only the Abhorsen (Sabriel) or the Abhorsen-in-waiting (Lirael) can pass from life into the river of Death, through the eight Gates of fog, whirlpools, waterfalls, and shadow, and do magical combat with the necromancers in their own dark realm...Well, the Disreputable Dog can splash into Death, too and in "Abhorsen" you'll find out who she really is, along with M...

What a stunning conclusion to an amazing trilogy. The scope of the conclusion - which covers the foundation of the Charter - was incredible and tied up several loose ends. I can't wait to read more about Lirael and Nicholas.

A better-paced story than Lirael - in part because Lirael and Abhorsen are basically one complete story split into two, and while Lirael's plot involves the Old Kingdom being snared in the villain's plans - while the two main characters angst about their role in life - Abhorsen's plot is full speed ahead to confrontation.One thing bothers me about the world-building though. The Old Kingdom exists thanks to an ancient binding contract that depends on three bloodlines. And there's an awful lot of

So everything I held against Book Two, Lirael, was released in Abhorsen. The book races, literally and figuratively - I read it in a day. The climax is beautiful, BEAUTIFUL, with all the characters you love and hate from all three books playing their part with some powerful punches. It also drags torturously through some characters' descents into madness which is, well, maddeningly written, curse Nix and his talent. I adored this trilogy and wish people would stop resisting me forcing it upon th...

So now that I'm done with the trilogy I'll say that it was Great. I read the last book so fast, I think I read it in two days? Maybe three. Anyways, the climax is good (and not painfully predictable like book 2) and the characters are developed so well by the end that I was just sucked in. My face even scrunched up at the end when one character... you know. It always happens to someone. The fact that I even thought about crying is quite a feat for an author, since I pride myself on stoicism when...

Despite their new destinies, Lirael and Sam continue their plan to recue Nick and stop whatever he is unearthing. Slowly the pair come to discover what it is: Lirael embraces her destiny as not only the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, but a Remembrancer as well, someone who can See the past like her Clayr sisters can See the future. Sam, relieved he no longer has to deal directly with Death, embraces his destiny as a royal Wallmaker – his hobby of inventing and his powerful skill as a Charter Mage really p...