Terciel & Elinor (Old Kingdom #6)

Terciel & Elinor by Garth Nix is the sixth installment in his Old Kingdom / Abhorsen series. 

Elinor was raised in Ancelstierre, south of the wall that block the magic of the Old Kingdom. Never in her childhood was magic even mentioned. 

Terciel was gathered by the current Abhorsen, Tizanael, from the orphanage he has live in since his parents and sister died. He will become the next Abhorsen in Waiting - learning all of the Charter magic needed to keep the dead in death and from coming back to the world to cause trouble. 

Their paths cross when a necromancer begins to summon the dead to attack Elinor. 

Nix has written this prequel, starring the parents of Sabriel, to the delight of his fans. What started out as the Abhorsen trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy series ever!

Nix, Garth. (2021). Terciel & Elinor. New York: Katherine Tegan Books.

Goldenhand (Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom #5)

Goldenhand by Garth Nix is the fifth book in his Old Kingdom series which started with the Abhorsen trilogy. This is one of my favorite fantasy series.

Lirael, the Abhorsen in Waiting, will be in charge of defending the kingdom while Sabriel and Touchstone are on a much needed vacation.

When a message hawk arrives from the South Wall saying that Nicolas Sayre is in trouble, Lirael flies there to find out what is happening.

A Free Magic creature leads her to believe that an enemy she thought was dead is still around.

Goldenhand as good as the original series. Fans waited patiently in the hopes of the series continuing and it was completely worth the wait. Read this wonderful fantasy series.

Nix, Garth. (2016). Goldenhand. New York: Hot Key Books.

To Hold the Bridge (Old Kingdom / Abhorsen)

To Hold the Bridge: An Old Kingdom Novella and Other Tales by Garth Nix includes an addition to his amazing Abhorsen or Old Kingdom series, which now includes four books and two short novellas.

Morghan has very little of value. His parents recently died and left him the clothes on his back and a piece of paper from his great grandfather. The piece of paper, however, while potentially worth some money is also a way to apply to one of the most well funded companies in the Old Kingdom.

On the northern edge of the Old Kingdom there is a large river - the Greenwash - that is difficult to cross. Just north of the river there is a market at the change of each season - a chance for those of the Old Kingdom to trade with the nomadic tribes to the north. Years ago a company was founded to build a bridge across the river - the Greenwash Bridge Company. People bought shares that would mature over the building of the bridge.

Morghan is not sure why his parents had not sold the share - as they had anything else of value. But he has spent the only and last of his money on passage to the bridge. The share gives him the opportunity to apply to be a cadet in the Bridge Company. If he succeeds, along with hard work, he will gain food and shelter for the coming years.

Nix has written a novella about a different part of the Old Kingdom. In the past we have learned about the Wall at the southern edge of the Old Kingdom, but the far north is new territory. With the Abhrosen series continuing (yeah!) reader will hope to see more of Morghan and the stories of the Bridge Company (please, please, please!). If you are not familiar with the Old Kingdom books - start Sabriel today! This is one of the best fantasy series ever created!

Nix, Garth. (2015). To Hold the Bridge. New York: Harper.

Clariel (Abhorsen #4)

Clariel by Garth Nix is a prequel to his Abhorsen trilogy and takes place 600 years before Sabriel's book in the same Old Kingdom.

Clariel, the daughter of a High Goldsmith, has just moved to the city of Belisaere. She would prefer to have stayed near the forest where she could apply to be a Boarderer.

Now she has to attend a kind of finishing school for the Guild families where she will be guided in classes that will help her achieve her goals. But Clariel is not adjusting well to the city. Her focus is on how to get back to the forest.

As a cousin to the king, she will be granted an audience with him. He has stopped ruling the kingdom and is waiting for his daughter to take over - but she has been missing for years. The only rituals he still follows are the ancient, including the kin gift.

In the vacuum that the king has left, the head of the Goldsmith Guild has become the governor and taken over much of the ruling of the city and it surrounding areas. There are rumors that Governor Kilp has plans to take over the kingdom by finding a relative of the king he can use as a puppet.

Nix has delighted Abhorsen fans by giving us a new book 14 years after the last and does not disappoint. He is a masterful storyteller using a wonderful world. This is one of the best fantasy series - and it now continues.

Nix, Garth. (2014). Clariel. New York: Harper.

Abhorsen (Abhorsen #3)

The final book in the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Each book in this series is better than the last, which says a lot because they were all amazing. But, they do in fact get better as they go. I had thought that Lirael was the best book I had ever read; then I read Abhorsen.

In Abhorsen, the characters from Sabriel (Sabriel, Touchstone, and Mogget) and the characters from Lirael (Lirael, Sameth, and the Disreputable Dog) join forces with all of the Charter (Magic)
Mages to fight a growing Free Magic evil that was once imprisoned under the Earth. An evil who uses necromancers to bring the Dead back to life to fight the Charter. It will take all of the power and knowledge of Sabriel, Lirael, Touchstone, Sam and the Clayr to try to wrestle this evil back into its cage. The founders of the Charter did it once, at the beginning of time, but is the magic still pure enough to fight back today?

As I said before, this series is better than The Lord of the Rings! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read.

Note: According to Garth Nix's website, it appears that there is a fourth book in this series - Across the Wall. That, unfortunately, is not so. Across the Wall is a collection of short stories by Nix. There is one that follows this trilogy, but it is not enough to satisfy the craving for more you will be left with after Abhorsen.

Nix, G. (2003). Abhorsen. New York: Harper Collins.

Lirael (Abhorsen #2)

Lirael is the second book in the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. As good as Sabriel is, Lirael is better. And not just because half of the book takes place in a library.

Lirael is a daughter of the Clayr, a group who can see the future, or past, or well, they don't always know when, but they have the Sight. Lirael feels left out because she is getting older and doesn't yet have the Sight. She take refuge in the Great Library. Little does she know that she is slowly learning all of the skills and magic she will need when the Old Kingdom calls on her for help.

Guided by her companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael travels on a desperate mission under a growing shadow of ancient evil. She is joined by Prince Sameth on his own journey to save a friend from Ancelstierre, Nick, who was on his way to visit when he disappeared.

This novel takes over after Sabriel ends to continue the saga of the Old Kingdom and the fight of good verses dark magic.

Nix, G. (2001). Lirael. New York: Harper Collins.

Sabriel (Abhorsen #1)

Sabriel is the first book in the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Technically it is classified as young adult fiction. But for some reason, fantasy and science-fiction seems to place all of the best books under young adult.

Sabriel takes place in a world that is somewhat different from ours. Actually, the world in the book is divided into two nations - the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre. Ancelstierre is similar to our world but perhaps a few decades behind us in technology. The Old Kingdom is where magic takes place.

Sabriel was born in the Old Kingdom but was sent to Ancelstierre to boarding school. She has little practice with magic but is called to the Old Kingdom when her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing. Along the way, she picks up some helpers (I use the term loosely here!) and makes her way through out the Kingdom in search of her father. Each step they take further into the Old Kingdom leads them closer to a battle with the forces of life and death.

This book was amazing. And each of the three in the series is better than the one before it. In my opinion, this series blows The Lord of the Rings away!

Nix, G. (1995). Sabriel. New York: Harper Collins.