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Sabriel: The Old Kingdom 2 by [Garth Nix]

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Garth Nix

Sabriel: The Old Kingdom 2 Kindle Edition

by Garth Nix (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3,576 ratings

Book 1 of 6: Old Kingdom

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Begin a new adventure: the second thrilling installment of Garth Nix's bestselling OLD KINGDOM fantasy series.

Sabriel has spent most of her young life far away from the magical realm of the Old Kingdom, and the Dead that roam it. But all that changes when a creature from across the Wall arrives at her all-girls boarding school. The creature carries a message from her father, the Abhorsen - the magical protector of the realm whose task it is to bind and send back to Death those that won't stay Dead. Since the demise of the Royal Family the Dead have become stronger and more fearless, and now it seems their forces are threatening to overwhelm the Old Kingdom.

Sabriel's father has been trapped in Death by a dangerous Free Magic creature. He urges her to return to her homeland, and to discover who or what is behind this uprising. Armed with her father's binding-bells and sword, she soon finds companions in Mogget, an ancient spirit bound into the body of a cat, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage whom Sabriel frees from a long, magical imprisonment.

As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death - and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.

With over 1 million Old Kingdom books sold in the UK, this timeless fantasy series is perfect for readers of Philip Pullman.

Praise for Garth Nix:
'Sabriel is a winner . . . a world with the same solidity and four-dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity and intelligence' Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series

'One of the best worldbuilders in fantasy . . . I love the Old Kingdom series' Brandon Sanderson

'There is no joy like returning to the Old Kingdom . . . Nix sets the standard for fantasy' Leigh Bardugo

'One of the greatest living fantasy writers . . . I will never get enough of the Old Kingdom' Sarah J. Maas

Bonus Content:
The ebook edition is packed with bonus content like a "How I Write" essay and, for devices that support audio, 12 clips of an exclusive interview with Garth.

Print length

500 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Hot Key Books
Publication date

June 5, 2014
Reading age

13 - 15 years
File size

3094 KB
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Books In This Series (6 Books)

Complete Series

Old Kingdom

Kindle Edition

Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1

1
Sabriel (Old Kingdom Book 1)
Garth Nix

(3,576)

Kindle Edition

$11.99
2
Lirael (Old Kingdom Book 2)
Garth Nix

(1,719)

Kindle Edition

$11.99
3
Abhorsen (Old Kingdom Book 3)
Garth Nix

(1,558)

Kindle Edition

$9.99
4
Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen (Old Kingdom Book 4)
Garth Nix

(1,778)

Kindle Edition

$10.49
5
Goldenhand (Old Kingdom Book 5)
Garth Nix

(1,988)

Kindle Edition

$15.99
6
Terciel & Elinor (Old Kingdom)
Garth Nix

(1,755)

Kindle Edition

$11.49

Steven Johnson
1,038
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $10.99
Jeff Wheeler
4,725
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
Jeff Wheeler
6,460
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $1.99
Garth Nix
1,988
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $15.99
Steven F. Freeman
357
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $4.99
L.T. Vargus
4,333
Kindle Edition
1 offer from $5.99

Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Fear and realization of ignorance were strong medicines against stupid pride.
Highlighted by 691 Kindle readers
“‘Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?’”
Highlighted by 598 Kindle readers
“The Clayr saw me, the Wallmaker made me, the King quenched me, Abhorsen wields me.”
Highlighted by 425 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After receiving a cryptic message from her father, Abhorsen, a necromancer trapped in Death, 18-year-old Sabriel sets off into the Old Kingdom. Fraught with peril and deadly trickery, her journey takes her to a world filled with parasitical spirits, Mordicants, and Shadow Hands. Unlike other necromancers, who raise the dead, Abhorsen lays the disturbed dead back to rest. This obliges him--and now Sabriel, who has taken on her father's title and duties--to slip over the border into the icy river of Death, sometimes battling the evil forces that lurk there, waiting for an opportunity to escape into the realm of the living. Desperate to find her father, and grimly determined to help save the Old Kingdom from destruction by the horrible forces of the evil undead, Sabriel endures almost impossible exhaustion, violent confrontations, and terrifying challenges to her supernatural abilities--and her destiny.

Garth Nix delves deep into the mystical underworld of necromancy, magic, and the monstrous undead. This tale is not for the faint of heart; imbedded in the classic good-versus-evil story line are subplots of grisly ghouls hungry for human life to perpetuate their stay in the world of the living, and dark, devastating secrets of betrayal and loss. Just try to put this book down. For more along this line, try Nix's later novel: Shade's Children. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"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 "Pacy, gripping and totally absorbing!I loved it." Wayne Winstone, Children's and Non-book Director, Ottakars "An unputdownable book, completely fabulous." Claire Nuttall, Children's Fiction Buyer, W H Smith "This 'good versus evil' tale is raised above the rest of the fantasy genre by the quality of Garth Nix's imagination and the beauty of his writing!destined to become a classic." Helen Davies, Books Etc "Captured the mood of fantasy with such realism that I was enthralled from beginning to end, a really cracking story!" Diane Sinclair, Sales Promotions Manager, Askew's Library Services --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-12. The mage Abhorsen is an "uncommon necromancer," who, rather than raising the dead like others of the art, lays the dead back to rest or binds those that will not rest. Sabriel, his daughter, has been sent for her safety to boarding school outside the Old Kingdom, where she is in her last year when she receives her father's sword and necromancy tools, which means that Abhorsen is either dead or trapped in the realm of Death. Determined to find her father, Sabriel enters the Old Kingdom, which is under attack from the minions of Kerrigor, an evil being who once was human. There, with the aid of Mogget, a Free Magic elemental who is bound in feline form to be the servant of Abhorsen, and Touchstone, a young man whose past harbors a terrible secret, Sabriel goes up against Dead spirits, Shadow Hands, gore crows, and the like, in a desperate quest to find her father's body and fetch his spirit back from Death. Nix has created an ingenious, icy world in the throes of chaos as Kerrigor works to destroy the Charter that binds all things for the good of the land and its inhabitants. The action charges along at a gallop, imbued with an encompassing sense of looming disaster. Sabriel, who entered the Old Kingdom lacking much of the knowledge she needs, proves to be a stalwart heroine, who, in the end, finds and accepts her destiny. A page-turner for sure, this intricate tale compares favorably with Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass and will surely appeal to the same audience. Sally Estes --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death—and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

Reader TBA
approx. 9 hrs. 30 mins.
6 cassettes

A tale of dark secrets, deep love, and dangerous magic!

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Charter-Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life--and comes face-to-face with her own hidden destiny. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“Rich, complex, involving, hard to put down, excellent high fantasy.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Nix has created an ingenious, icy world. The action charges along at a gallop. A page-turner for sure.” -- ALA Booklist (starred review)

“By turns rousing, charming and slyly funny, Sabriel is an engaging tale that slays sexual stereotypes along with its monsters.” -- San Francisco Chronicle

“Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. Here is a world with the same solidity and four dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity, and intelligence. I congratulate Garth Nix. And I look forward to reading his next piece of work.” -- Philip Pullman

“A wonderful new fantasy filled with rich and complex imagery.” -- Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Nix’s monsters are scary and repulsive, his sense of humor is downright sneaky, and he puts his heroine through engrossing physical and emotional wringers. This book is guaranteed to keep readers up way past their bedtimes.” -- School Library Journal

“A compelling fantasy. The story is remarkable for the level of originality and leaves readers to explore for themselves.” -- Horn Book Magazine

“I think Garth Nix has created a really remarkable and persuasive world; and done it in the grand style of heroic romance-with some wonderful twists and turns. His Sabriel is a herione truly worthy of that role.” -- Lloyd Alexander, author of The Black Cauldron

“An involving fantasy that takes off running and doesn’t let up the pace until the final page. The pacing is exquisite, the suspense rising and falling and rising again until the truly edge-of-your-seat finale. A winner for fantasy and adventure lovers.” -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Sabriel has a fast pace, drama, vivid descriptions, excitement and humour. Packs of putrefying zombies, too. What more could you want?” -- Guardian Unlimited, Susan Price, author of The Sterkarm Handshake --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Garth Nix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and has been a full-time writer since 2001, but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve.

Garth’s many books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, beginning with Sabriel and continuing to Goldenhand; the sci-fi novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; the Regency romance with magic Newt’s Emerald; and novels for children including The Ragwitch, the Seventh Tower series, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and Frogkisser!,which is now in development as a feature film with Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Garth has written numerous short stories, some of which are collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has also cowritten several children’s book series with Sean Williams, including TroubleTwisters and Have Sword, Will Travel.

More than six million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into forty-two languages. You can find him online at www.garthnix.com.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Sabriel is her last year at Wyverley College, a private school in Ancelstierre, where Magic does not work, but near the Border with the Old Kingdom, where it does. She and her father are also highly skilled necromancers, who fight the dead who seek to return to Life. But when her father is somehow trapped in Death, she must journey into the Old Kingdom to find him. She does not know that it is wracked by struggle (like that in Ursula LeGuin's The Farthest Shore)-a magician has brought chaos by refusing to die and hopes to use Sabriel and her father to further consolidate his power. Sabriel goes on a long journey throughout a densely imagined world, learning as she goes, and meeting such strange characters as Mogget, a raging natural force contained in the shape of a cat. She also develops a relationship with Touchstone, a young man who turns out to be as crucially involved as she is. Although Sabriel is possessed of much heavy knowledge ("A year ago, I turned the final page of The Book of the Dead. I don't feel young any more"), she is still a teenager and vulnerable where her father and love for Touchstone are concerned, making her a sympathetic heroine. Rich, complex, involving, hard to put down, this first novel, an Australian import, is excellent high fantasy. The suitably climactic ending leaves no loose ends, but readers will hope for a sequel. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up?This vividly imagined fantasy pits a young necromancer against a shambling horde of deliciously gruesome minions of an unspeakably evil sorcerer. Raised in peaceful Ancelstierre, where magic is weak and technology has reached the level of automobiles and flying machines, teenaged Sabriel suddenly receives evidence that her wandering father is no longer in the Land of the Living. She sets out to find him, though it means crossing over into the Old Kingdom, where time and the very stars are different, and then past the Gates of Death. Sabriel is no stranger to these dangerous domains, but she quickly learns that the physical and magical walls erected to keep the living and dead separate are nearly broken down. With the help of a depressed, half-blood prince who has spent the last two centuries as a wooden statue and a seeming cat who is actually a powerful magical creature, the young woman evades a thicket of traps and hazards to rescue her father?only to lose him permanently in the opening rounds of a vicious, wild climax. Nix fills in the background with inventively developed details. Though he doesn't handle every element with equal skill, his monsters are scary and repulsive, his sense of humor is downright sneaky, and he puts his competent but not superhuman heroine through engrossing physical and emotional wringers. This book is guaranteed to keep readers up way past their bedtimes.?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

Harry Potter fans will likely be drawn to Garth Nix's fantasy, with its magical incantations and young protagonist. In fact, SABRIEL is more evocative of Tolkien's RINGS trilogy--it's an epic journey in a world as richly realized as Middle-earth and much darker and bloodier than Harry's trials at Hogwarts. Unlike THE LORD OF THE RINGS, a young woman's voyage of self-discovery is at the heart of the story. Tim Curry brings authority to the reading, grounding the fantastic elements with nuance of character and depth of emotion, particularly in his portrayal of the eponymous heroine, Sabriel, a magic-wielding necromancer. But he also gets the chance to show off some vocal acrobatics, as when he purrs and growls his way through the mysterious cat-guide, Mogget's, dialogue. As the breathless adventure comes to a close, listeners can rejoice in being able to continue the series with LIRAEL and ABHORSEN. J.M.D. 2003 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KCJAV0I
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hot Key Books (June 5, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 5, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3094 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 500 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0064471837

Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,780 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #924 in Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy eBooks
- #2,257 in Teen & Young Adult Wizards & Witches Fantasy
- #2,796 in Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
3,576 ratings

About the author

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Garth Nix

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Garth Nix has worked as a bookseller, book sales representative, publicist, editor, marketing consultant and literary agent. He also spent five years as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. A full-time writer since 2001, more than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into 40 languages. Garth's books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly (US), The Bookseller(UK), The Australian and The Sunday Times (UK). He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two children.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

3,576 global ratings

5 star		74%
4 star		17%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Harris

Intriguing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 26, 2022

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I admit I enjoyed this one. I am not thrilled, but it was a fine read. I will go on with the next one.

Sabriel is our 18y old girl protagonist, certainly not ready for the ordeal waiting for her. The writer hates to reveal more than he wants and there is always a mystery. In general, that works and also helps the writing since you can’t argue against decisions made if you don’t know enough.

The world is interesting in the sense that the modern world exist, separated from a world of magic, though little is explored on that relationship and it’s implications. What we learn is that technology does not work on the magical world and magic does not work on the technological world, which is convenient.

Our story takes place at the magical world, the Old Kingdom. There is a lot of history, a whole world to be explored, however there is only the bare minimum of information, enough to keep you intrigued and to pave the way for more books.
The moment our protagonist decides to start on her quest, the tension and the rush never lets go. There is constant action and difficult situations and tickles of backstory.

This constant action and struggle keeps us on the edge but it also makes it hard to actually dive into the world and explore it and it’s magic systems. In the end, we get….next to nothing, understanding so little about the magic systems and the magical beings. I wish there was more, it would add a lot to the depth of the book. The story almost looks half finished with that many unanswered questions.

The characters were well done, Sabriel and Mogget for the most part. They had a depth and some uniqueness that you don’t often see. I liked the parts of Sabriel that made her a child, her thoughts and words, it felt accurate.The narration was pretty weird, following Sabriel’s perspective but switching to other’s too without a “warning” and mixing it back. I admit it worked but it was …weird.

The first book of the Old Kingdom series serves as an introduction. It gets you hooked but with a big question mark: will the next ones deliver? Will we actually get answers to the myriad of questions we have?
Well, I guess I will have to read and see for myself!

One person found this helpful

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Sneaky Burrito

loved the exploration and world building

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 19, 2017

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I bought this when it was on special and picked it up without knowing pretty much anything about it. But it drew me in quickly and after I finished, I immediately bought the next volume, and those are two great indicators in terms of how I should rate a book.

The protagonist, Sabriel, hails from a place called the Old Kingdom but has grown up and been educated in a boarding school across a Wall demarcating the Old Kingdom from a place that sounds a lot like the England of right around WWI (electric lights and telephones were available, and tanks had just been invented). This is very much a coming-of-age story, even though Sabriel has just finished her schooling (and so might be considered an adult). She has lived a fairly sheltered life at the school but is suddenly put into a position where she must venture out into the (to her) unknown Old Kingdom.

As such, Sabriel is a good proxy for the reader for exploring the Old Kingdom. She knows a little, but has been protected from much more. She realizes quickly how little about the Old Kingdom, or even about magic, she knows, and that makes her sympathetic (however, it seems with the appropriate amount of help, she can easily overcome her limitations). She has a couple of companions on her quest -- a cat who is not what he seems, and a young man who goes by the name of Touchstone. You do learn a bit more about each of them, as well, as the story goes on.

I felt like Sabriel's story followed a common pattern -- a young person is forced into undertaking a quest she's not really ready for, and yet she's the only person who can complete it. She rebels against it, but it's her destiny. (In Sabriel's case, rebellion largely involves refusing to be called by a title that is rightfully hers, and also in defining the quest as a mission to save her father when really something else is going on, too.)

My favorite part in this book was the journey. There is a lot of traveling and exploration. Normally I hate such things, but they were done really well here, and the surroundings changed in a way that constantly presented new challenges, which is something most authors don't get right. (I feel that Mr. Nix DID get it right, though.) This was a sort of world where I was interested in learning about the environment and history, and I thought it was nicely woven in to the overarching story. This also speaks to worldbuilding, of course, which I thought was quite good.

I don't have much to say about the writing. For me, anyway, it slid into the background and did its job of telling the story without being obnoxious. There were no repeated tics or verbal crutches that jumped out at me.

Magic was interesting and well-developed. There seemed to be three sorts. Charter Magic is basically the good (orderly?) stuff and can be used for protection, healing, etc. Necromancy can be good or bad, depending on who is wielding it and to what purpose (e.g., raising an army of the Dead or sending the Dead back into Death where they belong), and Necromancy can be constrained by Charter Magic. Free Magic is wild and perhaps unpredictable but can be harnessed. There are also some people who can see the future, but that may be an ability conferred by Charter Magic.

A few things didn't work for me, but they weren't dealbreakers. There is a romance that was predictable from a mile off and, in my mind, not set up as much as it should have been. Also, and I'm still not sure how I feel about this, but the final confrontation was odd. It was more of a series of tasks/confrontations. One takes place in Death and was over too quickly for my liking. The feeling of fear was never really all that palpable for me as few to no obstacles were encountered. The next confrontation follows immediately on its heels and I did feel there was a little more at stake, but it is also over quickly. The third confrontation was the biggest, and even in itself consisted of two incidents at separate sites. There were casualties, but I was never really in doubt that certain parties would survive. I did think the final resolution was clever and nicely set up based on events earlier in the book.

Overall, I was invested enough in the characters to see the book through (and quickly, I might add). I loved the world building and the journey and all the little details like the various bells used in Necromancy. I thought the magic system was great and I think there is a lot of potential for the future books that are set in this world.

45 people found this helpful

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Mr. R. Wilson Laidlaw

Corrupt file does not download

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

Like others have found, the file for this book must be corrupt on Amazon’s server, as it tries to download but always fails. I have tried on a Kindle, two different iPads and an iPhone all with the same result, when other books download perfectly. I have the books in the series on either side but want to read them in order.

36 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

1*

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have never managed to get this book to open. There's obviously a fault which has been mentioned many times over the years, seems to me the right thing to do would be to offer a free replacement to people that have wasted their money on this and been unable to access it.

11 people found this helpful

Fizz

Great book - broken kindle edition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

Well, first of all, Sabriel is an excellent YA fantasy novel - inventive, atmospheric, witty - so I have no serious criticism to make of the book itself (based on having read it in paperback years ago).

The kindle edition would be excellent value at the current low price, but unfortunately it's completely broken. The file won't download on any of my devices, and I can't open the book at all. Looking at previous reviews which also mention corrupted files, it's disappointing that Amazon haven't done anything about the problem for some time.

Avoid until fixed.

16 people found this helpful

Lucy Ellis

Fantastic book... don't like this kindle edition because of the author's asides included after each chapter

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

The book is brilliant - hence I have given it 5 *. One I read over and over (as with the whole series). However, I don't like this kindle edition - the author's "interesting" facts at the end of each chapter totally break up the flow of the story. I find that I'm lost in the events and the world... only to come to the end of the chapter and come down to the real world with a bump because of these asides. I don't want to know what the author thinks - at least not all the way through the book! Sure, add them at the end or the beginning for information - or even add them as interactive notes (this is an electronic book after all) - but don't spoil the story. Hopefully the publisher will read this and amend this edition...

16 people found this helpful

Paul T.

Excellent Fantasy (in spite of the annoying bits).

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

One of the things that I liked about Sabriel from the start was the world-building. A crucial part of any fantasy, and Nix has done an excellent job here. Particularly in regard to the well thought through system of magic, but also with the entire world that it is based in. He does a fine line in monsters and the bells are a particularly nice touch.

The characters were slower in developing - particularly Sabriel herself, who seemed rather two dimensional in the early chapters, only filling out as the story progressed. This is perhaps a result of Nix's approach to story writing: in one of his little asides about his methods, he says that he puts the story first and the characters develop as he goes along. Well, that's exactly how it reads to me.

And while we're on the subject of those asides - at the end of several chapters Nix puts in a paragraph or so about how he writes. Now, as a writer myself, I'm quite interested in other people's ways of working. But NOT while I'm in the middle of actually reading their story! There could hardly be a better way of breaking the flow and pulling me out of the fantasy world than to stop to show off the nuts and bolts. 'Look, this is how I put that bit together'. I found it intensely irritating.

But, when he's not sabotaging his own work, Nix writes really well, with a strong and absorbing flow of words that kept me wanting to know what happens next. So, in spite of my grumpy response to his little idiosyncrasies, I would recommend this as a very good fantasy adventure, and I certainly want to go on to the next one in the series.

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