Good book, just all dead people and things running around... I don't know, it is a little too much. Other books too. I am not fascinated by dead things becoming or being alive in stories, so ... disappointing. ( )

A decent successor to Sabriel. But still, not as good as it either. ( )

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

The second book in Garth Nix's ABHORSEN trilogy picks up fourteen years after Sabriel leaves off, and begins to focus on a new generation of characters; for this reason, it's definitely best to read the trilogy in order. Part One is centered on Lirael, a member of a race known as the Clayr, renowned for their ability to See into the future. Unfortunately, Lirael at the age of fourteen still has not received the Sight, something nearly unheard-of in Clayr society. To make matters worse, her dark hair and pale skin mean that she doesn't even look like the other Clayr. Her mother, a Daughter of the Clayr, disappeared in Lirael's childhood, and she never knew the identity of her father. Eventually, Lirael begins to work in the Library in the Glacier where the Clayr live, but even the work she does there cannot distract her from her continued lack of the Sight.

Meanwhile, problems are mounting both in the Old Kingdom and in Ancelstierre. The Abhorsen Sabriel and her husband, Touchstone, restored to his position as King, have been ruling the Old Kingdom and doing the best to keep the Dead from disrupting life, but after twenty years of their rule things are still chaotic. Prince Sameth, their youngest child and widely known as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, encounters a necromancer while at school in Ancelstierre, there are wars in the far South, and unrest mounts within the Old Kingdom itself. A series of events lead Lirael to leave the Glacier in search of a boy the Clayr have Seen her with, since they have also Seen that this possible future is the only way to avoid the destruction of their world as they know it. Along the way she meets Sameth, with his own personal reason for finding the same young man as Lirael, and the two of them try to work out the secrets of their shared past and uncertain future.

While at first I was disappointed that the story no longer focused on Sabriel, who I'd come to love in the previous book of the trilogy, Lirael quickly grew into a character in whom I was equally interested. Her personal struggle between her desire to belong as Clayr and the nagging knowledge that she was meant for some other purpose in the world was well-written and believable. Her companion, a construct of Free and Charter Magic known only as the Disreputable Dog, was a satisfying enigma of a character. And while Sameth was at times more annoying than regal, there is no denying that his fear of Death and pursuing the calling of the Abhorsen was compelling. I was also glad to see that Sabriel and Touchstone didn't disappear entirely from the narrative. Though they played dramatically smaller roles in the storyline, I enjoyed every scene that they were in together.

The end of this book took me by surprise, as the major external conflict had not been solved by the end of it. It's not a book you want to finish if you don't have the following novel on hand! However, the book does come to an emotional climax and conclusion; although the external threat has not been dealt with, the characters are certainly in a different place at the end of the story than at the beginning, and the development of this book proves necessary for the actions that they undertake in the third and final book of the trilogy. If you're looking for lots of apocalyptic battle sequences, this is not quite the right book, but as a story of emotional and personal growth, the novel sparkles. ( )

This is the second book in the Abhorsen trilogy, although events have moved on from the first book (Sabriel). We pick up the story about twenty years after the end of Sabriel - she and Touchstone are now, respectively, the Abhorsen and King of the Old Kingdom.

One part of the story deals with their son, Sameth. He has attended school in Ancelstierre and grown up there, with only occasional trips back into the Old Kingdom. It is generally expected that he will follow in the footsteps of his mother and is termed the Abhorsen-in-Waiting since he is able to feel death, and has travelled into Death with Sabriel. Close to the end of his time at school, Sam and the cricket team he is part of are attacked by a wave of the dead, and Sam is badly injured by the necromancer Hedge when he attempts to go into Death with no bells of protection. After this, he suffers from depression, self-pity and almost-phobia of anything connected to death.

Alongside his story we meet Lirael, a daughter of the Clayr. She has always been an outsider, both due to her colouring (dark hair and eyes compared to the mostly blonde and blue-eyed Clayr) and the fact that no one knows who her father is. She is fourteen when we first meet her, and unable to use the Sight - the magical gift of the Clayr to see into the future. As she grows more and more lonely and worthless, she is finally given a position in the Clayr Library, where she learns much more about Charter Magic (including creating the Disreputable Dog, a mysterious character created of Charter and Free magic - somewhat similar to Mogget in Sabriel). Her storyline leads her to the almost-forgotten talents of being a Remembrancer, someone who is able to go into Death to see back in time.

The two plots draw together eventually when Lirael and Sam meet up on their respective journeys and learn what extreme peril the Old Kingdom is in from the actions of Hedge, Chlorr (one of the Greater Dead) and Nicholas - an old school friend of Sam's who has been drawn into the events occurring.

So... this was definitely a more complicated plot and clocked in at a couple of hundred pages more than Sabriel. Generally the extra pages were used to good effect, although there were a few occasions when I felt the story was drifting somewhat.

This was especially when we first met Lirael - we experienced in great depth her misery and suicidal tendencies from not gaining the Sight, and these passages, although necessary to create Lirael's situation, did drag somewhat. As soon as she was given a position in the Library, her storyline trundled along merrily, and the addition of the Dog was a great touch (although I did prefer Mogget)!

Sam came across very badly as a character and I had very little sympathy for him. Sure, his mother was not around a great deal during the time he was growing up, but on the occasions they came together they seemed to have a warm and loving relationship - so why did he not feel able to talk to his mother about his fear of Death? This was frustrating to me, but maybe I am not putting myself in the shoes of a young man who has great expectatons laid on his shoulders.

The Library was fantastic! The descriptions of this immense space, with the hidden doors that led to strange and unusual rooms, was brilliant - I wish I could be a Librarian there!

I also loved the coming-of-age nature of the story. Lirael, especially, went through a massive development arc, so that at the end of the book we left her as a sensible and rather serious young woman who knew what her duties needed to be. Even Sam redeemed himself somewhat, although he came across as incredibly cowardly (although, again, maybe I should cut him some slack - the descriptions of Hedge were terrifying enough that I don't think I would want to face him more than once!)

One complaint about Lirael's story is that, as soon as she started to sense the Dead in her role as Remembrancer, it was signposted pretty heavily what the resolution to her particular story would be - and who her father might have been. I would have liked a little more mystery about this, but it is a fairly minor complaint when held up against the brilliance of the story.

Nix writes in a fantastically compelling manner - the short chapters and the efficiency of the prose invites you to read without putting the book down. His descriptions are highly effective - especially of places. Not only the Library, but the Reservoir where the Royal family met in one scene and the Abhorsen House are described so that you actually feel you have been there. Great stuff!

I must warn that Lirael is not a complete story, as Sabriel was - here, the story looks to continue immediately in Abhorsen, the third book, so I would highly recommend having a copy of this to hand due to the cliffhanger ending.

I really wonder why it has taken so long for me to catch up with what is rapidly becoming one of my favourite YA sequences. Excellent and recommended. ( )

Lirael is one of the few Clayr not to have received her sight before her 14th birthday. She's never fit in with the rest of the Clayr. She's in despair until she's able to get a job as a (Third Assistant) Librarian in the Great Library. Here Lirael can feed her thirst for knowledge and adventure while avoiding most human contact, until her adventures in the library lead her far from the only home she's ever known. At the same time, Prince Sameth is in line to become the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, b...more Lirael is one of the few Clayr not to have received her sight before her 14th birthday. She's never fit in with the rest of the Clayr. She's in despair until she's able to get a job as a (Third Assistant) Librarian in the Great Library. Here Lirael can feed her thirst for knowledge and adventure while avoiding most human contact, until her adventures in the library lead her far from the only home she's ever known. At the same time, Prince Sameth is in line to become the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, but he's terrified of Death and all Abhorsen business since encountering a necromancer in death during an attack. He's got to find a way to save his kidnapped best friend without having to enter death once again.

I have to love awesome librarian characters. I miss Sabriel from the last book, but Lirael has her own strengths, and the Disreputable Dog is wonderful. I can't wait to find out what happens next. ( )