I loved this book! It brought the story started in Lirael to a very satisfying conclusion. The ending tied things up nicely, without feeling contrived, and the final climactic scene gave me goosebumps. I definitely recommend this book! ( )

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. ( )

Abhorsen is the third book in a series, and it says something about the author’s skill that when I opened my mind to his world, I had no trouble at all following what was going on. (Admittedly, that’s a skill of mine, but if the author hasn’t put the hooks in place, I’m just as lost as someone who can’t do that.) The story is an end of the world/good vs. evil tale with likeable characters who are struggling to handle what they’ve been given. Both of the main characters, Lirael and Sam, grew up expecting one thing only to have another thrust upon them. They have to figure out what to do without help from their parents or anyone with knowledge, though they do have the somewhat mysterious support of the Disreputable Dog and Mogget, a talking cat. This story is told in a complex world at the border between what we’d consider normal, and a land where magic is alive and powerful. The culture clash doesn’t get a lot of play in this book (though the implication is that more was in the earlier books), but the crafting of magic and how it works is beautifully creative. I already started another book of his, and will probably be picking up more.

Continues the story from Lirael. Part 3 of a trilogy. ( )

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

If LIRAEL lacked in action compared to its predecessor, SABRIEL, ABHORSEN makes up for that by functioning as an extended climax of events from the previous book, focused around the need to find and defeat the necromancer Hedge to stop him from reawakening an old and malevolent power known simply as the Destroyer. The story picks up directly after the end of the previous book, with Lirael, Sameth, Mogget, and the Disreputable Dog in a race against time to stop Sam's school friend, Nicholas Sayre, from going through with his plans to reconnect two large metal hemispheres, which when connected will release the Destroyer. This power, also known as Orannis, was first bound when the Charter was created and is inimical to all forms of life.

ABHORSEN really feels like it ought to have been part of the end of LIRAEL, not only because the latter book is a continuation of the former in terms of plot. It might be possible for a reader to understand LIRAEL having not read SABRIEL, but ABHORSEN does not stand alone in this way. Rather, the characters, plot, and worldbuilding knowledge from the prior book is assumed by the author in this book. This isn't much of a problem, though, because Nix's writing still takes the reader on marvelous adventures. I just wouldn't advise trying to read this trilogy out of order. In fact, even reading this review without knowing the background of the series is probably difficult.

I also felt that some portions of the story moved along too quickly; I would have liked to see a mix of action and introspection, with more character development. However, in comparison to LIRAEL, whose action took place over a period of four years, the major events in ABHORSEN take place over less than a month of time. I recommend reading ABHORSEN directly after finishing LIRAEL for maximum effectiveness.

My biggest problem with this book was that it ended! While the primary concerns of the trilogy were nicely concluded, there were many new storylines and new questions posed that might have been nonessential, but that I still wanted answered--mostly because I don't think Nix is done with these characters, and I want to see more of them! I've got my fingers crossed that Nix will decide to write more short stories in this universe (the short story collection ACROSS THE WALL contains one story set in Ancelstierre), if not more novels. I'd be willing to read anything he'll write! ( )