Garth Nix Part 1: Sabriel

Many people (whether they care to admit it or not) are afraid of death. The uncertainty looms before us, because we know that, inevitably, we shall die, and the unknown is frightening.

However, Garth Nix takes an interesting view of death. The area of death is a river, a cold, bone-numbing river, that seeks only to pick you up and carry you through all nine gates to the great beyond.

But if you are an unlucky soul, you might be brought back into life by a necromancer, doomed to serve him or her until your fleshly body is destroyed or someone frees you back into death, sending you to the ninth gate.

That someone is the Abhorsen.

Of all the necromancers in the Old Kingdom, the Abhorsen is the only one who is charged with keeping the dead in death. His seven bells, the instruments of his power, are imbued with the magic of the Charter, the pure magic that is for the good of all. Necromancy in itself is Free Magic, magic that was not bound to the Charter, magic that does not mean good (at least in most cases) to those who come across it. The Abhorsen defends life and those who are in it, and protects them against the dead.

There are seven bells that the Abhorsen (and other necromancers, to the detriment, not help, of others) use:

Ranna, the Sleep Bringer: Takes all those who hear it into slumber
Mosrael, the Waker: Throws the ringer further into death, but brings the listener into life.
Kibeth, the Walker: Gives the dead freedom of movement, or forces them to walk at the wielder's command. Also tries to ensnare the ringer.
Dyrim, the Speaker: Gives speech to the dead, or gives forgotten words their meaning. Also silences speech.
Belgaer, the Thinker: Gives independent thought and memory to those who hear it. Also can destroy thought and memory, especially in a faltering wielder of the bell.
Saraneth, the Binder: Binds the dead (or a person) to the ringer's will. A reliable bell, favored by Abhorsens. (There is another reason why the Abhorsens are drawn to this bell, but it is not known until the third book in the Old Kingdom Series, Abhorsen)
Astarael, the Sorrowful: Casts all who hear it (including the wielder) deep into death.


In this book, the title character, Sabriel, learns that her father has been trapped in death, and that he is unable to return. This starts Sabriel's journey into the Old Kingdom, the land of her birth that she has only seen a few times before.

Sabriel has been at a girl's school in Ancelstierre, which is separated from the Old Kingdom by a Wall. On the Ancelstierran side of the wall, the magic of the Old Kingdom works only if it is close to the Wall, and mainly only then when the wind blows from the North, from the Old Kingdom. Ancelstierran technology (which is like that of the early 20th century) does not work when the wind blows from the North in the towns near the Wall, and indeed, any technology that is attempted to be brought into the Old Kingdom fails. (This is illustrated especially well in the second book, Lirael, where technologically made paper disentegrates after only a few days in the Old Kingdom)

This book is wonderfully written: Sabriel finds herself acting for the Abhorsen, her father, in a land where she does not know all of the rules. Having been brought up for the most part in Ancelstierre, she knows little of her heritage in the Old Kingdom, and this results in an education in her birthright that makes her grow up much more quickly than she would have had to otherwise.

Sabriel is very different from many fantasies that I have read. According to wikipedia, Sabriel:

'The book departs from the conventional form of fantasy in its resolution not to allude to the stereotypes of the genre. Death is not considered a bad thing as such, and loss is shown to be something that builds character. It also lacks a normal fantasy's sheer cast list, of which there are typically hundreds of incidental characters and many hero-helpers.'

This is extraordinarily true. Many books have hundreds of characters, mainly placed as good or bad, or just there to provide help at the critical moment. Sabriel focuses on only a few: Sabriel, the white cat who is not a cat Mogget, and a young man named Touchstone, found under strange and frightening circumstances.

I highly recommend this book. Despite it being in the Young Adult section, it is really one of those books that transcends labeling, as many of the themes within can be enjoyed by anyone who reads it. Those without the insight to see all of them can enjoy the story for itself; those who can see the themes get an added enjoyment from the book, and indeed, the later books of the series.

I leave you with a single phrase, which is found on the last page of Sabriel's Book of the Dead:

Does the Walker choose the Path, or the Path the Walker?