Revisiting the Old Kingdom

During COVID-19 lockdown/self-isolation, I read and audiobook a lot! And, as you probably see from a month or so back, I hit a reading wall and was on verge of reading slump and blogging slump. So, I decided to reread Sabriel, the first book in the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. This is usually my Go-To book when I'm on the verge of or in a reading slump as I adore this book!

Plus, me rereading this series is a long time coming as, for the past 18 months, I have openly said that I would reread Lirael, the second book in the series. I've been wanting to reread this for such a long time as, while I adore Sabriel, Lirael has a soft spot in my heart as does Goldenhand (I will explain why a little further down).

So, the past few months, I finally sucked it up and reread the whole series. Expect, I've not reread them. I have audiobooked them, and while I've only ever audiobook Sabriel, so this is a new experience for me, and yet, not quite at the time same.

So, what do I class this? A Reread Post (aka re3 post) or a new post? A mix of both? An experience post?

Not sure where to start, so let's talk about rereading these books and me falling back in love with this world.

I suppose I should explain what the series is about, though that is a little of a hard one to explain. The Old Kingdom series is a high fantasy series which, primary, is set in the Old Kingdom, a kingdom where magic exist (well, two types. Charter Magic and Free Magic) and the Dead can walk, pulled back into Life by nercomancers or Free Magic adapts. Only the Abhorsen can lay the Dead to rest and force them into the cold river of Death and, hopefully, through the Nine Gates.

I suppose I should, also, explain reading order and history as, even as a fan, this is a weird one. Sabriel is the first, published in the UK in 2002 but published in Nix's homeland of Australia in 1995. This was, originally, a standalone so you can easily read this and you would be perfectly fine. Lirael and Abhorsen was published in 2003 and 2004. Set around 20 years after the events of Sabriel, this is one story told over two books, so you have to read this duology together. Clariel is a tricky one - almost the black sheep of the family - as it's a prequel, set around 300 years before the events of Sabriel and things happen in there that have an effect on the series. And Goldenhand takes place six months after the events of Abhorsen.

Which leads to reading order. There are, to my knowledge, three ways you can read this series, if you wish. You can read it in publication order (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel and Goldenhand with the two novellas, Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case and To Hold A Bridge before Goldenhand - yes, there are short stories set in this world, but not gonna touch on them in this post!), you can read in timeline order (Clariel, Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen and Goldenhand) or you do publication order but flip Clariel and Goldenhand about so the order would be Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Goldenhand then Clariel.

I know, that last order sounds weird, but it does work and make sense. Because Clariel is a prequel and hints at one or two things to come, you can either read it before or after Goldenhand. You can read it before and go "Oh, that's what happened" or you can read it after and go "Oh, that's what happened!"

But, in either way, I do say read Sabriel first as it sets up the world and magic system and Lirael and Abhorsen is one story told over two books and, if possible, read Clariel and Goldehand as close together if possible, though this isn't essential.

So, my reread and thoughts. Well, to no one's surprise, Sabriel and Lirael are wonderful books. I will happily push these two onto people. They are wonderful and am shocked that it's taken me so long to reread these. The same goes Wirth Abhorsen, though I don't have as much affection to it compared to Sabriel or Lirael. I feared at one point that this would be four stars, but Garth pulls it back right at the end!

Clariel and Goldenhand are odd balls. I've not read these as much compared to the others (only once or twice) and I have read affection for these. I read Goldenhand while in New York City on holiday with my partner who proposed on that trip, hence my soft spot. And with Clariel, I've been waiting for this book for such a long time and, while not my fave in the series, I do keep thinking about the main character, Clariel, quite often as she is quite a complex character.

But this reread was different. And I have two reasons for this. The first is I was audiobooking this time round and, because of that, I had three different narrators. Tim Curry, Graeme Malcolm and Heather Wilds. Now, I have listened to the audiobook of Sabriel many years ago so I have heard Tim Curry reading and I adore his voice. It just fits (plus, how he does Mogget is wonderful) so, I knew I would love his reading of Lirael and Abhorsen. And I did. Hugely.

But, as we all know, he suffered a stroke several years ago, meaning he was unable to continue acting and reading the series. Hence, Graeme and Heather stepping in to read Clariel and Goldenhand. And this is a bit jarring when you are doing one audiobook after another. I am going to be honest here, I see why Graeme was chosen to do Clariel, but I never warmed to his voice. The same goes, up to a point, with Heather. I see why she was chosen and I did like her reading, but some of the choices she made with character's voices were puzzling.

Plus, I did audiobook Goldenhand at the worst possible time in my life (I will explain in further but not now. At the time of writing, it'a too soon and too raw).

But I am, overall, really glad I revisited the Old Kingdom. And with the sixth book in the series coming out the end of next year (it will either be called Terciel and Elinor or Terciel [not sure as getting conflicting info on that front), I can;'t wait to come back into this world. Or maybe reread a book or two before diving straight back!

Book Review - Goldenhand

As you guys know, I adore this series. It's one of my favourite fantasy series. So, of course I was going to buy this and read this. How could I not?! While I wanted to start and finish this before New York (I planned to have a "Only Take My Kindle to New York" Rule), that went flying out the window. I forgot I need to take my time with this series.

Set after the events of Abhorsen and running (up to a point) parallel with Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case (if you haven't read this, go get a copy of Across the Wall and it's in there), Lirael is no longer the shy Second Assistant Librarian in the Clayr, but the Abhorsen-In-Waiting. She has a half-sister in Sabriel, is an aunt and is grieving for the loss of her closest friend, Dog. But when an urgent message from her nephew's friend, Nicholas, begs for help, she rushes to his aid. Not only does she find him unconscious by an attack of a Free Magic creature, she finds deep taints of Free Magic within him. Unsure of what to do with this (and her muddle feelings for him), Lirael has to do something she's been trying to avoid - return to the Clayr and ask for help. 

Meanwhile, a messenger from the deep north, Ferin, is trying to get into the Old Kingdom. She has an urgent message that must be delivered at all costs. But the Witch With No Face doesn't want this to happen. Being ruthless pursuit, Ferin must get to the Clayr and deliver the message from a mother to her daughter. That daughter being Lirael... 

For everyone and everything, there is a time to die. But will anyone survive the watery embrace of Death...?

Where do I start? Well, after having such high hope with Clariel and getting a little upset over it (I put too much pressure on it, but thinking it over, it was very good.), I went into Goldenhand with little to no information. I knew Lirael would be in it, but that's it. And it was wonderful going into this world - a world I adore - with little to no information as I watched Garth build the world and characters. 

Garth Nix does something very interesting. I know other fantasy authors do this as well, but Garth is one of the only few who I think does it right, is that he builds the world. He doesn't throw things at you for the sake of it. He adds layers and layers. The Old Kingdom in Sabriel isn't the same Old Kingdom we read about in Goldenhand. But it is. He's just added more to our knowledge. It's like the real world and I adore how he does it. 

The story and characters were welcomed with open arms. I must admit, it's been a very long time since I have read Lirael or Abhorsen, but I didn't realise how much I missed these characters till I started this book. I was going "LIRAEL!!! SAM!!! NICK!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!" and making these characters grow into strong characters I could read again and again. 

New characters and cultures intrigued me hugely and I like how Garth introduced them in. I think there is a lot more going on in this world and I do hope Garth explores beyond the Old Kingdom - say further north or beyond the sea/oceans to the east and west... 

Ferin, a new character who we spend around half of the book with, I found fascinating. She is a strong female character, very different from Sabriel and Lirael. Even Lirael niece, Ellimere, who we spend very little time with in any of the books (again, another character who I would like to know more about as strong doesn't always mean strong physically). While it took me a chapter or two to warm to her ("No! Go back to Lirael!"), I liked her hugely! 

Lirael and Nick's relationship made me happy. I love these two characters and have hoped there might be romantic feelings there since the end of Abhorsen but very much from Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case (whether or not on both sides I am not going to say), but I loved watching it play out. 

There are problems - of course I find these. Some people will say certain situations were resolved far too easily (but I disagree up to a point). Yes, one or two things were a little easy, but other situations made sense to have it done this certain way because it moved the story forward. If not, we would be stuck for another few chapters. While this is ok in some books, it's not ok here. There is a sense of urgency so we need to keep the story moving. 

My biggest thing which I must point out is that you can't read this book without reading the other books in the Old Kingdom series. You must have read all of them and, though not essential, the two novellas (Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case and To Hold The Bridge). If you haven't read the series, I would strongly advise you to start with Sabriel or Clariel. While I think Sabriel is the better starting point (as there are events in Clariel that kinda effect Lirael, Abhorsen and Goldenhand), both of these are standalones and it's easier to enter this world via these two rather than the other three. 

Another thing here is that, while reading this, I couldn't help but feel that this could be the last book we get from Garth set in Old Kingdom. While this is sad (Garth nor any of his publishers say this is the last book in the series, let me make that clear!), I am kinda ok with Garth leaving the world at this novel. Yes, if this is true, I will be sad and thinking "Just one more story. Even if it's a novella or a tweet-a-long, I will take it", I think Goldenhand is the perfect place for us to say goodbye. 

I adore this novel. I adore this world, these characters (good and evil) and I adore the series as a whole. Like I said before (and I will say again), this series is one of my favourite fantasy series out there and, barring a select few, I haven't found anyone who can write a complex fantasy world the way Garth Nix does. I can't wait to reread Goldenhand and the other books in the series next year! Oh, I am making plans. I won't announce it just yet (look towards end of December 2016/early January 2017).... be afraid, Internet.