A great conclusion to a wonderful series

First off - this is the last book in the trilogy starting with Sabriel, and continues the story from Lireal. While several years passed between the action in Sabriel and Lireal, this book picks up immediately from the cliff-hanger that ended Lireal. What does that mean? You need to listen to the first two books before reading this one - don't try to listen to them out of order!

With that said, this book continues the remarkably good young adult series by Garth Nix, although the books are at least as well suited to an adult audience, especially Abhorsen, the darkest of the lot. Abhorsen revolves around a race to stop an ancient evil from being brought into the world, which sounds like a typical fantasy plotline, but in Nix's hands it is made fresh by his complex world and compelling characters. Tim Curry's reading is excellent, and, if not quite as inventive as the first two books, this provides an exciting and impressive conclusion, in which many mysteries are resolved from the rest of the series.

If you like Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling's more recent (darker) Harry Potter novels, or George R. R. Martin, you should strongly consider listening to this series.

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7 people found this helpful

splendid

Firstly, the narration was extremely well-done. The only thing that I didn't like very much was Mogget's voice, though this is only a matter of preference, and I cannot fault the narrator for that.
The book itself is very engaging and a good read/listen, though I have to agree with one of the other reviewers about the heroine: she is too whiney and distraught over something she really should have been used to by this point. Being a Remembrancer should be enough for her, especially since she's the only one in the world, but she can't seem to get over not being able to see into the future. This is tiring after a while. Other than that, it's a good story.

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3 people found this helpful

Don't Miss This Thrilling Conclusion!

My only complaint is that it has to end!!!

This series is remarkable on so many levels. Garth Nix is a genius at creating rich, fantastic worlds fraught with gritty emotion and thrilling excitement and this final installment in the "Old Kingdom" series does not disappoint!

The characters are engaging, the story is tight, and Tim Curry is perfect.

Don't miss this one!

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3 people found this helpful

An OK book in an OK trilogy

After reading the third book I guess this series is just not my cup of tea. I know I’m in the minority but this series was just OK to me and almost even on the unlikable side. If you liked the first two though I will say this is more of the same so you’ll probably like this as well. I did really like the concept of the world Nix has created in these books but I just don’t think we see enough of it. Whereas some books I really get a picture in my mind of cities, homes, characters and the world as a whole I’m just not seeing it with these books. I also never really felt connected to any of the characters or care what happened to them.

Like the last book, I did enjoy the Disreputable Dog and Mogget way more than any of the human characters. Their dialogue was enjoyable and humorous especially when they were interacting with each other. They were the one bright spot of the book, and maybe if there was a story with those two traveling around having some sort of adventure I’d be interested in this series more but I don’t think I’m going to continue with the prequel novel and the follow up book.

I also didn’t really find the antagonists that scary or feel a sense of dread that something might happen in the story. Chlorr of the Mask was kind of interesting as a third tier villain but that was about it. Hedge and Orranis were just OK but and Nix tried to make them threatening but it just didn’t come across for me. I don’t want to spoil anything but one bright spot was the final battle with Orranis, the eighth and why the eighth did what they did.

Overall just an ok series that I may have enjoyed much more if I had read this when I was younger. I liked the world but I don’t see myself going past the original trilogy.

Once again Tim Curry was as a narrator was just like this book, OK. It was clear, but it wasn’t anything special that got me into the story more.

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2 people found this helpful

Boring

What would have made Abhorsen better?

If it where good? The story was boring the character I did not care about. I just couldn't get into this series. I have over 300 audio books and heard good things about Garth Nix but this series is just not good.

Would you ever listen to anything by Garth Nix again?

I have his keys to the kingdom series and I found that a lot of fun. But this series was just boring.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Dissappointment.

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2 people found this helpful

Good voice, good story

Tim Curry has a great reading voice. He loses his character's voices a couple times, but overall very good. The story is deep fantasy, with lots of complex, arcane magic; deep, inferred history; and evil necromancers. Story sags just a little near the end, but overall, Highly Recommended.

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2 people found this helpful

Love Tim Curry

These are enjoyable stories but Tim Curry's narration make them special.

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2 people found this helpful

Amazing!!!

This is an excellent conclusion to the Old Kingdom series as well as a perfect conclusion to the story begun in Lirael. I would suggest reading the two previous books in the series first because this book picks up right where the last one left off. This means that the action begins in the first chapter, keeping your interest until the end. The main characters continue their journey to stop an ancient being from destroying the world. This book is filled with magical fights that would rival those in Harry Potter. You will NOT want to stop listening.

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2 people found this helpful

Great fun

This is a worthy sequel to Lireal (sp?) which I also enjoyed. This book has a bit more depth. The talking dog and cat still made me roll my eyes a little (is it Disney or Jar-Jar?) but it didn't spoil the story. Plus they are more than they seem, like every other character in this book. The ending was satisfying and worth the two-book wait, although the last couple of pages were a little predictable. I had a hard time putting this one down.

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2 people found this helpful

I love the Abhorsen story but...

This book starts very, very slow. Also Nix’s struggle to completely realize a character shows clearly. However, the last quarter of the book takes a sudden (very) dramatic turn. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Abhorsen story and will be going back for more. I just wish Nix would add another 50 pages to his stories so that we can get a clear picture and an ebb/flow of drama.

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1 person found this helpful