Rating: 
Summary: Award Winner
Review: SABRIEL won both 'Best Fantasy Novel' and 'Best Young Adult Novel' in the 1995 Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction. It was also nominated for a 1995 Ditmar (Australia's major fan award). For reviews and other info, see my website at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~garthnix
Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Fantasy
Review: Sabriel is the kind of fantasy book that glues your hands to the book. It draws you in further and further as the plot undergoes bumps, surprises, and spectacular twists. At times it can cause chills to run up your spine.
It's about an 18 year old girl who is just graduating college, but she's far from normal. She dwells in the dark and dangerous art of necromancy. Her family line is one known as the Abhorsens, who unlike most necromancers, who raise the dead, put those that should not walk in life, back to death. When her father doesn't show up for his monthly visit, Sabriel gets a disturbing message from a dead servant, telling her that his life is in danger, as he is trapped in the dark depths of death, itself. Sabriel ventures into the mystifying and dangerous Old Kingdom, where she grew up when she was little, in search of her father. Sabriel learns along the way a disterbing amount of information about necromancy, charter magic, and the dark world known as the Old Kindom.
Sabriel finds more then she ever thought she would while journying through the Old Kingdom, including deep love, dark magic, and an unspeakable evil.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: If you've read the plot description-- which is something like "Sabriel travels to the Old Kingdom to rescue her necromancer father from the Land of the Dead"-- you might think that this is a pretty junky horror-fantasy novel. Trust me, it's not! Yes, it's got un-dead monsters and things like that, but when you're into the story you're totally believing it and you don't stop for even one moment and say, "Wow, this is so trashy." Instead, the story is very beautiful and believable. Unlike many books, I could really feel the danger of the situations and I even felt afraid for the characters. This book looks long, but it moves very quickly. The unusual mix of technology and magic reminds me of Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass", but other than that I don't see why everyone compares these two books. They're not similar in any other ways I can think of, but I would say that if you liked The Golden Compass, read Sabriel, and vice versa. I thought TGC was much better in fact, but Sabriel was still great. I really liked Sabriel as a character, and I loved the idea of the necromancer's bells-- brilliant! The cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon is beautiful. I hope Garth Nix is planning to write a sequel, or at least another book set in this world-- something like Tamora Pierce's Wild Magic series, which are a different story but let you know what happened to Alanna. It could be Sabriel's daughter, a future Abhorsen? It seems like some things were left undone. They never went back and saved those children, or helped the fishing village. Did they? Recommended for ages 13- up, especially girls. I am 15. PS. No, my e-mail address is not varied from Sabriel's name. I chose it before I read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining!
Review: I read this book, including the other two that follows, it is a great adventurous story.
Rating:
Summary: Can Fantasy Get Any Better Than This?
Review: Seriously. I do not know of any other fantasy series that can beat this. The storyline is supurb, and everything is described so wonderfully. There isn't much else I want to say, besides that if you are looking for the best fantasy/adventure book out there, you found it. Buy Sabriel, and the other two books, Lirael, and Abhorsen.
I loved it, and you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Truly fabulous fantasy--Top of the Genre
Review: I have No Idea how I missed reading this fantastic book for so many years!
If you like Robin McKinley or J.K. Rowling, you will like Sabriel, it is Better than The Hero and the Crown.
Nix's fantasy world is detailed and wonderful, his characters are utterly sympathetic and cool, his writing is enchanting, and the plot, while it conform to the expected norms of young adult fantasy, contained plenty of surprises.
(This is really only Young Adult fantasy in that it features Young People and doesn't have sexual content. Adults should read this, while the descriptions of the undead may make this book scary for very young readers.)
I actually started listening to Sabriel on audiobook, which I highly recommend because Tim Curry does a magnificent job with the reading. Eventually, I couldn't handle just listening, so I had to get a text copy so I could read on lunch break.
I am really looking forward to reading the next two books!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Blah Fantasy Book
Review: This book was exactly what i expected it to be: Another blah fantasy book. It had almost no character development, so the characters were all one-dimensional. Especially Touchstone, I couldn't even imagine him as a real person. I felt absolutly no attachment to Sabriel, and had difficulty remembering she was female. There were some good opportunities for interesting internal conflicts (like the relationship between Touchstone and Rogir), that were glossed over or completely bypassed.
The magic had a few creative elements, but often fell to cliches. Like a previous reviewer, this book reminded me of a video game. See monster, fight monster, go somewhere else, oh no there is another monster, fight that monster, etc. There was no explination as to why the dead don't like the living, apparently being dead just automtically made them bad people, and so they went around killing people. You could tell that, in the hands of a capable author, this book could have been amazingly good. However, it fell short.
The reason i didnt give this one star, is that it actually carried your interest by sheer force of plot. There was enough action going on (See monster, fight monster...) that I almost enjoyed reading it. almost.
I came away from this book entertained, but not moved intellectually, spiritually, or emotionally. It didnt teach any life lessons (or any lessons at all), didnt show me a new perspective on life, help me understand a new character, didn't make me laugh, cry, or feel any emotion but some suspense (there would have been much more if i had cared what happened to the characters).
So, another blah fantasy book. If you like magic and action and don't care that the book you are reading is trash, read on.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing!
Review: Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
STORY: Sabriel, daughter of Abhorsen the Necromancer, has to journey into the Old Kingdom and Death itself in an effort to find her lost father and find out why so many towns are falling to the undead.
MY FEEDBACK:
My first praise comes from the fact that this isn't your typical fantasy. No elves or dwarves or other "cooki-cutter" elements.
Second praise is due to what the author calles Charter Magic. A form of rune magic, the author creates a form of magic that is powerful but also has its limitations.
Third praise is the world he creates is vivid and imaginable. The conflict between the living and the dead is nicely handled.
Fourth praise is because the characters were interesting. Sabriel the protagonist I was envisioning as a 12-14 year old but towards the end she says she is 18 years old. Either 12 or 18, she is mature for her age but I understood this to be because of her unique background and raising.
Final praise is due to content. Not overly violent or gory and little if no sex. Marketed in several book stores as a young adult fantasy, this was appropriate for teens. I'd rather a teen read this than the content found in the ever popular Drangonlance or Forgotten Realms books.
Overall, it was a refreshing read in the midst of the 20+ mediocre books I read last year. This book really hit a note with me and I'd recommended it to any fantasy lover...and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: smithys review.
Review: Five stars are not enough. I'd give it a thousand if I could! But since I am limited to only five, I suppose five will have to do. :)Sabriel manages to take its readers into a deep unknown world, so unlike the other fantasy worlds we've visited so many times in different books. Sabriel is an original. It is purely the idea of Garth Nix and no other. It would be difficult to find another fantasy novel such as this. Sabriel carries no similarities to that of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, therefore making each new page and chapter a new and interesting read. The language itself is graceful and descriptive, making it superior to all other fatasty novels I have read. Sabriel is a modern fantasy classic that can be enjoyed by all readers, both the young and old.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I really loved this book.It was exelent with all the myterious characters like Touchstone,it's an awesome adventure with many twists and new challenges for Sabriel to overcome.I do have to admit though that they wouldn't stop runnig into the dead...it gets a little bit tyring after a while.I also think that the ending was a bit sudden...Touchstone and Sabriel don't even kiss at the end witch i thought was unusual(at the end of most books i read there is a looooooooooooong kiss at the end).And there was one part i could not understand,what was Touchstone really doing with the maid at the hotel that they stay at.But as i said before i loved all the characters...as specialy Touchstone because I'm a big fan of twin swordsmanship.I also like Mogget for his arogence.He was really funny but i preferd him as the cat not the firey monster thing.But all these things made up a great book in the end(at least i think so)and i loved it.Good job mister Nix a great accomplishment.
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