Rating: 
Summary: You have to read this book!
Review: After reading Sabriel I had to get more and Lirael was the answer. In the beginning it was so sad since she had no mom and no dad and no sight(which is what the clayr call if you can see the future). On her birthday they announce they have seen the sight in someone and Lirael knows it is her. She finds out after all that it is not. Years go by for her waiting to have the sight. In the meanwhile she works in the library with her faithful companion the direputable dog. Over all I think this book was the best yet Garth Nix needs to get the next one out since it ended kind of like the Golden Compass series. I also am debating whether this book was better than Sabriel and right now I think it is. If you read Sabriel I don't know how you could not go on with out reading this!
Rating:
Summary: As brilliant as Pullman's books and even more in store
Review: It was a case of good news/ bad news when I completed Lirael. I began to notice that the number of pages ahead surely where not enough to cover the breadth of the novel's many twisting plots. I was ba' humbug for a moment after finishing but this is only because "I WANTED MORE". I would have read another 700 pages if they were there for me to read, but at the same time I was excited and pleased to know that I had at least one more great book to look forward to.
I read Sabriel about two years earlier and then went on to read all of Nix's other books. Shade's Children is still one of the most creepy and uncannily realistic (in tone and feel, of course) books that I have ever read. I have read 1000+ books and still have most of them and I am 22 at the moment. I worked at a chain bookstore for a year and a half to help fill all of the available wall space in my apartment. I would have to say that Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is at the moment my favorite fantastical story, well over HP although I really did enjoy them all. But what was started in Sabriel is giving rise to a literary universe that is just as visceral and just as balanced as any that Rowling, Pullman or Alexander could conceive of. Indeed, the featured reviews printed on the dust cover where from just such authors and represent a big statement, at least in my eyes.
In Sabriel, we where introduced to the title character and her adventures in the Old Kingdom. Sabriel is one of those characters that slices deep into your mind like a white-hot wire. Reading about her quest to free the dead from there unnatural service to evil necromancers was at all times like watching an artistically directed horror movie boasting a highly professional cast of method actors and actresses. It took only a small number of pages before as a reader I was committed to following her tale to its completion. And I longed for the tale to continue. It was a novel that screamed with potential for a sequel. Everything involved in the story was universal; any reader around age 12 or up will automatically identify with the characters that populated the story. The themes are almost just as universal. As a general rule most people have at least some amount of passive interest in the mysteries of death, it is inevitable. It is human. So to read a tale of a young woman who picks up the seven forbidden bells of the necromancer and has to fulfill the role of the Abhorsen (a decidedly 'good' necromancer who uses the bells to send back the undead rather than conjure them and to bind and stop anyone who would use the bells for evil designs) is like watching someone we all know step in and fill shoes dauntingly large with largess and bravado. The novel is a self-sufficient tale of Sabriel's memorable journey. I can't imagine anyone finishing the book and not yearning for a sequel. I always did and perhaps this is why I so eagerly set out to acquire all of Garth Nix's previous works. However, none of them shared that particular universe I came to love.
Lirael was an unexpected boon. I went into a bookstore looking for something or anything to read and after awhile wander aimlessly into the young adult section to see if Nix or Pullman had anything new. I can't tell you how pleased I was to see a hardback on the top shelf with the words Lirael and Nix written along the spine. Of course, I knew what it was immediately. The similarities in the two names Sabriel and Lirael were obvious. I hurried to checkout and went home to read it. My fiancé was having her wisdom teeth pulled the next day so I forced myself to put the book down after two or so chapters so I could read it while I waited. I read more than half the book while I waited the next day, seated on the concrete outside drinking a Coke and smoking cigarettes. I would finish the rest when I got home later that afternoon. Once I started nothing seemed nearly as appealing as crawling into a comfortable chair and finishing the book I had begun. It was brilliant and I can already tell it will end in an incendiary climax that will be the culmination of Nix's sizeable talent. I have that much faith in him at this point. It is not unfounded either. Just from the tale he has crafted here it is obvious that he knows Lirael's path.
I do not want to say much about the actual plot; you can read published reviews or the dust jacket to this effect. But I will say, the Disreputable Dog makes a brilliantly charming companion to Lirael through the course of her explorations and departures. Romance enters the story and takes a delightfully unexpected twist and the good vs. evil struggle promises to be easily epic in both scope and accomplishment. So to end with a standard line, if you dug Sabriel, the Golden Compass, Harry Potter, or the Lord of the Rings there is no way you would have anything but praise for this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Something special - or at least, unforgettable
Review: Hmmm... I don't think I spelt "unforgettable" right, but hey - my memory isn't fabulous. Though despite a poor memory, I don't think I could ever forget this novel.
In one word: Amazing, and in two: absolutely fabulous.
I can't be bothered giving a whole, massive, in depth summary of the plot - If you want that, then look somewhere else! This novel was pure magic, for it captured me and didn't let go. Even after months of not reading it, I'm still reminiscing and considering as to whether or not I'll read it once more.
This novel is a work of art; If you stare at it long enough, then you realise just how intricate it really is. I loved this book, for everything. This novel is an active adventure/fantasy that moves at an incredible rate. It is not necessary to read Sabriel beforehand, though it does give you a better insight towards some of the characters.
I found this a great read, suitable for many different ages, and certainly different people. A joyride of adventure - I just can't wait for "Abhorsen" - you'll never want to put "Lirael" down!
Rating:
Summary: Small world...
Review: What I love about this book is how all the different stories and characters tie to each other somehow, though, more often than not, the characters themselves don't realize it. The ending was brilliant... *shivers*
Rating: 
Summary: Lirael: Not Really Daughter of the Clayr
Review: Next to Sabriel, Lirael has some of Garth Nix's particular flare, but is much less action-packed. While Sabriel is out doing things and battling Kerrigor in the first book, Lirael tends to spend too much time brooding over not having the Sight. She is a kind of hard character to figure out, but the return of the Old Kingdom, Ancelistierre, Touchstone, Sabriel, and Mogget, as well as the introduction of Lirael, Sameth, the Disreputable Dog, and Chlorr of the Mask make it pretty much worthwile. A good read if you have a lot of time on your hands.
Rating:
Summary: Wow.....
Review: This is one of the greatest fantasy series i've read since phillip pullman's "his dark materials" series. "Lirael" is a great book, and the ideas in it are--there is no other word for it--ingenious. as w/ all series, it is probably a good idea to read "sabriel" first, as it will give you a better understanding of what is going on. this book left me dying for the conclusion. i couldn't believe it when i turned the page, and there was only "to be continued in 'abhorsen'" waiting for me!
Rating:
Summary: Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr
Review: Garth Nix's fascinating world continues in this dark fantasy. If you like fantasies, this book is an excellent choice. I would not recommend reading this book if you have not read "Sabriel" first, as this is the sequel to it. This book is about Lirael's discovery of her true destiny and her adventures will continue in the next book, Abhorsen. Garth Nix writes about the made up country, the Old Kingdom which is full of Charter magic and originates with the creation of the Great Charter. He also writes about dead creatures and death, and about necromancers and the forbidden Free Magic. His books are about this dark world and are perfect for people who like reading fantasies and books about magic and death and adventures and dark secrets and mysteries. This is a book for mature readers and is not like any other fantasies. Garth Nix's books are not about carefree magic and wizards and dragons. They are about powerful magic and dead things and ancient paths. The world Garth Nix has created is quite unlike any other and so is the battle within it. Most books deal with the battle between good and evil, but in Garth Nix's books, it is the much more complex battle between the living and the dead, between two kinds of magic. Though his are the best books I have ever read, I would not recommend them for everyone. Their appeal is more selective, and you have to understand and accept his style to truly appreciate his books.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I just finished Sabriel a week ago, and didn't know that there was a sequel. While searching the site for Sabriel so I could write a reveiw, I found Lirael, and was overjoyed that there was a sequel.I can't quite say that this book is better than Sabriel, because the excitement of the book doesn't really start until the last few chapters. The first two parts were fairly boring, basically just an introduction to the characters. The book is divided into three parts, the first being about Lirael. She is a fourteen year old Clayr, and somewhat of a misfit because she lacks the sight. After an encounter with the Clayr twins Sanar and Ryelle (who readers will remember from the first book) she acquires a job in the Library, where she gets into several intresting ordeals. Jump foward four years. This part of the book opens with Prince Sameth of the Old Kingdom, who is currently going to school in Ancelstierre, and town on the other side of the Wall which is fairly devoid of magic. After a cricket game, he and his schoolmates get attacked by the necromancer Hedge, seriously wounding himself and Nicolas. He later goes on a quest to find Nicolas, and run away from his duties as the Abhorsen in waiting and the rule of his commanding sister. Later in this part of the book, the nineteen year old Lirael is sent on a quest by the Clayr. In the final part of the book, Lirael and Prince Sameth join forces to find Nicolas and send Hedge into death. This book has AN AMAZING surprise ending, which is mostly why I gave it five stars. (By the way, the book is continued in Abhorsen, which I'm waiting for VERY IMPATIENTLY. I suppose you could say that Lirael doesn't really have a real ending) Note: If you plan on reading both this book and Sabriel, read Sabriel first because this book totally gives away Sabriel's ending.
Rating:
Summary: Lirael-Daughter of the Clayr
Review: I thought this was a great book. About Lirael, a child of the Clayr, and the oldest one who hasn't gained sight of the future yet. It is about her journey from the Clayr's Glacier across the Old Kingdom with the Prince.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best!
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read! Nix has really out done himself this time. Lireal hade a great plot and cool caracters, espesially the cat and dog they were both pretty cool and said funny things. Lireal was even better than Sabriel!
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