Sabriel - Mass Market Paperbound

by Garth Nix (Author), Leo And Diane Dillon (Illustrator)

Game of Thrones fans will love the New York Times bestselling Abhorsen series. Sabriel, the first installment in the trilogy, launched critically acclaimed author Garth Nix onto the fantasy scene as a rising star.

Dark Secrets, Deep Love, and Dangerous Magic

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories.

As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death--and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own destiny.

"Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. Here is a world with the same solidity and four-dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity and intelligence." --Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy

She's an untested schoolgirl stepping into an ancient role. What happens when the only one who can command the dead is terrified of her own destiny?

• A Strong Female Protagonist: Sabriel has spent her life in a boarding school, sheltered from her destiny. Now, she must trade her school uniform for a sword and the seven bells of a necromancer to journey into a land where the dead won't stay buried.
• A Unique Magic System: Forget raising the dead. As the Abhorsen, Sabriel must master the dangerous art of walking in Death to command the spirits, wielding a set of ancient, enchanted bells to put them back to rest.
• An Epic Coming-of-Age Adventure: From the safety of Ancelstierre to the magic-haunted Old Kingdom, Sabriel must learn to trust her own power on a quest that will define her not just as a daughter, but as the Abhorsen.
• A Mysterious Companion: She isn't alone, but can she trust her companions? Mogget is a powerful, ancient being trapped in the form of a cat, and his motives are as old and hidden as his true form.

Back Jacket

Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorson, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life'and comes face to face with her own hidden destiny. . . Garth Nix's first young adult novel, Sabriel was recently nominated for the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Science Fiction in Australia.