Lirael
Garth Nix
Eos, Apr 2008, $9.99
ISBN: 9780061474347
In the Old Kingdom, the daughters of Clayr all have the gift; all except one. Lirael is “Sightless" while all the other women have the “Sight”. Already feeling like an outsider as her mother deserted her years ago, her difference leaves her even lonelier as she believes everyone seems to look down on her since she failed to move on two years ago like they all did.
Now fourteen years old, Lirael releases a Stilken (female human crustacean from a glass- coffin). That kindness leads Lirael to meet her great-great-grandmother, a renowned healer. The elderly woman encourages her descendent to befriend the insolent "Disreputable Dog". She and her disrespectful companion meet tense Prince Sameth, son of Sabriel (title star of the first book; not yet read by me). This trio of alienated outcasts soon uncovers a plot to destroy the Old Kingdom.
This is an intriguing reprint of a young adult quest fantasy that grips readers from the moment Lirael meets her ancestor and never slows down; in fact nothing critical is resolved by the end leaving the audience disappointed yet anxious for ABHORSEN. The lead trio is solid fully developed characters with the two humans having anxiety issues and the dog remaining an unresolved enigma. Newcomers and those who read the first tale will feel spellbound by the Old Kingdom’s magical realm in which the paranormal seems normal.
Harriet Klausner
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