It’s not often that something surprises me when it comes to the fantasy genre, especially as it pertains to books. I have been reading these types of novels since I was in single digits, starting with The Neverending Story, and am pretty familiar with what’s out there.

Nonetheless, about a month ago I saw a copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition of the novel Sabriel by Garth Nix. It had one of those recommendation notes from the bookseller underneath it and I think that’s what caught my eye.

I had never heard of this novel or Garth Nix. But I picked it up and something about the cover and the back blurb intrigued me enough that I decided to buy it. Desperation could have had something to do with it also. Fantasy novels haven’t exactly been killing it recently as far as I’m concerned (at the time of this writing, fantasy romance is all the rage–that should tell you something) and so I have decided to try and be more adventurous with my reading in the hopes of finding some diamonds in the rough.

And, again, to my surprise, that’s exactly what happened.

This story is actually shockingly good.

It’s about a young girl necromancer, Sabriel, who has to rescue her father, the “Abhorsen” (the title for a specific type of necromancer who casts back into death evil spirits who won’t stay dead, and of which there is only one at any time), who has been caught in the land of the dead by an especially evil and powerful spirit. So it is basically one of the old tales of the son taking up his father’s sword, in this case literally, the Abhorsen manages to send Sabriel his sword and magic bells using necromancy to revive a dead spirit, even though he is trapped. Except, of course, that Sabriel is a daughter.

But this type of story is so good it works for daughters too. I read somewhere that Tom Doherty of Tor Books said there is really only one great story, and that’s of the son taking up his father’s sword.

Anyway, that’s the basic gist of the plot, but what makes it interesting, besides that Sabriel is a likeable character, is the uniqueness and frankly pretty brilliant world building/magic system. I don’t want to ruin too much of it by describing anything in detail, it’s meant to be discovered during the reading of the book, but here’s the reader’s digest version: the world is basically like ours as it existed probably during the intra-war period of the 20th century, except that there exists an “Old Kingdom” which is separated from our normal side by a physical wall and protected with like concrete bunkers and razor wire. Think Normandy Beach in WWII. Magic still reigns in the old kingdom, free magic and what is called “charter” magic. Charter magic is the result of an old agreement, or charter, between humans and free magic creatures, which allows humans to use charter spells, which appear as runes. People of the Old Kingdom, of which Sabriel and her father are two, can travel back and forth between the kingdoms, but not easily. You need a special passport and have to be processed before you can leave or return. It’s an uneasy relationship.

Necromancy is a type of magic in this world. It’s controlled by bells which have different names and different functions.

I actually think this is pretty brilliant. I have never seen someone tie necromancy to bells, even though it makes perfect sense. Hemmingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls comes to mind. Bells toll for the dead. Nix built an entire magic system out of that basic idea.

And necromancers can travel back and forth from the land of the living to the land of the dead, and the land of the dead is actually even more interesting than the world building outside it.

There’s more to all of this, of course, I’m just painting it in broad strokes to give you some idea, but I was impressed with it all, and that, trust me, is pretty rare at this point in my life.

So, I thought it would be a good choice to be the first review for this site. Pellegrino means “pilgrim” in Italian, and what is better than a bottle of San Pellegrino? And besides, it has minerals (Lock Stock reference there). So, I’m awarding Sabriel by Garth Nix five out of five Pellegrinos.

I listened to the audio version of this novel partly during a road trip and can recommend that version as well, if you’re an audiobook person.

And lastly, Garth Nix has written other stories set in the world of the “Old Kingdom”, such as Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel, Goldenhand, and Terciel and Elinor. But sadly, no more about Sabriel. I have not read any of these others as of yet but plan to and I will report back.

Take care!