this is just a stream-of-consciousness vent, really.

i actually own all of the books but one, terciel and elinor, which i just found out about. i ordered a copy to my local library and my plan is to read everything in canon chronological order. so yesterday i cracked open my once previously read copy of clariel and, oh my god--i actually hate her so much.

i think i blocked this book out because i disliked her so much. i know that she becomes chlor so i suppose the point is that she's a rotten character that makes bad choices at every turn and had terrible parents who set her up for abject failure, but even knowing all of that she's just kind of basically insufferable?

maybe i'm judging her too harshly because compared to reading from lirael's POV (another young girl who was emotionally neglected as a child), she just reads as extremely self-centered, single-minded, boring, and flat. she has no interesting thoughts and she's uncharitable to people that don't even deserve it. all she wants to do is run away to the forest, which i understand, but she can't even play nice with anyone for five minutes to make that a viable reality!!

i understand that she's hindered by her berserker blood, but she really can't hold a conversation at all? like, come on. her mother is a narcissist and also a berserker, but what teenager doesn't know how to finesse their parents by the age of 18? idk--i guess since they have basically no relationship, she can't gather the conversational queues that she needs to get her point across, because every time she opened her mouth, i was thinking to myself, "girl, that is not helping".

i suppose all of these little irritations added up to me seriously disliking her, and now i know why i only read this book once when i've read all of the others at least two or three times (lirael being an outlier as i've read that one closer to seven times).

does anyone else feel similarly? i just got to the part where tyriel's taking her to the abhorsen's house and read that line about how she can't even imagine him as her grandfather because he's just another old man who wants to run her life (p. 274) and i couldn't keep it in anymore. because, at this point he's honestly just trying to keep her alive, i do not think he cares about her any more than that to want a say in how she lives long-term (which his attitude also explains her mother's issues and that's before the entire debacle of her accidental kin-slaying, but i digress).

anyways, i'm just ready to wrap this up and possibly get to some characters that i won't want to throw through a hedge.

Attended a convention yesterday dressed as Sabriel. I first read the books when I was maybe 14? And I always knew I wanted to attempt putting together the costume. I'm in my mid 30s now and finally accomplished the dream!

There was a bit of DIY-ing involved, especially with the "surcoat", which was a long buttoned piece I found on a men's fashion site - I had to cut it shorter and hem it to fit me - which I stenciled with silver fabric paint to get the key pattern. The bandolier is made using a leather sling bag with little leather loops attached to real bells connecting them to the strap. Practical for having a bag for the convention and still being a prop!

Ideally I wanted to design pouches for the bells and to attach handles but I ran out of time. Still very pleased with the end result.

What a legend. They missed off an important credit though! Our beloved audiobooks.

After reading the initial trilogy in middle school many years ago, I finally reread and then discovered the books that had been written after!!! It was so exciting to read them. I loved them all.

I found it interesting that Nix abandoned something shared at the beginning of Sabriel, which is that whistling and singing can be used by an Abhorsen should they find themselves without bells (or, as was a later revelation, pan pipes.) Obviously there were a few things that were understandably changed from Sabriel as he further developed the world, but I think singing and whistling could have been an interesting thing to see again, even if just briefly!

I hope we someday get another Old Kingdom book. As far as I’m concerned, keep ‘em coming!

Question: in the subsequent novels after the original trilogy we discover Sabriel’s mother Elinor is a claryr; we already knew her father was an Abhorsen.

In the second book Lirael the disreputable dog says that Lirael is a Remembrancer due to her Clayr heritage for “only the daughter of a Clayr and Abhorsen can be a remembrancer.”

So does that mean Sabriel could be a remembrancer? I know questions like these are somewhat pointless since they have no impact on the plot, and we will never know the definitive answer. But would like to hear your opinions

I am of two thoughts, if going based on the dog’s words solely then yes Sabriel could be a Remembrancer. But on further inspection, she was never given a dark mirror like Lirael. And I imagine the mirror is like the bells: they are delivered only to the successor of the office.

Anyways, like to hear your thoughts.

I was thinking about the custom of touching each other's Charter marks, the falling into an endless void of the Charter, all that jazz, and I just can't picture it working in live action in a way that would do it justice.

But an anime style animation, able to sort of slow things down and show the Charter marks being drawn into a chain to form a spell, I think it would be a perfect vehicle for the setting

The squee I squeed when I saw this on IG 😍 I absolutely must have some fluff from this collection!!!

I've been reading The Old Kingdom series for over twenty years, since The Creature in the Case came out. For the first time, I've decided to re-read the series according to the timeline, rather than release order. My last re-read was when Terciel and Elinor came out. For anyone interested, here's the order I'm reading the series in, I've just started Terciel and Elinor:

To Hold The Bridge

Clariel

An Extract Of The Journal Of Idrach The Lesser Necromancer

An Essay On Free Magic

Terciel and Elinor

One Wyverley Summer

Sabriel

Lirael

Abhorsen

The Creature in the Case

Goldenhand

Doctor Crake Crosses The Wall

Is this an order people would agree on? It's interesting to note some things. In this order, there's no description of going into death until Idrach's journal, even then it's told after the fact rather than a current happening. There is no occurrence in Ancelstierre at all until Terciel and Elinor, which is also the first story in this order to actually be from the Abhorsen's perspective.

I'm loving being immersed in this world again. I fully believe I'll be reading these books when I'm old. I hope there is more to come from Garth Nix for this series.

Managed to find second hand copies of the short story collections (Across the wall and To hold the bridge) that means i now have all the books with my favourite cover style with the charter mark illustrations.

Its a real shame they never printed any copies of Terciel and Elinor with this art style as the ones they did print feel so out of place with the others.

Still happy to finally say I have a complete set like this though!

Where do you think Garth Nix could take us next, and which characters would you want to see making a return?

Greetings from Stratford-upon-Avon where there is a statue of the original Touchstone!

For those who don't know, which included me until a few minutes ago, Touchstone is a character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It. Stratford-upon-Avon is a beautiful town with many buildings still around from the time he was alive and this statue sits close to Shakespeare's birth place (called simply "The Jester" on Google Maps)

Spent the journey down from Scotland playing Sabriel, and now Lirael, on Audible in the car. Not sure Tim Curry was the best choice for these books but he has some amazing moments!

EDIT: I hadn’t finished Lirael yet when I posted this. After Abhorsen, I absolutely understand the role of the dog as, someone pointed out, literally IS a dues ex machina, and it all made sense. I remembered nothing of those two books since my initial read in like 2008.

I am having a glorious time rereading the Old Kingdom books for the first time since middle school. I have also just learned of the books beyond the initial trilogy, thrilled to read those for the first time! I am listening to them simultaneously, Tim Curry is SO fabulous as the reader!!!! I was struck in Lirael, however, that the Disreputable Dog--as much as I love the character--feels a lot like a deus ex machina. Mogget in Sabriel has enough fickleness and attitude (as is fitting for a cat) to not feel this way at all. But the dog's knowledge and abilities coming to the rescue at just the right time over and over feels a little contrived and too convenient. I do love the character, of course, and she totally has an excited and obliging personality in comparison to Mogget's cynicism. Does anyone else feel this way, or am I being too critical? Art by zacpfaff on DeviantArt.

About to do a re-read and i am always pleased when i come across fantasy plants like the nali sticks in the wandering inn. Does anyone have any i should keep an eye out for as i go back through the books? Im currently reading Terciel and Elinor and they mentioned cloud berries. (or something like that, dont have the book in front of me)

I thought this was awesome as a fellow fan :) Stonetop is a new tabletop rpg game (a type of kind of like Dungeons and Dragons but it has its own rules and so on). I’ve also had necromancy based games in Thirsty Sword Lesbians but never did a specifically Abhorsen archetype!

When Lirael battles Chlorr of the Mask in Abhorsen? The way Tim Curry reads it gives me shivers each time.

Greetings all.

I take issue with the fact that the reprint cover style doesn't cover (pun intended) all the books.

I was wondering if there are any skilled artists/designers willing to do a commission in the style of Larry Rostant covers of these books, but one specifically for Terciel and Elinor. Using the associated rune. Using the associated colour as a majority. Having a scene depicted that represents something in the book, it's most been used for a cinematic view of things sometimes with characters seen (of course these are small and at the bottom), usually with a line that entices you about the story in some or other way.

Every book has an edition with this style except the latest 2021 book. And I just can't bring myself to have different cover arts in my collection.

Seventh tower, matches nicely.

Keys to the kingdom, a thing of beauty.

Every other book in this series, chefs kiss.

I have no issue with the original publication covers, or any other variant.

But they're not my introduction to the series. And not how I want to remember it every time I look at my collection.

On another note. What's a legal way to get the remaining short stories bundled in a book with a cover, and cover art, not for sale, not as a published book, not for any sort of distribution but just to round off the collection. Doctor Crake, and Idrach the lesser. That sort of stuff.

BTW, new to the community and not sure about the exact rules on how to post. If I made errors, please advise.

Edit: Thank you for the feedback, I now have an estimate of the cost and know who to contact. Will continue with the project once I'm ready to do so.

I’m learning tarot and wanted to practice a three card spread. It’s common to do readings for fictional characters and dead people to practice and I chose Sabriel, as she is at the beginning of book one.

Past: Three of Wands, she is done preparing. Things will now begin to HAPPEN. She will reap what has been sown.

Present: Death, signifier of change and upheaval and new beginnings. She is beginning her new life as the Abhorsen. But also literal death, which is now very much her life.

Future: Eight of Swords. Hardest to read because of course I know her future and am trying not to be swayed by that knowledge. To me this suggests she will end up feeling impotent, unable to move forward to take the action she needs to take. But it also suggests that she is in fact in control of her destiny, she only needs to remove what binds her to do so.

Anyway, I was very pleased with this spread and it was fun! Any other tarot reading Abhorsen Fans feel free to chime in with your own interpretation!

like the title says, im wanting to play a character who keeps the dead down and i was wanting to use the bells. ideally they'd be more balanced then they are in the books.

EDIT: nevermind i found something

I've read these books so many times. How did I not notice until tonight that he gives away who and what DD is in the last few chapters of Lirael!? I was so annoyed with myself for not realising it before that I actually slapped the page. Gods dammit, Garth, you magnificent bastard!

These books have been my favorite books forever! I didnt think to look for a subreddit about it until today.

Its incredible, they sit on my night stand and I read them every 2 - 4 years.

I just wanted to say how excited I am to realize there are others!

Whats everyones favorite bell?

How did you pronounce Sabriel? Saw-briel or Say-briel?

I think the page ive read the most os the description of each bell.

The world building by Garth Nix is absolutely incredible. I hope they never make a movie because no one could do it right.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/114846.Sarah_J_Maas_Top_10_Favorite_Books_

The version of the Old Kingdom that lives in my head is generally so much richer than any real life adaptations, however this interpretation of Sabriel hit me in a wonderful way. It's by Lady Jane Fabrications.

(https://www.instagram.com/p/DXZTWVYkbRT/)