Rating: 
Summary: why can't "adult" fiction be this good?
Review: SABRIEL is easily one of the very best works of fiction I have read in the last 5 years. It is elegant, pure, lovely and lyric. Though towering with a sad grandeur, SABRIEL yet retains a warm and sincere intimacy, embracing the reader with Fine Company. Sabriel and Mogget are a matched set, each a powerful being contained in an innocuous vessel; Abhorsen, seemingly dark and stern - even menacing - but hiding a great and secret mirth for those with eyes to see. There are no unimportant characters cluttering this story; each has a distinct and readable story - even if it isn't written down; even the most minor characters are wonderfully alive and real. SABRIEL has a refreshing lack of two-dimensional characters. There is also in this book an unshakeable hope - not a pollyanna sort of hope, but a hope that good will triumph over evil at any cost. There is beauty as well: the beautiful, real love which is a laying down of life; the beauty of life freely given up. There is death in this book - the death of body, death by selflessness, and death by selfishness - death of the soul (and a clear delineation twixt the two). I wish more of the "adult" stories I read had the depth of insight, the power to move me as deeply as SABRIEL. There is nothing of the vulgar or trite or cheap or mean in this book. This is FAR more adult fiction (in the best sense) than most of my "adult" reading. To be too "adult" to read and appreciate a book of this caliber is to be dead inside. If you want your children to read something that will make them grow spiritually and mentally, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Desparatley Seeking Sequel
Review: With the majority of young adult fantasy books these days including bland characters, unremarkable settings, and suspiciously similar and predictable plots, it is a truly refreshing experience to read a book as un-cliched and original as Garth Nix's Sabriel. The excellent imagination of his writing is revealed at the very beginning of the book, as you are thrown into a strange and intriguing world with words and rituals that cannot be understood until revealed later in the book. The true eloquence of his writing comes forth as you discover this new world and all of its meanings along with Sabriel when she travels North to find her father. This book has all the marks of a true masterpiece. The main character, Sabriel, is incredibly human and age appropriate, her thoughts and feelings ringing true through the subtle writing throughout the book. I am most impressed, however, by the character Mogget, a most intriguing and innovative character, with a past impossible to guess. The book is filled with exciting and refreshingly new ideas, while the plot holds up all the way through and leaves you wanting more. Yes, the only thing that this book is lacking is a sequel, which I am still not so patiently awaiting.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written! Truly a pleasure...
Review: Sabriel is a beautiful book. Garth Nix is truly a master of writing and this spell-binding fantasy shows off his true talents. A young girl, named Sabriel, is thrust into the adult role of a necromancer. With hardly any practice but a lot of courage, she sets off to save her father... Faced with many evils she somehow gets through and picks up friends along the way. The cat Moggot and the young man Touchstone bring new light to the novel. I read this book at least once every three months, and it was a favorite since my first read. I cannot wait for the sequel and I am sure other readers feel the same way...
Rating:
Summary: A good book for the more imaginative reader
Review: If you apreciate a less direct approach and a more open endedstyle of writing, then Garth Nix has got something for you. _Sabriel_ is an excelently crafted work that lets the reader create as much as the author. Nix's characters are all deeper than they appear, with attributes that surface in the narrative only when the need arises. ... The plot is typical fantasy fare (young hero(ine) taken from home, forced on long journey, yadda yadda yadda) but rather than a tired repeat, the gradual unfolding of the characters, whether it is the shamed Touchstone or the recalcitrant Mogget, pulls you along almost to the point of forgetting the purpose behind their travels. These characters are three dimensional as opposed to "cookie-cutter" warriors and wizards one might find in some of the more popular fare. These characters, coupled with the sheer creativeness of Nix's necromantic world,will satisfy the more refined reader of Fantastic literature. ...
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for all readers
Review: This book was SO great! It was sad, but one of the most amazing books ever read. It was incredible to read about the two kingdoms, and I had never read anything about Neocramancy before. The combination of fantasy and reality made it a must- read for fantasy lovers, yet still a must-read for more realistic loving readers! Bear in mind, though, that if I had read it when I was under eight, I wouldn't have liked it... as much.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor, Completcated, Lost
Review: I didn't like this book in the slightest. first off it began too quickly. the author just threw you into a world completely different than our own with very little explanation. He talked about Charter marks and all sorts of odd things that weren't very well explained. And most of all he didn't define the problem clearly. I think Garth Nix had a great idea, he was excited about all the things he could do with his book and then quickly drew them out on paper, not bothering ot explain anything to the reader. don't get me wrong, I'm not one that likes pages and pages of explanations, but I would like to know a little more about the charcaters, the problem before he's already searching for an explanation.I wouldn't recomend this book at all.
Rating:
Summary: Not a second time reading kinda book...
Review: Sabriel was good the first few pages, but then it just got so BORING!!!! Practically all of the reviewers loved it, but I was so happy when the book was finally over. There were many exciting parts, but then they would fade into boring parts which would become exciting parts. The boring parts were just daring me to stop reading.Garth Nix created a fantastically realistic world where there are machines, but there is also still magic. Sabriel inherits the family business when she hears that her father is in danger and is in the afterlife or whatever. So she becomes the necromancer and battles the dead to find her father. She also meets up with some sidekicks to help her, and on comes the long, long, long, long, journey to free her father. Like I wrote, the world is excellent, but the characters weren't. It seemed like Sabriel never had much emotion, and I could never "feel" and "think" like all of the characters. The plot was really good, ( I certainly would have never thought of necromancers and all ) And, although the very important role that death played in this book, I was never sad or deppressed. So I just wish that Sabriel would have been shorter or had more exciting parts to touch up the rather dull parts of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book was probably the best book I've ever read. It was easy to get lost in it and not be be able to find your way out for hours! The plot was excellent, and kinda mysterious. Sabriel was just really intriging. Just to let you know this is coming from a 15 year olds point of view. I first read the book last year and have been reading Garth Nix ever since!
Rating:
Summary: Sabriel, an orginal book
Review: Set in modern times, this book tells the story of Sabriel's life journey to find her father. But to do so she has to travel back into the old kingdom, where you're only guard is charter Magic and necromancy. But the problem is, whoever has her father, dosen't want him to be found. Sabriel is risking her life daily, and everything changes when she meets Moggart, a strange cat that can speek. And after a failed flight on a paperwing she finds a statue of a man, that looks all too real. I loved this book and if you like ther supernatural you'll definatly like this one!
Rating:
Summary: Not just for teens
Review: In fact i had no idea it was a teen-market fantady book. It's intelligent, well-written, with some very new and interesting ideas including the whole reverse-necromancy and the bell magic. The setting with the two worlds, the magic one and the semi-World War II England-style one with the magic border and tank traps was another in the many curious and unusual new ideas that Garth Nix managed to make work. The characters are not even all they seem to be, and are all well rounded and interesting, the descriptions are good, and even the evil things are vividly brought to life (shudder). A damn good fantasy - up there with R.A. Salvatore at his best. Buy it and read it. It's worth it.
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