Abhorsen, the eagerly awaited conclusion to the Old Kingdom Trilogy by Australian writer Garth Nix has finally arrived.  To show just how eagerly awaited –  it debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times Bestseller (Teens) list and sat in the top 10 for several weeks following. 

It took 6 years to get from Sabriel (1995) to Lirael (2001) and, in fact, Nix originally wrote Lirael and Abhorsen as one very long text.  He split it at a logical, if abrupt, point and set to work polishing both halves into the finely honed books that are published now.   Abhorsen is not a text that can be read 'cold' as Nix has not 'recapped' the story and a rereading of Lirael may be desirable before setting off into this highly evolved fantasy.

The conclusion to the trilogy takes the reader on a continuation of the journey of Lirael of the Clayr and Sameth, royal son of The Abhorsen Sabriel and King Touchstone.  The sudden ending of Lirael left all readers in a state of suspense. Would Lirael and Sam, attacked by the Dead Hands being led by ancient evil, reach the safety of the Abhorsen's house situated in the midst of the river Ratterlin?  Would Hedge, the evil necromancer, succeed in using Sam's friend, Nicholas Sayre, to meet the purposes of his awesome master?  What is the intended purpose of settling the 'Southerns' in the Old Kingdom and who is really behind this plan?  What are the roles of the Disreputable Dog and Mogget, the white cat and will they help or hinder Lirael and Sam in their quest? What is the relationship between Lirael and Sameth?  Will it mirror the romance between Sabriel and Touchstone?   All of these questions are answered and I am not going to give away the plot telling how this all unfolds within the twists and turns of Ancelstierre, the Old Kingdom and the nine levels of Death. 

The prologue, set in Corvere, the troubled Capital of Ancelstierre, sees Sabriel and Touchstone removed from the unseemly happenings in the Old Kingdom and unable to solve its problems, a technique used by many authors to enable the children to solve their problems.  They are unaware of the predicament their son is in and have no way of knowing that Lirael is now 'The Abhorsen in waiting'.  Lirael and Sameth are the reluctant heroes who must make a stand and try to save the world, on both sides of the wall.

Garth Nix has created a credible 'otherworld' landscape and populated it with believable characters ranging along a continuum of 'good and evil', with the ambiguity of some clarified by tale's end.  As in any good fantasy, the reader must 'willingly suspend disbelief' and accept the logic of the fantasy world.  Nix makes this easy with his attention to detail and his adherence to the unwritten rules of quest fantasy.  The key characters certainly strive in their quest to save the world, but also discover much about themselves in the process.

This Australian series and its author are already getting rave reviews in America and Britain.  They are finding out what we have known for a long time.  Garth Nix, and so many other Australian writers, are among the world’s best.

Other titles in the series:
Sabriel (Allen & Unwin, 1995)
Lirael (Allen & Unwin, 2001)

Other books by this author:
Shade's Children (Allen & Unwin, 1997)
Very Clever Baby's first reader: a simple reader for your child featuring Freddy the Fish and easy words (Nix Books, 1997)
Bill the Inventor (Koala Books, 1998)
Blackbread the Pirate (Koala Books, 1999)
The Fall (Scholastic, 2001)
Mister Monday (Allen & Unwin, 2003)

 Review by Maureen O'Brien

© 2003 Maureen O'Brien