Where Necromancy isn’t so bad

I listen to a lot of audio books because I have a long commute that often becomes long as the Washington DC subway system is falling apart and if one thing goes wrong they tend to snowball and the next thing you know your 30 minute trip is an hour and a half. I didn’t pay attention to who was narrating Sabriel, the first book in a series by Garth Nix, so I was delighted to discover it was read by Tim Curry. He definitely adds flair to the world building portions of the book which would probably be a little boring if otherwise read.

I liked this book a fair amount. There was a lot of action, and a cat/scary demon thing that allowed Tim Curry to purr at me. Always a plus. There were some interesting ideas in the world, or worlds of Ancelstierre, where Sabriel lives and goes to a girl’s school. There is technology in this world and people do magic but it seems like it is on the sly. Then there is the nearby Old Kingdom where Free Magic and Charter Magic exist but the differences aren’t really explained (I assume they are in the series of books). The undead are taking over The Old Kingdom. It is Sabriel’s father’s job as the Abhorsen to help guide the dead to the river of Death. He is trapped in Death by the Kerrigor, the big bad of the story who is dead, and sends Sabriel his bells (which help to guide the dead) and a sword, and she sets off for the Old Kingdom to rescue him.

I really liked Sabriel. She’s badass without being too over the top. She has Moggett (the cat/scary demon) and she rescues Touchstone who aids her as well. She deals with a lot of information being thrown at her about being the Abhorsen in her dad’s absence well. She’s resourceful without suddenly doing all sort of things that you would doubt she’d have the ability to do. I enjoyed the book and will go back to the other books this year.