Wednesday 24 September 2014

CLARIEL by Garth Nix - review





So here it is, the long-awaited prequel to Garth Nix’s fabulously successful Old Kingdom series, and from the opening pages in which an old beachcomber finds a bottle of thick green glass, with a silver stopper ‘secured to the neck with bright wires still yellow and warm’ - it doesn’t disappoint. While you’re still yelling ‘Don’t open the bottle!’ - you should never open the bottle - a Free Magic power is unleashed into the city of Belisaere.

Set six centuries earlier than Sabriel, Clariel shows Old Kingdom society on the brink of catastrophe, fiddling while Rome burns: complacent, degenerate and unmindful of danger. Even the King and the Abhorsen neglect their duties, leaving the city of Belisaere in the grasping hands of scheming Guildmaster Kilp. Into this potent mix enters seventeen year-old Clariel, descendent of both the royal line and the Abhorsens.

Garth Nix is particularly good at writing about women as people. His heroines know their own minds, they have important stuff to do: and there’s not a love-triangle in sight. Sabriel is cool-headed and brave; Lirael self-doubting and timid, but ultimately equally determined. Clariel is a strong-willed, impatient young woman who feels trapped and unhappy in the city to which her parents have brought her. Her father is devoted to supporting the career of her mother Jaciel, an uncompromising artist and brilliant goldsmith. Neither parent takes time really to understand their problematic daughter, and they use her as leverage to further Jaciel’s ambitions – yet the unacknowledged strength of the family bond becomes a trigger for cataclysm in one of the most striking and emotionally charged scenes of the book.

Clariel longs for a life of solitary freedom in the forest, but this simple ambition leads to conflict and danger. Hampered by ignorance – of the Charter, of her family history, and of her own weaknesses and strengths – she acts for the best, but her judgement is far from reliable. Untutored in Charter Magic, she can draw upon her own inherited ability of running berserk - a frighteningly unstable power. Clariel is a fascinating but flawed character in an unforgiving world.

Let me finally say that Garth Nix is just unparallelled at creating magical/alien creatures. (The only other writer I can think of who’s anything like as good is Larry Niven.) Fans of the series will be thrilled to encounter new Free Magic entities (and even perhaps an old friend). Filled with magic, politics, rebellions, plots and surprises, Clariel is a hugely enjoyable book and one I know I'll re-read. I loved it and so will you.



Garth will be touring the UK from 28th September.  Details: http://www.oldkingdombooks.com/garth-nix-in-the-uk/

4 comments:

  1. I remember reading Sabriel back in the days when I wrote sales copy for a children's book club, and I thought at the time it was one of the most original fantasies I'd read for ages. It had a wonderfully complete world with its own logical systems in place, but it didn't beat you over the head with them, just wove all the great ideas seamlessly into a really pacey story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I've always liked wat Garth Nix does with his female characters. Interestingly, in my library the Old Kingdom books ave always been borrowed far more by the boys than the girls. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. YupI was delighted to hear that Nix was revisiting the Old Kingdom. It sounds like a fascinating new angle! I did get to read another new(ish) Nix book in the summer, 'A Confusion of Princes' which is for adults. It's short, science fiction (sic) and has a male protagonist. It was just as warm and textured and humorous as you expect from Nix, but sadly, apparently, a one-off. Still badly jealous of your early copy, btw...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Personally, i love this series. Overall it's a great quick read for an adult that's into series. This and the others bid can get a little dry in the descriptions but they'll give you the visuals you need to dive deep into the book. I've read all the first four books at least twice now. The side books are just about as good as the main series. It has more depth then the Harry potter series.

    ReplyDelete