Lirael – Garth Nix

What happens

Teenage Lirael lives in a glacier-topped mountain with a sisterhood of seers called the Clayr. She’s a dark-haired, loneoy misfit in a society of smug, clairvoyant blondes, and gets progressively more miserable as her own clairvoyance stubbornly refuses to surface. So she gets a job in the library (a deeply magical place itself) and begins exploring. In the process she makes her way through a series of slightly Dungeons & Dragons-ish challenges, gains a mysterious magical dog friend, and begins to develop a sense of her own identity.

What I liked

Some decent monsters; a vividly-imagined underground world full of strange surprises and secret rooms; the moment where the Disreputable Dog grows octopus suckers on her paws to cross a wet stone bridge.

What I didn’t like

Of the whole trilogy, this was the book I liked least. It’s enjoyable enough, but for my taste it wasted too much time banging on about how alienated and sulky Lirael feels among the Clayr, and the whole ‘overlooked misfit begins to discover their true powers and heritage’ trope is all very well for YA readers but a bit dull for grownups. It’s also a bit thin on conflict, and overall doesn’t have the sense of urgency and broader emotional scope that gives Sabriel its zippy pace.

Why you might want to read this on the train

You’ve read Sabriel, fancy reading Abhorsen (it’s the best, I reckon) and want to have some idea of what’s going on when you do.

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Posted: February 21st, 2010 | Author: bookworm | Filed under: Fantasy, YA | No Comments »