School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Garth Nix's trilogy comes to a dramatic and apocalyptic close (HarperCollins, 2003) with all the clever plot twists and inventive voicings by Tim Curry that made Sabriel and Lirael award winners. The story explores the theme of the perils and promises of technology and, read aloud, the power of this future classic is intensified. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
PW called this "a riveting continuation of the story begun in Sabriel and Liraed. At once an allegory regarding war and peace and a testament to friendship, this is a thought-provoking fantasy." Ages 12-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) Picking up where Lirael (rev. 7/01) left off, the final book in this trilogy pitting the living against the dead centers most of its attention on Lirael, the newly christened Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Sameth, son of the current Abhorsen. Their seemingly hopeless mission--to rescue Sam's Ancelstierran friend Nick from possession by an ancient evil, the Destroyer--turns into an even more hopeless race to stop Nick from unwittingly releasing the Destroyer into the world of the living. Free of his unwanted status as Abhorsen-in-Waiting, Sam rediscovers some of the courage and confidence he possessed before his disastrous encounter with an enemy necromancer in Lirael; given a purpose, Lirael starts to think of herself less as an undeserving Daughter of the Clayr and more as Abhorsen and Remembrancer. Nix's ability to weave the fantastical world of the Old Kingdom together with the ""technologia"" of Ancelstierre and bring together the various plotlines leads to a climax that rivals that of the first book in the trilogy, Sabriel (rev. 1/97). Regrettably, the inventiveness that manifested itself in Nix's creation of the Clayr Library and his original vision of the Old Kingdom has little to do here, as most of Nix's effort is spent on moving the plot along to its final conclusion. Still, established fans will find this consuming finale hard to put down. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Nix (Lirael, 2001, etc.) brings his trilogy to a literally earth-shattering conclusion. Action explodes from the very first pages as King Touchstone and Abhorsen Sabriel are targeted for assassination while on embassy to Ancelstierre. On the other side of the Wall, in the magical Old Kingdom, Prince Sameth and newly proclaimed Abhorsen-in-Waiting Lirael race frantically to rescue Sam's school friend Nick from the sinister clutches of the necromancer Hedge and his plot to unleash the Destroyer from a prison forged before the beginning of time. While the accelerating tension leaves little room for introspective character development, Lirael discards diffidence for decisiveness as she grows into her new duties, as the formerly feckless Sam, freed from the awful burden of fear, discovers confidence in his role as Wallmaker. But their mysterious Free Magic companions-the enigmatically feline Mogget and the effervescently canine Disreputable Dog-still steal the show, even as their secrets are slowly revealed. Despite constant weariness, despair, and attacks from Hedge's monstrous Dead minions, the priceless value of the Life they champion shines through small lapidary moments: a handclasp with a friend, a lick from the Dog, a shared tin of sardines. Terror, courage, bitterness, love, desperation, and sacrifice all swirl together in an apocalyptic climax that pits both Life and Death together against the destruction of everything. Even as Nix neatly ties off all the dangling plot threads, he hints that there are plenty of stories left to tell about the Old Kingdom. This one is breathtaking, bittersweet, and utterly unforgettable. (Fiction. YA)
Booklist Review
Gr. 7-12. Although Lirael (2001) begins years after events in Sabriel (1996), Abhorsen picks up right where Lirael left off, as Lirael and Sameth, the son of the Abhorsen Sabriel, continue their battle to contain the long-imprisoned Destroyer. It's a hardscrabble battle against the forces of the dead, which have been assembled by the sinister necromancer Hedge, and once again Disreputable Dog and Mogget (the elemental in the form of a cat), play major roles, as does Sameth's good friend Nick, who is forced into the service of the Destroyer. Lirael, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, must traverse the dangerous Gates of Death to discover how the Destroyer was defeated in the beginning, so that the process can be repeated in the present. The tension throughout the story is palatable, and despite a solid, satisfying conclusion, Nix leaves himself a bit of room to revisit his intricately designed universe--a course followed by many writers of book sets that are first envisioned as fantasy trilogies. SallyEstes.