Lirael (Abhorsen #2) by Garth Nix - Restarting November 8th 2020

[Dannii]

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr's birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to Sabriel, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, New York Times best-selling author Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

[Dannii]

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Date changed. Restarting February 3rd 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Dannii]

Finishing off my two current reads today and hoping to jump straight into this, this evening.

[Krystal]

9% Oh my goodness, it's already starting off so well! (view spoiler)[ I wonder if they are keeping Lirael's mother in a deep sleep of some sort. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I really liked the beginning of Sabriel but I am LOVING the beginning of this one! Lirael's struggled over not finding her sight made for such a sad start, but her job inside of the library is such fun to read about. I really like that although there is a looming darkness descending over the kingdom, Lirael is focusing on her own worries inside the library walls. I bet the two will collide soon, though... (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "9% Oh my goodness, it's already starting off so well! [spoilers removed]"

I bet we see her character in the future!

[Krystal]

20% (view spoiler)[ I love the fact that she will be making a sending dog! I hope it survives anything she may have to go through as I feel she will be going on some kind of adventure. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "20% [spoilers removed]"

I love how (view spoiler)[a cat featured in book one and a dog in book two. Fantasy books where the protagonist has a four-legged companion are my favourites! (hide spoiler)]

[Lily]

Just a heads up, I haven’t been able to start this yet and I may have to abandon this read :(

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Krystal wrote: "20% [spoilers removed]"

I love how [spoilers removed]"

I love that as well! (view spoiler)[ I just hope nothing happens to him and we get to see the cats in this book as well! (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Lily wrote: "Just a heads up, I haven’t been able to start this yet and I may have to abandon this read :("

Aww, totally understand though!

[Dannii]

Lily wrote: "Just a heads up, I haven’t been able to start this yet and I may have to abandon this read :("

Aw no. No worries, Lily :) I'll be here if you manage to jump back in :)

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Krystal wrote: "20% [spoilers removed]"

I love how [spoilers removed]"

I love that as well! [spoilers removed]"

Yes! I still have questions about them, from the end of book one.

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Krystal wrote: "20% [spoilers removed]"

I love how [spoilers removed]"

I love that as well! [spoilers removed]"

Yes! I still have questions about them, from the en..."

(view spoiler)[I can't believe it's been 18 years since the first book! What a time jump. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[Part two switches perspective to Sam, Sabriel's son. It begun in such a tense fashion. I was reading it on the train and almost missed my stop, as I was absorbed into his first solo journey into death.

I guess it was as she wished to protect him, but he seems very unskilled as an abhorsen. I would have thought Sabriel would train him better. She was schooled across the wall, as he was, but still knew far more than he did at a comparable age. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Second quarter - Part two switches perspective to Sam, Sabriel's son. It begun in such a tense fashion. I was reading it on the train and almost missed my stop, as I was absorbed into his first sol..."

(view spoiler)[I know he had a lot going on but the fact that he got swept up into the first gate.. I totally agree, he is experienced in his charters and what to do but not in the actual delivery. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Second quarter - Part two switches perspective to Sam, Sabriel's son. It begun in such a tense fashion. I was reading it on the train and almost missed my stop, as I was absorbed int..."

I've not read further than this point so I'm guessing it will all be explained but he seems to be really lacking in magical education! I wonder why his parents didn't drill more into him?

[Dannii]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[Sam is irking me a little. I commiserate with his fears with death but it also seems a little immature to entirely abandon all responsibilities and disappear to save a friend who he doesn't even know is definitely in danger. He should voice his concerns and he never really tried to to do so.

I feel he wasn't properly schooled for his future role though, as so much of it seems new and scary to him. I also can understand his agony over his parents' constant travelling into danger and leaving him alone with only his sister for company. What I can't understand is how horribly he treats the others around him. It is explained as his longing for solitude but he is a prince who acts like a brat and then mopes that the guards don't think highly of him.

It also concerns me that he didn't know, what I believe would be well known facts about his kingdom, for exaple that the king's men could not be murdered. Luckily Mogget was there to voice my disdain to him for me. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Lirael has left the Clayr and adventure is truly beginning for her. I guessed previously that she would be the next abhorsen, as Sam showed an obvious aversion to the role throughout. Both characters are journeying to the same place and getting up to all sorts of mischief along the way.

Sam involved the death of his horse, Sprout, which I hated reading about. He worked the poor thing to exhaustion to escape the dead that were stalking him and then used his body as a sacrifice. I've seen this done a lot in fantasy and I HATE IT every time. Poor thing!

I was surprised that the whole novel was spent introducing the characters and them journeying towards the same destination for the last 80 or so pages. I assumed defeating Hedge would take up a large portion. I still really enjoyed this, though. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Did you want to continue on and read Abhorsen whenever you were finished with this one? :)

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Did you want to continue on and read Abhorsen whenever you were finished with this one? :)"

Absolutely. I had to take a break from this to finish up a few others but I'm back to it today so should finish this today.

[Dannii]

Hi Krsyal :) That's fine. There's no rush. I'm good to go with Abhorsen whenever you are :)

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Hi Krsyal :) That's fine. There's no rush. I'm good to go with Abhorsen whenever you are :)"

How about Friday of this week?

[Krystal]

41% So I've stalled a bit. Sam's part bored me a bit and now Lariel's part is boring as well. I think that's why I was able to set it aside for a few days.

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Hi Krsyal :) That's fine. There's no rush. I'm good to go with Abhorsen whenever you are :)"

How about Friday of this week?"

Perfect :) I can set up the threads tomorrow, unless you can do it any sooner?

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Hi Krsyal :) That's fine. There's no rush. I'm good to go with Abhorsen whenever you are :)"

How about Friday of this week?"

Perfect :) I can set up the threads tom..."

That works!

[Dannii]

Hey Krystal :) Here is the thread for Abhorsen:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Krystal]

52% (view spoiler)[ I do feel sorry for Sam even though he is a bit whiny. It must be hard not wanting to do something that you are expected to do and aren’t very good at. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Dannii wrote: "Third quarter - Sam is irking me a little. I commiserate with his fears with death but it also seems a little immature to entirely abandon all responsibilities and disappear to save a friend who he..."

While I feel sorry for him because of his responsibility, he’s really not a great character! Super annoying and bratty at times.

[Krystal]

56% (view spoiler)[ I cannot believe he put out death marks.. Sure, they were attacking him but they weren't trying to kill him. He doesn't think! (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Krystal wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Third quarter - Sam is irking me a little. I commiserate with his fears with death but it also seems a little immature to entirely abandon all responsibilities and disappear to save ..."

Agreed!! The females in this series are painted as far stronger.

[Krystal]

63% (view spoiler)[ I'm glad he didn't actually kill them. But still, he needs to be more careful. I'm glad Mogget is there to claw some sense into him! (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

81% (view spoiler)[ I'm so glad the two have met up! I wonder if they will end up together, eventually. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

93% (view spoiler)[ Oh wow, now that was an interesting turn of events. I knew the girl was somehow really important but didn't think this. Very interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Finished. So, I did enjoy the very ending of this book. It was really hard getting through the rest though.

[Karen]

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Date changed. Restarting November 8th 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Karen]

A day late getting to this, but am curious to see what our focus is going to be in this one.

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

29%

(view spoiler)[ I like the dog. I'll admit I thought this would follow through from the first book so i was confused at the start. I like it and I like how we are learning about a different part of the world. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

52%

(view spoiler)[ That must be the worse having a path or job chosen for you that scares you and you don't want it. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

85%

(view spoiler)[ I like how the dog helped them. I also like how one has a magical cat and the other has a magical dog. (hide spoiler)]

[Mummy's Naughty Corner]

Finished

(view spoiler)[ Well i missed the necromancers. I know they were in here but it wasn't the same. It'll be interesting to see what the third book is about. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

15% like Lirael on first impressions. She has something to prove, but seems to be more important than people realise.

[Karen]

Up to ch11. Oh, wow, I love the appearance of the Disreputable Bitch.

[Karen]

Up to about ch36. The story setting up Sam’s role isn’t that exciting. Starting to pull together now but the pacing of this feels a lot slower and less engaging for a substantial part.

[Karen]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "29%

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I loved the library and the description of Lirael learning her craft though I wasn't sure how it was relevant. Like you, it felt odd to seemingly jump from the previous one. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "52%

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ As soon as we saw Sam's reaction to being in Death I had a feeling that he wasn't going to be happy with his chosen path. It did make me suspect that we might not be getting quite the full picture but I wondered whether we were going to learn something unusual about him. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Mummy's Naughty Corner wrote: "85%

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I'm still convinced there's more to these two than we are being told. Looking at their interactions and the little clues they give to previous events I can't help but feel they are going to be more relevant in the next stages. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page and I have to say this picked up.
(view spoiler)[ The sections before we really established Sam and Lirael felt a little slow in parts. Once they met up though I was really gripped. I loved the interactions between them, and the hints at where this might go. Still nervous about Nick and what might be in store for him. Also wondering about this mysterious voice. (hide spoiler)]