Whenever I am trawling the web in boredom, looking for well-reviewed and interesting fantasy novels/ series, there are two notable works which do not appear. The first is Secret Sacrament by Sherryl Jordan and the second the Old Kingdom Trilogy by Garth Nix. Let me be clear, I’m not a fan on Nix in general, but I adore this trilogy- Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen (+1- Across the wall) are something just that little bit different as the protagonist, Sabriel, is a death-witch who deals with making the undead return to their dead state. With the help of a cat and some interesting bells, Sabriel is a fearsome and interesting character. Nevertheless, in the world of fantasy, it is rare for me to actually hear of someone who has even heard of this trilogy. As for the Secret Sacrament (Sheryl Jordan) I suppose it could be described as a kind of Pocahontas story where a boy, ever in awe of an outside, ‘savage’ culture becomes a healer and lives amongst them. Whilst I’m not proclaiming its literary excellence- it ultimatley paints cultural difference and characters in general and very broad strokes- it remains a pleasant fantasy to read with a sad but appropriate ending. I feel like I want to discuss these books with someone, so do me a favor and go out and read them.
The BookBimbo Chronicles 