Clariel: Prequel to the internationally bestselling Old Kingdom fantasy series (Old Kingdom, #4)

by Garth Nix

Dive deeper into the history of the Old Kingdom in the brilliant prequel to Garth Nix's astonishingly successful fantasy series.

Sixteen-year-old Clariel is not adjusting well to her new life in the city of Belisaere, the capital of the Old Kingdom. She misses roaming freely within the forests of Estwael, and she feels trapped within the stone city walls. It seems, too, that the city itself is descending into chaos, as the ancient rules binding Abhorsen, King and Clayr appear to be disintegrating.

With the discovery of a dangerous Free Magic creature loose in the city, Clariel is given the chance both to prove her worth and make her escape. But events spin rapidly out of control. Clariel finds herself more trapped than ever, until help comes from an unlikely source - and at a terrible cost. Clariel must question the motivations and secret hearts of everyone around her - herself most of all.

• ISBN10: 1471409759
• ISBN13: 9781471409752
• Publish Date: 1 October 2020 (first published 2 October 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I have MISSED the Old Kingdom.

This book had everything for me. Clariel's a fabulous, strong character. The world building is addictive - I haven't read this series since high school and Nix pulled me right back in like I was never away. Darling Mogget is here, and we get to watch our hero teeter-totter on the edge of good and evil. What else is there?

Oh yes. There's an amazing fight scene. One of the best I've ever read. Characters are NOT who you think they are, so trust nothing and nobody. There are NO romantic relationships, so don't come into this book for kisses. No kisses. Even CLARIEL rolls her eyes when people proposition her.

It's a short book, but no less rich and immersive than any of the rest of this series. Even better, it's a prequel with standalone protagonist, so it can be read without all the rest. Recommend, recommend, recommend.

[layawaydragon]

I fucking love this series. Every goddamn thing about it.

I was so wrapped up in Clariel, I didn't think for a second who she'd become later. Then I read the first sentence of the afterword, which dropped the bomb.

Oh.

OH.

OHHHHHHHHHH.

OH. MY. GOD.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

When I start blogging back at the start of 2014, I watched news of upcoming releases closely. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered that there were other fans of Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series and that a fourth book was being released at year’s end. I added Clariel to my TBR pile quickly and awaited its release.

Sadly, Clariel did not live up to my expectations. It took me two months to finish this book. I’ll admit I had a lot going on in June and July, but read over 10 other novels or short stories during those two months before I buckled down and actually finished Clariel.

Right away, I struggled to connect with Clariel. She was whiney and her constant complaining grated on my nerves. She talked about getting away, but never once made an attempt. Her parents seemed to provide no supervision, she bragged often about her skills as a hunter and never once made the attempt.

I was lost in the Old Kingdom. It has been years since I read the original trilogy and that was a concern when I started the book. But this story is set several hundred years before the original books so I thought I would be fine. I was wrong. I’m not sure rereading the series would have help in this case. The politics and the people seem to be different. The Abhorsen is complacent. The only thing that seems the same is the Charter Magic and it would have been nice to have “a refresher course” on how it works.

The plot of Clairel plodded. It was like walking through shoe-sucking mud in a downpour. It seemed like I never made any progress. There would be a few chapters of action and then nothing for several more. The ending sped by because outside forces started to act to bring the story to conclusion. This was a book, when I was about 50 pages from the end, I couldn’t believe there were only a few pages left because I thought more needed to happen because nothing happened for a good portion of the book.

While I am still a fan of Garth Nix’s books, I am not a fan of Clariel. Too much of nothing happens for about three quarters of the novel and with a lack of connection with the main character, I don’t have a burning desire to travel to the Old Kingdom via new adventures any time soon.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews