Blood Ties by Garth Nix, Sean Williams

Blood Ties (Spirit Animals, #3)

by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Garth Nix writes the third in the SPIRIT ANIMALS fantasy series about
children and their spirit animals fighting to save their kingdom.


Four children separated by vast distances all undergo the same ritual,
watched by cloaked strangers. Four flashes of light erupt,
and from them emerge the unmistakable shapes of incredible beasts
- a wolf, a leopard, a panda, a falcon. Suddenly the paths of these
children - and the world - have been changed for ever.

Part engrossing book series, part action role-playing game - discover
your spirit animal and join the adventure.

Reviewed by Liz (Bent Bookworm) on

3 of 5 stars

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3/5 stars. The third in the Spirit Animals series, Blood Ties moves the quest of the four Chosen kids - Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan - onward. This time they are searching for the talisman of the Great Beast Dinesh (the elephant). After the startling end to the second book, this one picks up right after those events, and for the first two-thirds has separate timelines following the separated parties.

The separation of the group really made this book struggle. There was so much back and forth that it was really annoying and a bit confusing. Also, the writing is kind of awkward at times - I think Nix is used to writing for an older audience, and struggled some with writing a middle grade.

The last third of the book is what saved it from a lower star rating. The battle scene was well-written, and the ending broke my heart. As usual, the next step in the quest is revealed as well, and that sounds extremely interesting.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 April, 2019: Finished reading
  • 18 April, 2019: Reviewed