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  • Sabriel

  • By: Garth Nix
  • Narrated by: Tim Curry
  • Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,440 ratings)
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Sabriel cover art

Sabriel

By: Garth Nix
Narrated by: Tim Curry
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Summary

Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that world.

Though her journey begins alone, she soon finds companions: Mogget, whose seemingly harmless feline form hides a powerful and perhaps malevolent spirit; and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories.

With threats on all sides and only each other to trust, the three must travel deep into the Old Kingdom, toward a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death, and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own hidden destiny.

A tale of dark secrets, deep love and dangerous magic, Sabriel introduces Garth Nix as an exceptional new talent.

Don't miss books two and three of this trilogy! Lirael and Abhorsen.
©1995 Garth Nix (P)2002 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint Of The Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"It's an epic journey in a world as richly realized as Middle-earth and much darker and bloodier than Harry's trials at Hogwarts...Tim Curry brings authority to the reading, grounding the fantastic elements with nuance of character and depth of emotion." ( AudioFile)
"Rich, complex, involving, hard to put down, this first novel...is excellent high fantasy." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A page-turner for sure." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about Sabriel

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,106
  • 4 Stars
    238
  • 3 Stars
    69
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    947
  • 4 Stars
    192
  • 3 Stars
    58
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    960
  • 4 Stars
    178
  • 3 Stars
    60
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    7

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent story for parent and child

My 13 year old son and I have recently discovered Garth Nix so I decided to add this story to my i-pod library.I was not disappointed. Nix creates an imaginary world that is both exciting and full of new ideas and notions. I have since bought the book for my son and he found it equally diverting and we have had lots of dicussions about this new world that has been opened up for us. Get through the first couple of chapters which can be a little confusing and you are in for a treat. My son has already moved on to the second book. What greater success could an author ask for?

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping and Imaginative

I've never come across Garth Nix before and I was delighted by this. It has one of the best opening scenes I've come across in a fantasy novel, and it manages to sustain the same level of suspense and invention throughout. Sabriel is a strong and believable heroine. Oh, and Tim Curry's narration is great - you can really enjoy his rich, expressive voice but he doesn't overdo things. He clearly has fun with the character of Moggett though.
(Does anyone else find that the problem with writing reviews for audio books is that you have no idea how to spell any proper names?)

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic

One of the few audiobooks you cant stop listening too, the combination of excellent writing by Garth Nix and the calming tones of Tim Curry. A truely imaginative book that consistantly has you thinking. 5 stars

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Book, Fantastic Reading

This book is not as famous as it deserves. Excellent writing, totally original concepts, gripping story line and characters that you can believe in. A fantasy classic! The reading is also one of the best I've heard.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Black, black, black

The narrator is excellent, but oh my, is this book heavy going. Technically, it is well-written: the author succeeds (if that was what was intended) in creating a frightening and grim world, full of foreboding and menace. Indeed, the book is really a horror story rather than a fantasy, and the atmosphere is unrelieved gloom; this is hardly surprising as the central theme is death (the word must appear 1,000 times in the text), and the narrative contains repeated and prolonged descriptions of blackness, ill-defined monstrosities, ghoulish apparitions, and terrifying shadow worlds.
I can't honestly say that my family and I enjoyed this book. However, if you want to terrify your children, or if you are a child who wants to be terrified, this is the book for you.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

The only reason we took one star away in performance was because there were times when we had trouble distinguishing between Sabriel and the narrator. Otherwise, this story is just as good read in private as when performed out loud.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth every penny

There is almost nothing to complain about in this entire reading except Tim's sometimes poor attempt at a female voice, but he far more than makes up for it with his impressive monster voices! Would listen again and most likely will!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

Having loved the books I got these audio versions and haven't been disappointed! The narrator does a fantastic job and I have had many happy hours listening! Already listened to them all twice! Fantastic!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well written - But, not for me

Very enjoyable, though as it is intended for a teenage audience it was a little away from my normal reading.
The characters were well developed, and the story was told at a good pace, some parts were a bit odd – but then, it is a fantasy novel. I probably won't get the rest in the series, but I am not unhappy that I bought this one to try.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Long live the Charter!

One of the best books I have ever had! Loved it! Pure magic! I can't wait to read more about the Old Kingdom!

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3 people found this helpful