Review: Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix

Guys, I cannot tell you my excitement when I found out that there was going to be another book in the Old Kingdom series coming out, this series is one of my favourite and I just knew that I'd have to read it, luckily Hot Key accepted me for an e-ARC and I just flew through it! (If you're interested the link to my Sabriel review can be found HERE)

Here's the book:

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen year-old orphan Terciel is learning the art of necromancy - but not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, the latest in a long line of people whose task it is to make sure the Dead do not return to Life.

Across the Wall in Ancelstierre, a steam-age country where magic usually does not work, nineteen year-old Elinor lives a secluded life, her only friends an old governess and an even older groom who was once a famous circus performer. Her mother is a tyrant, feared by all despite her sickness and impending death . . .

Elinor does not know she is deeply connected to the Old Kingdom, until a plot by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsens brings Terciel to Ancelstierre. In a single day of fire and death and loss, Elinor finds herself set on a path which will take her into the Old Kingdom, into Terciel's life, and will embroil her in the struggle of the Abhorsens against the Dead who will not stay dead.

So, if you're new to this series I will say you can start here if you would like, as it is a prequel to the original series starter, Sabriel. It is a mixed story of the younger lives of both her mother and father, which I found really interesting. You never hear much at all about Sabriel's mother in the first book, and you would have only known small amounts about her father, the previous Abhorsen, before this book came out. However, I would suggest reading the other books first purely because you meet a few of the characters from the other books - my particular favourite was Mirelle who you meet in the book Lirael.

Elinor was my favourite character in this, mainly because we got to learn a bit more about her history and it mixed in a lot with the Clayr, who are some of my favourite characters in Lirael (but I may be biased as Lirael is my favourite character of this series overall). We also got to see her come into her own as she learns about the Charter and how to use her Charter marks. I found this particularly fascinating as we had never really learnt too much about the Charter and how it is taught, but in this book you get to see the bare bones and how one would learn if they were just starting their tuition. I've always quite liked learning about the particulars of magic in different books, so getting into how you would learn the Charter magic was really exciting for me.

That is not to say I didn't like Terciel - seeing into his life prior to Sabriel was definitely exciting, and it was because of him we also got to see a bit more of Mogget (fans like me returning to the old kingdom will surely love to see the return of him) as well as how he became an Abhorsen. It's also very interesting to see his and Elinor's relationship develop through the book, and you really start to understand how his ideas changed on their relationship as you went through.

I could write for hours on this, but I'll keep it short, this is yet another great story from Garth Nix, and it is always a pleasure to return to the Old Kingdom when he brings out a new book. I don't think this review has given it nearly enough praise, but I tried to put my thoughts into words as best I could. Here's hoping there will be many more stories from the Old Kingdom to come, I'd love to see more development from so many of the other characters you see in the rest of the series too!

I give this book: 5 cats!

Terciel and Elinor is out today, and you should definitely go and pick up a copy, and whilst you're there get the rest of the series too!

Comment below and tell me if you have a favourite in the series.

My Favourite Re-Reads

So, first blog post for me!

I thought I had best start with those books that I just love, and can't help but to re-read.

So, be aware, if I don't post for a while, it's probably because yet again, I am re-reading one of my favourite books (though I will tell you that on Twitter so you don't think I've just given up on reading!).

Granted, the next time I re-read something, you will all get to see my lovely review of whatever book it is, as I'll just HAVE to review them, but I doubt you'd all want to hear my raving reviews of the same books over and over.

So, just to get it out of the way, I'll give you a list of my top re-reads!



1) Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Okay guys, time to get it out there now: I am a Potterhead. I love everything to do with the Harry Potter world! (even joined a HP society at uni, but that's info for another time). I have read these books multiple times (unfortunately not recently), and I will probably re-read them forever. So, be prepared for multiple Potter posts.

2) The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

I have read these books so many times, and have them in both paperback as well as on kindle, that is a sign of how much I love them. Obviously, there are a few more books added to these three now, but I've not had a chance to re-read the others yet.

3) The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

So, these are some of my favourite childhood books, and occasionally I like to re-read them and remember my childhood and the lovely magical world that C. S. Lewis created.

4) The Study Series by Maria V. Snyder

So, these books, I have read at the least 10 times each, I just keep going back to them. There is more to the series, but I haven't been able to get around to them yet. However, the first three are some of my favourite books and ones that I can just re-read whenever.

5) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

I love these books, I mean, who doesn't?! And I was super excited to hear about the new books that are coming out to do with this series too. My excitement to read them can't be contained! Hence, these make my list as I can re-read them many times before the new book comes out, to add to the other times I've read this series too.

Of Course these aren't my only books that I re-read, you'll find I like to re-read books a lot, it helps me to get to know different points of the stories each time. But, these are some of the books that I always go to when I feel like just reading something I know.

But, I thought I'd tell you about them, and maybe encourage you to read them yourselves before I get around to reviewing them myself, as they are all amazing books.