Once again, Nix has captured my attention with a fascinating and action-packed adventure back into the Old Kingdom. I loved his Sabriel series and having this prequel has really reignited my love for this series and for his writing. I love Nix's worldbuilding, which is so enchanting and magical. This book hit all the sweet spots, with familiar characters, familiar magic, and enemies both new and familiar. I highly recommend this book to Nix fans and to new readers. This is fantasy at it's best! The characters of Elinor and Tersiel are really interesting and unique. I enjoyed getting to know Elinor and she kicks so much ass. I can see where Sabriel got her spunk and tenacity from!

This is apparently a prequel for other books about (spoiler) Terciel and Elinor’s kid/s. They are magic users—Terciel the heir to the Abhorsen, which is a job fighting evil magic/Free Magic using marks, which are a language of thousands of symbols that are hard to learn. Elinor was kept ignorant of magic until the day it tried to kill her, in the form of an evil magician who wanted her death for a working. They meet early on but then part to have separate adventures, then meet up again. I think if you already liked the world, this would be more fun.

Terciel is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting and is working closely with his great-aunt Tizanael, the current Abhorsen. He is currently learning about necromancy to help the Dead rest. When he becomes Abhorsen, his number one job will be to make sure the Dead do not come back to Life. Elinor has always led a life apart from others. She does have friends, but they work for the family and are much older than her. With her mother’s death, she learns many secrets, including the truth that she is touched by magic. Now she sets out to learn enough magic to cross the wall and enter the Old Kingdom.

Terciel and Elinor is the sixth book in The Old Kingdom series. Although it is a prequel to the other books, this novel should be read after the others have been completed. Readers will delight in discovering the backstory of Sabriel’s parents and the magic that brought them together. Nix took a beloved world and crafted a wonderful story for fans. This was a great escape read and I was delighted with the ending.

I absolutely loved being back in the Old Kingdom. I'm not always a fan of prequels but I love this world and Nix's writing so much that I was thoroughly captivated.

This was a solid offering in the Old Kingdom series. I wouldn't suggest picking this up as your first read, instead read it after you have already read the other books in the series. It fills in some blanks and provides glimpses of younger versions of minor characters. I wasn't disappointed by it, but I did find that it didn't give me a satisfactory narrative to account for Elinor dying in the prologue of Sabriel. I wanted this book to really earn her death, and it didn't.

From start to finish, this book was a homecoming. It was a languid stretch of old bones aching to once again lay within the world of the Old Kingdom. It was a comfort and a surprise.

I have been within the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre many times since the initial release of Sabriel years ago, but Terciel & Elinor still had surprises left for me. It kept me reading and hating when I had to take breaks. It has the action and pacing we had come to expect from the original trilogy, and that had (for me) been lacking in Clariel.

That being said, I still find myself wanting more. While the book does well with shifting views of Terciel and Elinor, I wish I had more time with them together. Perhaps we will come to see this if Nix continues to add to this universe. It does well with further building the world, of laying the foundations that Sabriel walks upon. It does not answer all the questions I have of this world, as I doubt any one book could. Still, overall a satisfying read.

As a long time fan of the Old Kingdom, and of Sabriel in particular, I tried to go into this with low expectations. But I needn’t have worried because this book was great!

Terciel and Elinor are both full realized characters with their own distinct voices. I enjoyed seeing their independent evolutions. Their romantic connection perhaps felt a bit forced but that could also be because the reader knows how the story will end.

While this book can work as a standalone, there are some things readers new to the Old Kingdom will have questions about—particularly Moregrim. But maybe that will just lead them onto Sabriel!

Not the best of the series, and since the outcomes are all already known, not the most exciting, but this is a very enjoyable dip back into the world and lore of Old Kingdom for fans of these books. It was lovely to get a big expansion on the character of Terciel, and to get a real introduction to Elinor.

I loved this book. I read the original trilogy of Sabriel, Lirael, and the Abhorsen in my early twenties and loved them. I have enjoyed revisiting the Old Kingdom in the new prequels and sequel. In Terciel and Elinor, you meet Sabriel's parents. It tells the story of how her parents met and provided a great intro to the book Sabriel. I highly recommend not just this book but the whole series.

I really enjoyed this window into the lives of Sabriel's parents (more than I thought I would given their circumstances in the original book)! I guess I'd place it as the most romantically focused of the Old Kingdom series (that I've read, I still haven't gotten to Goldenhand yet) being something of an undead meet cute adventure, but not in a particularly sappy or saccharine way. Even without my deep fondness for the world Nix has created Terciel and Elinor shines through it's characters. Elinor is extremely sheltered but ever so charming, and driven by goals of her own making (post inciting incident). Terciel feels a bit more gangling and awkward when not acting in his official capacity, but it absolutely works with his internal struggle to balance very important work with a hypothetical personal life. The adventure plot is not Nix's strongest or most harrowing, but it doesn't need to be, it's not the main point of the book (though it does leave nice little tidbits hardcore fans will enjoy about the state of the Old Kingdom pre Sabriel).

Long story short, if you love The Old Kingdom books you really must read Terciel and Elinor , it is well worth your time and attention.

TL;DR: This is a rather comforting read of two teens coming into their abilities--almost completely separately from each other. For that, you may truly enjoy this book. Do not expect a romance or any strong relationship development, and you'll be golden.

The review:
When I got approved for an ARC of Terciel and Elinor, I literally had to stop myself from screaming out loud. I loved Sabriel, enjoyed Lirael, and while I haven't kept up with <i>all</i> the Old Kingdom books, a book that featured Sabriel's parents was a no-brainer. Especially when it's billed as a bit of a romance--I mean, it's all there in the title, the cover, <i>the description</i>. I quote, this is "the never-before-told love story" of Sabriel's parents.

Unfortunately, that means I came in with some unhelpful expectations. Y'all, this book isn't bad. But if you're looking for romance--even just a base romance line in a strong fantasy story--it's ... not what you might hope for. This book is more about two teens finding their way mostly on their own, and then coming together to, uh, *spoiler spoiler* and, as is typical of 90% of fantasy books, take on the bad guys at the end. The relationship development--"love story"--between them simply isn't there. We meet in the first few chapters (OMG was I excited through the first few chapters), and then we part ways until we're <spoiler>66%</spoiler> of the way through the book. I kid you not. I checked my Kindle. <spoiler>And even from there, the romance doesn't really develop, it just... suddenly is.</spoiler>

I also finished the prologue absolutely DESPISING Terciel's mentor Tizanael. Literally nothing she did after that could rescue her in my eyes. Which, you know, distinctly influenced the rest of my read. I'm putting in spoiler tags here, but again, it's all in the prologue so... not serious spoilery? <<Spoiler section removed for NetGalley review.>>

Finally, and this was the saddest aspect for me, there were many instances where the language--the descriptions of actions, the dialogue--were awkward or stilted. Frankly, this is what good editors are for. They are <i>supposed</i> to let an author know when something feels clunky so the author can go back and give it a little extra spit and polish. I really, truly, deeply hope this happened in the final stages of editing, after the ARCs were created. From my own experience, though, ARCs aren't usually put together until after the line editing stage, which means that chance has come and gone. And that just makes me so, so sad.

Nix needed an editor to identify the bits he could improve--not just green light his book because it would obviously sell regardless. He needed an editor to point out things like the Glaring Character Flaw in the prologue that is never resolved. And he SERIOUSLY needed the marketing team to figure out what they were doing and NOT market this as the ultimate love story between Sabriel's parents. It's not.

It <i>is</i> a rather comforting read of two teens coming into their abilities, each on their own. For that, you may truly enjoy this book, and be able to let the other flaws fade in your mind. I hope you do. I wish I had come into the story with different expectations myself.

Now I shall go drown my disappointment in some Fair Trade dark chocolate. Because what else am I to do?

Return to the Old Kingdom! I really enjoyed this story of Elinor and Terciel and I hope that more stories for them will be happening in the future. It was great to go back to familiar worlds with backstories of characters from the Abhorsen series.

As Sabriel is one of my favorite books, it's always comforting to return to an Old Kingdom novel.

I did wish there was a bit more relationship building between Terciel and Ellinor. But I did find them both interesting and compelling characters to carry the story. I did however feel the action was a little rushed at the end.

I think this also gives us a deeper look at how different each side of the wall is, which has been lightly discussed in the other books in the series. So that was fun to see!

Overall it's an enjoyable read for any fan of the Old Kingdom. Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc.

The Old Kingdom is back--and with Terciel and Elinor also in peak form. I sadly confess to being disappointed in the other two most recent additions to the series. Clariel was just a different sort of book and too many things/characters just felt off to me in Goldenhand. (Although, Terciel and Elinor did give me the urge to reread both, particularly Clariel, because I think there were some references to those books that only vaguely jogged my memory.) But this book, ah, this book brought back the feel of the originals. It wasn't perfect. There was a slow patch in the middle to wade through, and the romance was perfunctory. I've just come to accept that Nix is not here for a slow burn--or much of a burn at all--and maybe there is something to be said for the frankness of his characters. However, both the beginning and the end more than make up for anything I found lacking. They are spot in terms of tensions and characterization. I loved getting to see another side of Terciel and getting to know Elinor as an actual person rather than the sacrificial mother destined to die in a prologue. And the new cast of characters are all solid additions--though some like Tizanael certainly stand out from the crowd. (I adore her!)

If I have one complaint, it's this: needs more Mogget.

I enjoyed this a lot. I will always want more Old Kingdom novels, and while some of Nix's other books have been just okay recently, it seems like going back to Ancelstierre always brings out the best in him.

What I wanted from this book: necromancy with bells, charter magic, a trip or two into the river, some Clayr, and more little bits and pieces from one of my favorite fantasy worlds.

What I got: All of those things! Plus--
-a couple flashes of perspectives of the normal people of Ancelstierre I didn't know that I wanted but am now hungry for more of
-A fun relationship between an Abhorsen and her Abhorsen-in-Waiting
-Mogget backstory Mogget backstory Mogget backstory Mogget backstory
-A really powerful and touching ending that I won't spoil but was IMMENSELY satisfying.

The one main thing that didn't hit for me: Nix writes romance like he's holding it at the end of a ten foot pole. Brief, efficient, and largely unromantic. It's not necessarily bad, but not what I wanted either. A little more slow burn between the main characters would honestly have been the thing to bump this up to a five star review for me.

Overall, I did really enjoy this return to the Old Kingdom, and dearly hope to see more!

When I saw a new Old Kingdom book coming out, I was THRILLED to get access to an advance copy! This series has been a top favorite of mine ever since I discovered Sabriel, so it really felt like coming home as I dove into this book. I confess, I was hoping for a bit more Abhorsen-ing, so the beginning threw me off a little bit. (I also have to admit that while I enjoyed some parts of Elinor's story, I wasn't as interested in HER interests of the theater.) Switching back and forth between Terciel and Elinor was interesting, although I kept wondering about what would bring their stories together. The danger felt real, the mystery was deep, and the beauty and magic of the Charter felt just as big as I remembered it from the previous books in the series. Once things really got rolling with the plot, I was super hooked and couldn't wait to read more. This was basically a comfort read for someone who wants more of the Old Kingdom, and a lovely look into the history of Sabriel's parents. It makes me want to reread this beloved series all over again!

"Bestselling novelist Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom for the never-before-told love story of Sabriel’s parents, Terciel and Elinor, and the charter magic that brought them together - and threatened to tear them apart. A long-awaited prequel to a classic fantasy series.

In the Old Kingdom, a land of ancient and often terrible magics, eighteen year-old orphan Terciel learns the art of necromancy from his great-aunt Tizanael. But not to raise the Dead, rather to lay them to rest. He is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Tizanael is the Abhorsen, 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, who is feared by all despite her sickness and impending death...but perhaps there is even more to fear from that.

Elinor does not know she is deeply connected to the Old Kingdom, nor that magic can sometimes come across the Wall, until a plot by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsens brings Terciel and Tizanael 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."

The contents are as good, but I miss the gorgeous cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

This wasn't what I expected, but it was lovely nonetheless. There's something so comforting about these books and this world, and reading this felt like returning home.

Sabriel was one of the books that shaped my love for fantasy, so I was really excited to read this prequel.

And I did love it, but quickly remembered the bad part of prequels. You know what's coming for the characters so even when you start to really love their interactions, you want to read both faster and slower at once.

If you enjoyed the previous Abhorsen novels, you'll like this one as well.

*ARC provided though Netgalley

This was a fun continuation of the Sabriel series. Getting the answers of who Sabriel's mother is and where her parents met/first came to know each other was enjoyable to read, and it's always a pleasure to see old and familiar characters (I especially enjoyed Mogget). While I don't think that the novel covers significant new ground, there are moments that fill in small gaps in the other books, or provide a different look and a different context for events that happen later in the timeline but earlier in the series. I especially enjoyed reading about more of the origins of Kerrigor and Hedge. Overall, I think that if you enjoyed the Sabriel series, you'll likely enjoy this book as well.