Still like it 😍
I barely remembered any of the story. Especially not that it ends on a cliffhanger, wtf!
Lirael's lonely teen years in the glacier where she doesn't fit in hit hard, with birthdays being horrible just because, lots of little mostly unintended humiliations, and generally always feeling wrong, and I cried a little when she discovered she's the Abhorsen in waiting. What a convenient thing to happen! You didn't fit in because you're actually someone really important and belong with those other people!
There's some heavy shit in this one, like refugees being killed en masse to be resurrected and used in evil plots. I thought these bits might feel dated, or possibly uncritical of some of the underlying real world violence, but no, I didn't think so, most characters are horrified by all of this, and no, it didn't feel dated, either. Only the blue hats and …
I barely remembered any of the story. Especially not that it ends on a cliffhanger, wtf!
Lirael's lonely teen years in the glacier where she doesn't fit in hit hard, with birthdays being horrible just because, lots of little mostly unintended humiliations, and generally always feeling wrong, and I cried a little when she discovered she's the Abhorsen in waiting. What a convenient thing to happen! You didn't fit in because you're actually someone really important and belong with those other people!
There's some heavy shit in this one, like refugees being killed en masse to be resurrected and used in evil plots. I thought these bits might feel dated, or possibly uncritical of some of the underlying real world violence, but no, I didn't think so, most characters are horrified by all of this, and no, it didn't feel dated, either. Only the blue hats and scarves that most of the refugees wear felt a bit stereotypical.
I was surprised by how feminist it felt overall. There's some quite subtle scenes with Sameth being a spoiled prince and a whiny guy and Lirael being used to taking care of stuff, I liked those (while I also related heavily to him not being good at anything he's expected to do). There's also a bunch of women side characters in all sorts of jobs where lots of other 00s fantasy would just make everyone guys.
I'm very sceptical of all the "it's in the blood", but iirc this gets challenged a little in one of the later books. I also hadn't remembered there was a 6 year gap between Sabriel and Lirael. Then 2 until Abhorsen (which, with that cliffhangery ending, still a lot), 11 until Clariel, 2 until Goldenhand, and 5 until Terciel and Elinor, which I'm not sure I've read yet.
The talking animals, that's Mogget (dangerous free magic creature bound into more or less helpful cat shape) and the Disreputable Dog (ancient cutie beyond current distinctions of free vs charter magic), make these books fun, with their snark and love for food.
Edit: Also! As a teenager I couldn't appreciate the multiple times and perspectives at all. I always had a favorite string of narration and was bored by all the others. And I hated the time jump of more than 10 years between Sabriel and Lirael, with Sabriel being only a side character in Lirael, and also a mom?? This time, I was totally fine with both, and even enjoyed the variation. Now that I think of it, I would still like to hear more about Sabriel's life shortly after becoming Abhorsen. I don't even know if there's a fandom around this to supply such stories?