Going to warn you now, this is going to be less of a review and more of a gushing of praise because, in my eyes, Garth Nix can literally do no wrong, and every single one of his Old Kingdom series is pure joy. Garth Nix, if you ever read this, you probably don't remember, but we've actually met twice, at Blackwell's in Edinburgh, once on my birthday and once on my friend Fiona's birthday and we awkwardly fangirled like hell and you were absolutely lovely. Now we're going to have to meet again though, because Terciel and Elinor is now the only Old Kingdom book I have that isn't signed which is highly upsetting. Garth Nix has been one of my favourite authors for as long as I can remember. I think I first read Sabriel when I was ten or so. I fell in love with her immediately - a strong, female lead who fought armies of the dead, she appealed to both my burgeoning feminism and my fascination with the macabre, and cemented a place for the Old Kingdom in my heart forever. I might avoid most other YA, but I'll always read a new Garth Nix, so I was almost disappointed in myself when I almost missed Terciel and Elinor, only finding out about it by chance! Obviously I had to order it immediately.
In the Old Kingdom, where the very stones are imbued with magic and death is not necessarily the end, Terciel is learning the dangerous craft of necromancy from his gruff great-aunt Tizanael - but unlike other necromancers, they don't raise the Dead. As the Abhorsen and the Abhorsen-in-Waiting they must keep the kingdom safe and ensure that the Dead do not return to Life and feast on the living.
On the other side of the Wall, in magicless Ancelstierre, Elinor lives a lonely life at Coldhallow Hall. With her father dead, and her mother cold and distant - she has only her governess, Mrs Watkins, and the ancient groom and ex-circus performer Ham for company. Elinor has no idea about the land on the other side of the Wall and her deep connection to it, at least not until her mother takes to her bed on the edge of death - unwitting bait in the trap of an ancient and powerful enemy. Suddenly, Elinor's life is thrown into chaos, danger and deep into the world of Terciel and the Abhorsens and their fight against the Dead that won't stay dead.
Terciel and Elinor is a prequel to Sabriel, and the titular characters are her parents. While it does work as a standalone book, and provides enough exposition that new visitors to the old Kingdom don't feel lost, I would recommend reading the original Old Kingdom trilogy first - Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen, if you haven't already, as apart from the fact that they're ace, you'll then be far more invested in the characters, and everything will make more sense - you'll be able to pick up on all the little moments of foreshadowing, which is pretty fun. If you're a seasoned pioneer of the Old Kingdom, then welcome back! Terciel does feature as an important character in the original trilogy, but we see very little of Elinor as Sabriel's mother and it was great to get to know her - and see where Sabriel gets a lot of her strength from. I really appreciate that, despite being thrown alone into this dangerous and terrifying new world, Elinor is neither timid nor needing to undergo rigorous training to keep up with the Abhorsens - a lifetime of circus training - tumbling, knife throwing and stage fighting stands her in good stead for combat.
Despite the host of new characters, there are some appearances from favourites that we've met before. Clayr Ranger Mirelle is Captain of the Rangers by the time Lirael comes along, for example, and powerful free magic sorcerer Hedge is back. The best returning character is of course Mogget - the powerful free magic spirit bound in cat form, full of biting wit and sarky comebacks. There wasn't nearly enough Mogget in this book for my liking - in the age of Tizanael he appears as a small, cat-like man, and though he's as cutting and witty as ever, we only get a few brief glimpses of him tormenting Terciel and stealing fish, which is a shame, as he's usually the highlight of every book he's in. Finally, of course, there's the return of the Sendings of Abhorsen's house- possibly my favourite non-sentient characters ever -though I guess that probably isn't the largest of categories. Amazing how sassy they can be without ever saying a word.
I wish Old Kingdom books were longer, I really do. There is so much here to explore - Elinor's ancestry, Tizanael's history (some hints dropped for another prequel focusing on her perhaps??), more dead encounters, and Terciel and Elinor's blooming relationship. I really would have liked to see the big final battle fleshed out a bit more - it did feel like it was over pretty quickly - though that may be because, having read Sabriel, I know what's going to happen to Big Bad, Kerrigor, already. I almost jumped straight into reading Sabriel after, and I love how it almost came full circle to Sabriel's beginning.
Honestly, I just love spending time in the Old Kingdom - I'm obsessed with the depiction of Death as a river, interspersed by a series of gates and waterfalls, through which spirits are either carried away past the Ninth Gate and into final death, or are able to claw their way back towards Life to remerge as shuffling monsters. I adore the idea of using bells and music as magic and it's one of the few books I would love to see made into films a tv show (but only if it's Guillermo del Toro, I would sell my soul to see what he would do with the imagery). My only, only, complaint is that they've reprinted all the books with a new cover, so not only does this one not match the others with their minimalist charter mark art, they've also gotten rid of the kooky serif font that was quintessential Old Kingdom. But, if that's the only thing I can find fault with, I'm sure I'll live.
EDIT: I wrote this last week, then found out that Forbidden Planet has a limited edition, exclusive version of Terciel and Elinor that is a) gorgeous, b)in the old cover art style, and c) signed, so despite the fact that I literally just bought this book and I try very hard not to double up on the same book, I just had to buy it. I literally couldn't stop myself. WHOOPS.
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