The Creature in the Case is a novella set in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom novels. It takes place after the events of Abhorsen, and you would probably benefit from not reading it out of order. If you’re at all interested in fantasy and you haven’t read these books, you definitely should. They remain one of the more innovative fantasies out there right now. Yes, even tough they’re technically YA novels. Honestly, for my money, Nix is one of the more inventive writers in fantasy and […]
All men must die
3.5 Stars. For at least the last couple of years, I kept hearing about this book called Sabriel. It popped up on lists of what to read to fill the Harry Potter shaped hole in your heart, bookish podcasts, Cannonball Read, and in conversations with various friends and family. This cult favorite was clearly something I needed to pick up and I’m glad I did. Sabriel is born into a family of magical necromancers living in the Old Kingdom, but gets shipped off to boarding […]
Put Seven in the Series Title, But Then Only Make Six Books
I know my past reviews of this series have not been great, but that’s because it had so much potential and it just kind of meandered all over the place. This final book, though, took all of that potential, set it on fire and then stomped on the ashes. For starters, why name your series The Seventh Tower and then only have six books? It’s crazy pants. I’m guessing relations soured between Nix and Lucas Books, which caused the series to come to an abrupt […]
I Guess It’s a Better System of Government Than A Watery Tart Throwing a Sword at You
I honestly don’t remember if Milla made it back in the last book or in this one, so we’re going to pretend it’s this one because I do, at least, remember that this book was Milla heavy. So Milla becomes the War Chief of all Icecarls because…reasons. She makes it back to The Crones, accidentally killing a Shield Maiden in the process, and gets them up to date on the upcoming war. Since she has a shadow spirit now, she’s not allowed back into Icecarl […]
Suddenly Serious
It’s hard to keep track where the story is at with these last three books as for some reason, they bundled up the last three in one tome instead on individual books. (Amazon assures me that there are individual copies available, but I have my doubts as the series is hard to come by as it is.) Honestly, the heft of this one makes me yearn for a parallel world where Nix got to fully explore and fill in the details of Aenir and the Castle […]
Nix Doing What He Does Best
Nix finally found his footing with the third book in the Seventh Tower series. Most of this book takes place in the spirit realm Aenir, which is where Nix lets his creativity go wild. Nix’s forte is making worlds that the reader wants to live in and Aenir is no exception. In Aenir, almost everything is alive, including water and mountains. Milla and Tal had the misfortune of tumbling into Aenir on a cursed hill. The Storm Shepards that are bound to the hill are […]