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, now
available in paperback.
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.
*USA Today Bestseller*
"One of the greatest living fantasy writers. I will never get enough
of the Old Kingdom." --Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling
author
