Author Exploration: Garth Nix

Hello all 🙂 Today I thought I would continue my author exploration series by talking about another of my favourite authors – Garth Nix. He is an Australian author who has been writing full time since 2001 – specialising in children and young adult fantasy books. I have a huge amount of love for Garth Nix and his books. According to Goodreads he is my most read author with 20 books. I have read a lot of his books, but I have not read all of them and there are also some short stories I have not read, so I apologise in advance if I have missed anything. I thought I would do this anyway as I have read a fair amount of his books – an asterisk (*) means I have not read the book. I have also linked all of the books to their Goodreads page for your browsing pleasure :).

 

• The Old Kingdom trilogy – Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen

• Clariel – prequel to the Old Kingdom trilogy

• Keys to the Kingdom series – Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Superior Saturday, Lord Sunday

• Shade’s Children

• Seventh Tower series – The Fall,  Castle, Aenir,  Above the Veil, Into Battle, The Violent Keystone

• The Ragwitch*

• Across the Wall –including the short story The Creature in the Case

• To Hold the Bridge – short story collection

• A Confusion of Princes *

• Newt’s Emerald*

• Two collaborations with Sean Williams  – Troubletwister series and the Spirit Animal series*

 

In terms of a place to start, I would highly recommend the Old Kingdom trilogy. Although I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Garth Nix, nothing will be as good as the Old Kingdom trilogy – I have a huge amount of love for that trilogy so of course I think it is a great place to start. The Keys to the Kingdom series is also a good place to start with, in my opinion. If you don’t want to commit to an entire series, then one of his standalones is a great place to start. Or one of his short story collections – as collections are a great way of trying out an author’s writing style.

 

• The Old Kingdoms trilogy – I will always hold this trilogy in a special place in my heart. Sabriel and subsequently the rest of the trilogy are what got me into fantasy, and reading as a whole so I will always love this trilogy. This trilogy focuses on two Abhorsen over a span of about 30 years as they fight evil. An Abhorsen is a hereditary position who fights necromancers, the Dead and Free Magic creatures to protect humanity. In book one we meet Sabriel as she sets out to save her father (the Abhorsen), who is trapped in death. Within  this trilogy you will find amazing characters, an interesting magic system (in the form of bells) and a rich world you’ll get lost in. A prequel novel Clariel came out in 2014, which I would also recommend. I am beyond excited for the continuation of this series with the release of Goldenhand in October.

• Keys to the Kingdom series – this seven book series follows 12 year old asthmatic Arthur Penhaligon as he stumbles upon a kind of alternate universe. He is chosen as Rightful Heir of the House, the center of the universe, and subsequently sets out on an adventure to defeat the Morrow Days, the criminal Trustees of the House – each named after a day of the week. This is such a fun, whimsical and entertaining series  – at one point there is even a talking eyebrow. I love the depth of the series. As a younger reader you can enjoy the adventure and characters of the story, but as an older reader I think you will pick up on details you may not have noticed at a younger age. I hope to reread this series this year.

• Shade’s Children – This is a wonderful standalone set in a chilling SF setting – the dystopian setting is done very well, and all of the characters are interesting, as well as being well written. The plot is engaging throughout and the action elements are also really enjoyable. It is tense, immersive, dark, tragic etc. It is quite different to his other books but I still really enjoyed it. I hope to reread it this year as well.

• Seventh Tower series – a six book fantasy series. This definitely aimed at younger readers, as it is quite simplistic in many ways, but I think it can still be enjoyed by a variety of ages. It is easy to read and get into the flow of the story. The world building is good and you will come to root for the characters. Some of the books do end quite abruptly and the short length of the books can leave you wanting more out of the books. However the series overall is enjoyable. I love the unique magic system in this series. If you just read it as a fun and enjoyable series, which is written for younger readers, then I think you will enjoy it. In my opinion it is the weakest series, but I still enjoyed it.

• Across the Wall and To Hold A Bridge – two short story collections. The Old Kingdom short stories are definitely my favourite but I enjoyed these collections as a whole as well.

 

As you can see I am a big fan of Garth Nix. I am so excited for the release of Goldenhand in October. Let me know in the comments whether you have read any of these books or if they are on your tbr. Any feedback is appreciated. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa