Lirael: Difference between revisions

Lirael
	US cover of Lirael, featuring the title character and the Disreputable Dog.
Author	Garth Nix
Cover artist	Leo and Diane Dillon
Language	English
Series	Old Kingdom series
Genre	Fantasy novel
Published	2001 HarperCollins Publishers
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Hardback, Paperback), Audio Books (Cassette, Audio Download, e-book)
Pages	720 (Paperback edition)
ISBN	0-06-000542-4 (Paperback edition)
OCLC	49838023
Preceded by	Sabriel
Followed by	Abhorsen

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Lirael (called Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr in some regions) is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 2001. Named for its central female character, Lirael is the second in his Old Kingdom trilogy, preceded by Sabriel and continued in Abhorsen.

Plot introduction

The book is split into three parts, the first of which is set 14 years after the events in Sabriel; the last two parts are set four-to-five years after part one. Sabriel and Touchstone have married since Sabriel and assumed a measure of control over the Old Kingdom. Their children Ellimere and Sameth were going to school in Ancelstierre (similarly to Sabriel) before being expected to take up their duties in the Old Kingdom.

Plot summary

Lirael, the protagonist of the second and third books, is raised as a Clayr, part of a vast family of precognitive women who dwell in a remote glacier within the Old Kingdom. As she lacks the Clayr's precognitive 'Sight', she considers herself not a true Clayr and prefers solitude to company. In young adulthood, she joins the staff of the Clayr's Library, and acquires the Disreputable Dog; and with the latter's help, vanquishes a series of monsters in the Library itself.

Five years later, in Ancelstierre, Prince Sameth encounters the necromancer Hedge and his undead minions, which injures Sameth both spiritually and physically. His father Touchstone therefore takes him back to the Old Kingdom and the safety of the palace in Belisaere. Here he is expected to succeed his mother Sabriel as the Abhorsen: a future whereof he is mortally afraid. Under Hedge's influence, Sameth's friend Nicholas Sayre (an Ancelstierran aristocrat) crosses the border into the Old Kingdom and travels to the Red Lake, where the royal rule does not extend and the Clayr cannot See. Sameth flees the palace to rescue Nick, and is later joined by Mogget. Lirael, on her nineteenth birthday, is identified as a 'Remembrancer' (a clairvoyant able to accurately perceive the past), and sent (with the Dog) to the Red Lake to rescue Nick, who has by now become the host of a malign, alien intelligence. En route, Lirael joins Sam and Mogget, and they continue to the Red Lake, but are nearly vanquished by Chlorr of the Mask and her followers, and recover at the Abhorsen's House. There, Lirael is identified as Sabriel's half-sister and heir, and Sameth with the long-extinct 'Wallmakers'.

Characters in "Lirael"

Lirael - title character, raised as an orphan Clayr, half-sister of Sabriel.
Disreputable Dog - a Free Magic creature also infused with Charter Magic, she was only supposed to be a puppy sending to comfort Lirael; however, while creating the sending, Lirael touched on some ancient magic in the dog statuette she found in the Clayr library and awoke the Dog
Prince Sameth - the son of King Touchstone and the Abhorsen Sabriel; enjoys making toys and is one, if not the last, of the Wallmakers who made the Wall which divides the two Kingdoms; he has been into Death and was Abhorsen-in-Waiting before Lirael's ascent into the title and role, but his encounter with Hedge has left him with an almost mortal fear of Death
Mogget - an ancient Free Magic construct of unknown origin; appears in the form of a white cat and is bound by a red Charter magic collar to serve the Abhorsen
Nicholas Sayre - a friend of Sameth from Ancelstierre, a sceptic who does not believe in magic and is always looking for a scientific reason for magical phenomena.
Ellimere - Sameth's older sister, destined to be Queen
Sabriel - the current Abhorsen, who destroyed Kerrigor many years before with the King, the former Abhorsen, and Mogget; is also wed to Touchstone and is Queen
Touchstone - the King, a bastard son of a Queen and a nobleman who was trapped as a wooden figurehead of a funeral ship for 200 or so years before Sabriel saved him
Hedge - an ancient necromancer serving a greater power; he attempts to capture Prince Sameth but obtains Nicholas Sayre instead
Chlorr of the Mask - an ancient necromancer who Sabriel defeats early in Lirael, later raised by Hedge to become one of the Greater Dead
Sanar and Ryelle - Clayr twins who have the strongest Sight and aid both the Royal family and Lirael

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Novel by Garth Nix}}
 {{about|the book|the character Lirael herself|Lirael (character)}}
 {{Infobox book
-| name           = Lirael
+| name              = Lirael
-| image          = Lirael.jpg
+| image             = Lirael.jpg
-| caption  = US cover of ''Lirael'', featuring the title character and the Disreputable Dog.
+| caption           = US cover of ''Lirael'', featuring the title character and the Disreputable Dog.
-| author         = [[Garth Nix]]
+| author            = [[Garth Nix]]
-| cover_artist   = [[Leo and Diane Dillon]]
+| cover_artist      = [[Leo and Diane Dillon]]
+| country           = Australia
-| cover_design   = Lizzy Bromley
-| country        = Australia
+| language          = English
-| language       = English
+| series            = [[Old Kingdom series]]
-| series         = [[Old Kingdom series]]
+| genre             = [[Fantasy novel]]
-| genre          = [[Fantasy novel]]
+| published         = 2001 [[HarperCollins Publishers]]
+| media_type        = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]], [[Paperback]]), Audio Books (Cassette, Audio Download, e-book)
-| publisher      = [[HarperCollins Publishers]]
+| pages             = 720 (Paperback edition)
-| release_date   = 2001
+| isbn              = 0-06-000542-4
-| media_type     = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]], [[Paperback]]), Audio Books (Cassette, Audio Download, e-book)
-| pages          = 720 pages (Paperback edition)
+| isbn_note         = (Paperback edition)
-| isbn           = ISBN 0-06-000542-4 (Paperback edition)
+| oclc              = 49838023
+| preceded_by       = [[Sabriel]]
-| oclc= 49838023
-| preceded_by    = [[Sabriel]]
+| followed_by       = [[Abhorsen]]
-| followed_by    = [[Abhorsen]]
 }}
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Plot introduction==
-The book is split into three parts, the first of which is set 14 years after the events in ''Sabriel''; the last two parts are set five years after part one. [[Sabriel (character)|Sabriel]] and [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] have married since ''Sabriel'' and assumed a measure of control over the Old Kingdom. Their children Ellimere and [[Sameth]] were going to school in [[Ancelstierre]] (similarly to Sabriel) before being expected to take up their duties in the Old Kingdom.
+The book is split into three parts, the first of which is set 14 years after the events in ''Sabriel''; the last two parts are set four-to-five years after part one. [[Sabriel (character)|Sabriel]] and [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] have married since ''Sabriel'' and assumed a measure of control over the Old Kingdom. Their children Ellimere and [[Sameth]] were going to school in [[Ancelstierre]] (similarly to Sabriel) before being expected to take up their duties in the Old Kingdom.
 ==Plot summary==
+Lirael, the protagonist of the second and third books, is raised as a Clayr, part of a vast family of precognitive women who dwell in a remote glacier within the Old Kingdom.  As she lacks the Clayr's precognitive 'Sight', she considers herself not a true Clayr and prefers solitude to company. In young adulthood, she joins the staff of the Clayr's Library, and acquires the Disreputable Dog; and with the latter's help, vanquishes a series of monsters in the Library itself.
-Lirael sees herself as an outcast within the world of the [[Clayr]]. With raven-black hair, a pale complexion, pointy face, muddy-brown eyes and unknown paternal parentage, she differs physically from the generally deep-tanned, fair-haired, round-faced and blue- or green-eyed seers around her. Most hurtful, though, is her lack of the Clayr's birthright, the Sight (the ability to see into the future or possible futures). The fact that this bloodline trait has not shown itself at the usual age of around eleven, as well as the absence of any truly understanding or sympathetic other in her life, leaves Lirael emotionally distressed and very unhappy until her appointment to the Clayr's Library on her fourteenth birthday.
+Five years later, in Ancelstierre, Prince Sameth encounters the necromancer Hedge and his undead minions, which injures Sameth both spiritually and physically. His father [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] therefore takes him back to the Old Kingdom and the safety of the palace in Belisaere. Here he is expected to succeed his mother Sabriel as the Abhorsen: a future whereof he is mortally afraid. Under Hedge's influence, Sameth's friend Nicholas Sayre (an Ancelstierran aristocrat) crosses the border into the Old Kingdom and travels to the Red Lake, where the royal rule does not extend and the Clayr cannot See. Sameth flees the palace to rescue Nick, and is later joined by [[Mogget]]. Lirael, on her nineteenth birthday, is identified as a 'Remembrancer' (a clairvoyant able to accurately perceive the past), and sent (with the Dog) to the Red Lake to rescue Nick, who has by now become the host of a malign, alien intelligence. ''En route'', Lirael joins Sam and Mogget, and they continue to the Red Lake, but are nearly vanquished by Chlorr of the Mask and her followers, and recover at the Abhorsen's House. There, Lirael is identified as Sabriel's half-sister and heir, and Sameth with the long-extinct 'Wallmakers'.
-Through her solitary work in forgotten corners of the mystical library in the Clayr's Glacier, Lirael begins to unlock the keys to embarking upon an apparently predestined adventure of utmost importance. She also summons the [[Disreputable Dog]], whom she befriends and who helps her in her explorations.
-Five years later, across the Wall in Ancelestierre, Prince Sameth has an encounter with the necromancer Hedge and his summoned Dead Hands, which leaves him injured both spiritually and physically. His father [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] arrives to take him back to the Old Kingdom and the safety of the palace in Belisaere. Here he is expected to continue his studies to follow his mother as the Abhorsen, a future he is mortally afraid of, especially since his encounter with Hedge.
-Their paths cross as Nicholas Sayre, an Ancelestierran friend of Sameth, crosses the border into the Old Kingdom and then  to the Red Lake in search of the Lightning Trap, a region in the south west of the Kingdom where the royal rule does not extend and the Clayr cannot See. Sameth flees the palace and his sister to go and look for Nick. He gets into trouble on the way and [[Mogget]] turns up, to his surprise and suspicion. Meanwhile, Lirael finds, on her nineteenth birthday, a non-Clayr magical inheritance of the artifacts of a Remembrancer (one who looks into the past) and is quite swiftly dispatched to fulfill a very recent vision the Clayr had of her in a boat on the Red Lake with Nick.
-She sails down the River Ratterlin and, by coincidence, meets up with Sam, who had to use a bathtub to escape the Dead who had been following him. They continue on to the Red Lake, but are nearly intercepted by Chlorr of the Mask and the Dead Hands assigned to her. They decide to proceed to Abhorsen's House to rest and generally regroup.
-Once there, a strange set of revelations take place: Sameth is given a surcoat with the Royal Blood's tower and the Wallmaker's trowel, and Lirael is given a surcoat with the Clayr star and the Abhorsen key. Lirael realizes, with the help of memories she has Remembered, that she must be half-Abhorsen — a fact confirmed by Mogget, as only a child of both Clayr and Abhorsen may become a Remembrancer.
-The novel ends with Lirael and Sameth deciding to go on to find Nick and Hedge at the Red Lake.
 ==Characters in "Lirael"==
@@ Line 47: / Line 37: @@
 * [[Prince Sameth]] - the son of King Touchstone and the Abhorsen Sabriel; enjoys making toys and is one, if not the last, of the [[Wallmakers]] who made the Wall which divides the two Kingdoms; he has been into Death and was Abhorsen-in-Waiting before Lirael's ascent into the title and role, but his encounter with Hedge has left him with an almost mortal fear of [[Death]]
 * [[Mogget]] - an ancient Free Magic construct of unknown origin; appears in the form of a white cat and is bound by a red Charter magic collar to serve the Abhorsen
-* [[Nicholas Sayre]] - a friend of Sameth from Ancelstierre, he doesn't believe in any sort of magic, always looking for a scientific reason for everything
+* [[Nicholas Sayre]] - a friend of Sameth from Ancelstierre, a sceptic who does not believe in magic and is always looking for a scientific reason for magical phenomena.
 * Ellimere - Sameth's older sister, destined to be Queen
 * [[Sabriel (character)|Sabriel]] - the current Abhorsen, who destroyed [[Kerrigor]] many years before with the King, the former Abhorsen, and Mogget; is also wed to Touchstone and is Queen
-* [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] - a bastard prince, son of a former Queen and a nobleman; was trapped as a figurehead in a wooden boat for many years before Sabriel saved him; is now the King
+* [[Touchstone (Garth Nix character)|Touchstone]] - the King, a bastard son of a Queen and a nobleman who was trapped as a wooden figurehead of a funeral ship for 200 or so years before Sabriel saved him
 * Hedge - an ancient necromancer serving a greater power; he attempts to capture Prince Sameth but obtains Nicholas Sayre instead
-* [[Chlorr of the Mask]] - an ancient necromancer who Sabriel defeats early in Lirael, but is raised again by Hedge to become one of the Greater Dead Adept
+* [[Chlorr of the Mask]] - an ancient necromancer who Sabriel defeats early in Lirael, later raised by Hedge to become one of the Greater Dead
-* Sanar and Ryelle - two Clayr twins who have the strongest Sight and aid both the Royal family and Lirael
+* Sanar and Ryelle - Clayr twins who have the strongest Sight and aid both the Royal family and Lirael
-==Major themes==
-The novel is more soul-searching than its predecessor ''[[Sabriel]]'', and the major theme is that society does not have to dictate the outcome of one's future. Lirael comes to terms with her lack of the Sight by becoming busy in the Library, going nearer and nearer to her birthright as the Remembrancer, and, eventually, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. This is also echoed in Sameth's story, as he struggles to accept (or avoid) his role as Abhorsen-in-Waiting.
-==External links==
 {{Garth Nix}}
-[[Category:2001 novels]]
+[[Category:2001 Australian novels]]
 [[Category:Australian fantasy novels]]
 [[Category:Australian young adult novels]]
 [[Category:Old Kingdom series books]]
 [[Category:Novels by Garth Nix]]
+[[Category:Novels set in libraries]]
 [[Category:Fictional undead]]
-[[Category:2000s fantasy novels]]
+[[Category:2001 fantasy novels]]
 [[Category:Books with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon]]