Garth Nix continues to be one of my all time favorite authors, and this series remains one of my all time favorites.

This is an absolutely amazing story with just the right amount of mystery, danger, darkness, growth, strength, and plucking of the heartstrings. Goodness I loved this. I recently reread the original trilogy to my 16 year old (we're now on Clariel), which inspired me to check and see if there were books I'd missed in the haze of parenting, PTA meetings, Girl Scouts and Chinese dance. This was one of them and I'm so very glad I did.

This is an excellent continuation of the story, focusing on Lirael and Nicholas Sayre while adding a new character who comes from the nomadic tribes of the northern mountains and steppes. Garth Nix continued to develop and build in this already rich and amazing world, and did so in a way that feels realistic while adding to the diversity of voices. While the new and intriguing character of Ferin is strong and capable (in the tradition of Nix's strong but believable female characters) she is distinctly different both culturally and from her position in society from any other main character in the previous books and stories.

To fully understand the world and the events, you will need to have read Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, as well as the novella The Creature in the Case (from the Across the Wall collection). It is very helpful to have also read Clariel and the novella To Hold the Bridge (from the collection of the same name).

I'm very much looking forward to starting Terciel & Elinor.