TERCIEL & ELINOR

This sixth book in the Old Kingdom series chronicles how Sabriel’s parents met.

Readers first meet Terciel (who is later to become Sabriel’s father) after he’s been plucked out of poverty and obscurity to become the successor to Abhorsen Tizanael. Across the wall in Ancelstierre, Elinor (Sabriel’s future mother), an utterly charming 19-year-old aspiring thespian, has spent all her years secluded in the countryside. Though she is lacking a loving parent—her mother is distant, her father dead—Elinor has found care and companionship in her governess, Mrs. Watkins, and the elderly groom Ham, Mrs. Watkins’ uncle. When a horrible turn of events uncovers an old and dangerous foe—and leads to Elinor and Terciel’s meeting—Elinor learns of her hidden Old Kingdom ancestry and must find her own way in the world for the first time, eventually returning to Terciel. Chapters alternate between the pair. Terciel is likable and his struggles as Abhorsen-in-Waiting are sympathetic, but it’s endearing, charismatic Elinor who steals the show in this character-driven story. Nix offers fans of the Old Kingdom a gift in the book’s return to the feel of the original trilogy; readers will be glad he chose the path that led to this story. Terciel has deep-brown skin, but his color is leeched by time spent in Death; most other characters read as White.

Enjoyable, engaging, and well written.