Gideon and A Deadly Education are both kind of dark and very funny. Gideon has necromancy in space and a murder mystery in an abandoned mansion/palace. Deadly Education is a magic school where the school is trying to kill the students, and the main character is trying very hard to be a good person even though she has the skill sets of a dark lord.
I originally read Tamora Pierce’s books (specifically the song of the Lioness Quartet) at the same time as the Old Kingdom books and was similarly obsessed so in my mind they’re linked. Not sure if they’ll hit the same for someone reading them for the first time as an adult but I think they’re pretty solid (I’m realizing in this moment that the implicit genderqueerness of the main character was probably part of the draw lol).
I actually didn’t read the first book until later on, because I picked up the second one at the library based on the cover and didn’t realize it was book 2 😂. The current cover is not great so don’t judge based on that!
Amazing!! Okay, I haven't met anyone else who knows this series so I have a question for you - do you feel like the books after Abhorsen hold up? It sounded like some people (on Reddit, lol) felt like the later books weren't as good - but I would love to read them! Please tell me what you think.
Okay so the core trilogy is definitely the best. For Clariel, I had a hard time with the main character but I feel like the book was solid overall and brings in a lot of interesting stuff about free magic and the world beyond the Abhorsen. Definitely read the short story The Creature in the Case, which is good and also creates a bridge between Abhorsen and Goldenhand. I feel like Goldenhand is okay but not as compelling (but worth reading since you’re already invested in the characters). And then I actually haven’t read Terciel & Elinor, but it’s on my bookshelf so maybe I’ll read it now.
I think some of the weirdness is just a product of the huge spread of time between when the books were written. Sabriel came out in the 90s and T&E came out in, I think, 2021.
I love the Old Kingdom books! I’ve read them so many times since I was a pre-teen (and am realizing now I should do a re-read, it’s been a minute).
Reading more poetry collections is one of my goals for this year, so thank you for the handy list!
Have you read Gideon the Ninth or A Deadly Education? Oooh or Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books?
I have not but should i???
Gideon and A Deadly Education are both kind of dark and very funny. Gideon has necromancy in space and a murder mystery in an abandoned mansion/palace. Deadly Education is a magic school where the school is trying to kill the students, and the main character is trying very hard to be a good person even though she has the skill sets of a dark lord.
Okay hellll yeah to all of this! These are going on my list - thank you Evan!!!
I originally read Tamora Pierce’s books (specifically the song of the Lioness Quartet) at the same time as the Old Kingdom books and was similarly obsessed so in my mind they’re linked. Not sure if they’ll hit the same for someone reading them for the first time as an adult but I think they’re pretty solid (I’m realizing in this moment that the implicit genderqueerness of the main character was probably part of the draw lol).
I actually didn’t read the first book until later on, because I picked up the second one at the library based on the cover and didn’t realize it was book 2 😂. The current cover is not great so don’t judge based on that!
Amazing!! Okay, I haven't met anyone else who knows this series so I have a question for you - do you feel like the books after Abhorsen hold up? It sounded like some people (on Reddit, lol) felt like the later books weren't as good - but I would love to read them! Please tell me what you think.
Happy poetry reading!!
Okay so the core trilogy is definitely the best. For Clariel, I had a hard time with the main character but I feel like the book was solid overall and brings in a lot of interesting stuff about free magic and the world beyond the Abhorsen. Definitely read the short story The Creature in the Case, which is good and also creates a bridge between Abhorsen and Goldenhand. I feel like Goldenhand is okay but not as compelling (but worth reading since you’re already invested in the characters). And then I actually haven’t read Terciel & Elinor, but it’s on my bookshelf so maybe I’ll read it now.
I think some of the weirdness is just a product of the huge spread of time between when the books were written. Sabriel came out in the 90s and T&E came out in, I think, 2021.
Okay this is so helpful - thank you!!! Sounds like Clariel is up on deck, my favorite parts of the first three are all about free magic. Hell yeah!