Abhorsen
The Ninth was strong
and fought with might,
But lone Orannis
was put out of the light,
Broken in two
and buried under hill,
Forever to lie there,
wishing us ill.
So says the song. But Orannis, the Destroyer, is no longer buried under hill. It has been freed from its subterranean prison and now seeks to escape the silver hemispheres, the final barrier to the unleashing of its terrible powers.
Only Lirael, newly come into her inheritance as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, has any chance of stopping the Destroyer. She and her companions – Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget – have to take that chance. For the Destroyer is the enemy of all Life, and it must be stopped, though Lirael does not know how.
To make matters worse, Sam's best friend, Nick, is helping the Destroyer, as are the necromancer Hedge and the Greater Dead Chlorr, and there has been no word from the Abhorsen Sabriel or King Touchstone.
Everything depends upon Lirael. A heavy, perhaps even impossible burden for a young woman who just days ago was merely a Second Assistant Librarian. With only a vision from the Clayr to guide her, and the rather mixed help of her companions, Lirael must search in both Life and Death for some means to defeat the Destroyer.
Before it is too late...
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Garth Nix
In Garth Nix’s worlds, the dead rarely stay quiet, magic obeys ancient and perilous rules, and courage often looks like a teenager holding a bell, a sword, and the weight of two realms. Best known for the Old Kingdom series, Nix has carved out a space in fantasy literature that hums with mythic resonance and emotional depth—where necromancers clash with free magic creatures and heroines face destiny with grit rather than grandeur.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Nix grew up in Canberra, absorbing stories that blurred the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary. He worked in bookstores, publishing, and even the Australian Army Reserve before turning his attention fully to fiction. That eclectic journey quietly shaped his writing—there’s a sense in his stories that the fantastical doesn’t sit apart from reality, but seeps into it through forgotten doorways and ancient bloodlines.
The Old Kingdom
Also known as the Abhorsen Trilogy (only in the USA).
The Old Kingdom consists of six primary books, and includes three additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads — considered a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
