You have been warned!
We're picking up with chapters 18 and 19. This, at long last, brings us to civilization -or what's left of it. Belisaere, capitol of the Old Kingdom, is a sort of fifteenth century Constantinople. The boom chain that guards the harbor is there, and people do live and trade in the port, but it is clear that they are squatters in the ruins of a grander civilization. Instead of the Turks at the doors, Belisaere has the Dead. For all that, it is still beautifully described and described as beautiful; the first place to be described so in the book. The little inn where Sabriel, Mogget, and Touchstone stay, The Three Lemons, is a picture of boutique perfection. It's the sort of place you expect to find in San Louis Obispo. With so much beauty around, it's also time for a little exposition (and some sexposition too!). The grand sweep of the sea loosens the enchantments placed on everyone's tongue and here we find for the first time who we're fighting: Kerrigor is the former Prince Rogir who turned to necromantic magic and was willing to sacrifice the whole kingdom to fuel his ambition. Generations of Abhorsens have dedicated their lives to keeping him locked in death but, so long as his body remains intact somewhere, he can keep coming back. With Sabriel's father trapped somewhere in Death, that seems to be what he has in fact done.
As I mentioned, there is some sexposition in this wonderful little YA novel. Evidently Mr. Nix thought all that jawing about Charters and Blood Magic would get a little boring for the average 15 year old. All that means is that we get a very uncomfortable page of Sabriel trying not to hear people doing it through the wall -that quintessential teenage experience. Awkward! Nix uses it to show (don't tell!) that Sabriel is beginning to fancy Touchstone since she gets jealous when she mistakenly assumes that he's the one getting it on in the other room. Mogget, faithful wingman, disabuses her of this notion by pointing out that the still virginal be-kilted man-wonder is billeted in the other next door room and is currently down in the pub trawling for information (like a good adventurer!). Poor Sabriel... it's hard to be the heroine of a YA novel written by a middle-aged man.
Anyhow, chapters 20 and 21 take us back to good, clean violence (always a better choice for young minds than sex, right?). Sabriel and friends set out for the reservoir beneath the palace ruins that contains the major Charter Stones and is the best bet for Abhorsen's location. The whole episode feels a bit like the trips to The Pit in Terry Brooks' Scions of Shannara, which came out at about the same time. Nix's episode has a more complex vibe to it though. There's more going on than sneaking into a dark place full of zombies to get the goods (in this case the frozen and magically protected body of Abhorsen). 1.)The slave children Sabriel encounters are the first "Cat" Sabriel chooses not to save. It is a mark of her moral evolution, being able to weigh the greater good, and another reminder of the novel's commitment to Realism (not everyone can be saved). 2.)We have the horror broken up by a little romance as we jump p.o.v.s to see that Touchstone notices that Sabriel is pretty. It's nice that he thinks so when Sabriel is cut up and has a swollen nose, but it does feel a little condescending on the author's part that he mentions it. At least Touchstone doesn't suddenly develop a rape-culture set of grabby hands, though he does swoop in with an anachronistic "good luck" peck on the cheek right before she enters Death (what ever happened to offering to shake hands?). 3.) Mogget evolves as a character in a subtle way as he wishes Sabriel "Charter be with you". I'm still not sure why he says this. 4.) Unlike Rimmer Dal, Kerrigor is theatrical and still doesn't get his villainy monologue.
We'll look more closely at this climactic episode when we pick up next time with chapters 22, 23, and 24.
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