Chapter Seventy-Four: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen (Old Kingdom Trilogy)

So these are classic young adult books by Garth Nix, and I don't know how I'd never read them before now.  Crazy!  I'm so glad I finally read them after many suggestions from friends.  These are probably the darkest fantasy books that I've read, at least in the YA genre--but maybe in general.  The magic in this trilogy focuses on necromancy: evil necromancers Dead creatures use the reanimated Dead and their own wicked powers to wreak havoc.  (Dead is always capitalized in the books, so I follow that tradition here.)  The Abhorsen is a person invested with the power to work against necromancers and Dead entities.  So basically these books chronicle various epic battles of good versus evil as the Abhorsen and companions and allies work to restore safety to the world when it is threatened by evil Dead forces.  This may sound corny, but Nix pulls the whole thing off very well; it is definitely not corny, and definitely creepy, especially if you actually stop to really visualize an army of dead and decomposing bodies shambling toward you.  So these books are pretty dark while also remaining reasonably optimistic.  The title characters of Sabriel and Lirael are great female protagonists: strong, likable, and dynamic.  The plot and settings are definitely unique.  If, like me, you somehow haven't read these books and if you're a fan of YA fantasy, you definitely need to read them.