Clariel: Prequel to the internationally bestselling Old Kingdom fantasy series (The Old Kingdom)

This is a must-read ... fans will be sated and new readers will fall in love with the characters and lavish-landscapes * The Times * Beautifully written, magnificently imagined, and wholly original, CLARIEL is Garth Nix's finest work yet. -- Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of THE COLDEST GIRL IN The old magic returns in this sterling prequel to one of YA's classic series. -- Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author of the Uglies series and AFTERWORLDS ...will delight fantasy fans. * The Telegraph * In this long-awaited prequel, Garth Nix shows us why his Old Kingdom books have influenced a generation of fantasy writers -- Cassandra Clare A brilliant return to the Old Kingdom - one of the most exciting and original magical worlds ever devised. -- Alison Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of EON and EONA

The highly anticipated and long-awaited prequel to Garth Nix's astonishingly successful OLD KINGDOM series Sixteen-year-old Clariel is not adjusting well to her new life in the city of Belisaere, the capital of the Old Kingdom. She misses roaming freely within the forests of Estwael, and she feels trapped within the stone city walls. And in Belisaere she is forced to follow the plans, plots and demands of everyone, from her parents to her maid, to the sinister Guildmaster Kilip. Clariel can see her freedom slipping away. It seems too that the city itself is descending into chaos, as the ancient rules binding Abhorsen, King and Clayr appear to be disintegrating. With the discovery of a dangerous Free Magic creature loose in the city, Clariel is given the chance both to prove her worth and make her escape. But events spin rapidly out of control. Clariel finds herself more trapped than ever, until help comes from an unlikely source. But the help comes at a terrible cost. Clariel must question the motivations and secret hearts of everyone around her - and it is herself she must question most of all.