<p>special Feature: This Perfectbound E-book Contains An Exclusive Work-in-progress Preview Of Abhorsen, The Third Book In Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom Trilogy. <p> Lirael Has Never Felt Like A True Daughter Of The Clayr. Abandoned By Her Mother, Ignorant Of Her Father's Identity, Lirael Resembles No One Else In Her Large Extended Family Living In The Clayr's Glacier. She Doesn't Even Have The Sight -- The Ability To See Into The Present And Possible Futures -- That Is The Very Birthright Of The Clayr. <p> Nonetheless, It Is Lirael In Whose Hands The Fate Of The Old Kingdom Lies. She Must Undertake A Desperate Mission Under The Growing Shadow Of An Ancient Evil -- One That Opposes The Royal Family, Blocks The Sight Of The Clay; And Threatens To Break The Very Boundary Between Life And Death Itself. With Only Her Faithful Companion, The Disreputable Dog, To Help Her, Lirael Must Find The Courage To Seek Her Own Hidden Destiny. <p> In This Sequel To The Critically Acclaimed Sabriel, Garth Nix Draws Readers Deeper Into The Magical Landscape Of The Old Kingdom And Weaves A Spellbinding Tale Of Discovery, Destiny, And Danger.</p><h3>publishers Weekly</h3><p>in Nix's Sequel To Sabriel, Readers Return To The Entrancing And Complicated Old Kingdom: A World Of Necromancy, Seers, Dangerous Monsters And Talking Animals (the Cat Mogget Is Back). The Relationships Between The Kingdom's Various Realms And The Magic May Take Some Unraveling For Readers New To The Series, But The Heroine's Plight Will Be Instantly Compelling. Lirael Is The Only One Of A Community Of Clairvoyant Women Not To Be Gifted With The Sight, And The Mystery Of Her Parentage Contributes To Her Alienation. Just After Her 14th Birthday, Lirael Releases A Stilken (half-woman, Half-crustacean) From A Glass-covered Coffin. Her Act Leads To A Meeting With A Healer (lirael's Great-great-grandmother) Who Fortifies Her And Urges Her To Take As Her Only Friend The Impertinent Disreputable Dog, A Creature Of Suspicious Magical Origin Whose True Nature Remains Unknown. The Overall Plot May Follow The Expected Course An Evil Magician Threatens The Well-being Of The Old Kingdom And Lirael Finds Her Destiny Linked With That Of Handsome, Nervous Prince Sameth (son Of Sabriel) But Startling Subplots Abound And Keep The Pages Turning. The Book Ends On A Cliffhanger, And Nix Leaves Nearly Every Major Question Unanswered. The Evil Is Still At Large, The Disreputable Dog Still Unexplained And Lirael's Mother's Desertion Of Her Unresolved. Readers Hoping For A Satisfying Ending Will Have To Wait For The Third In The Series, To Be Titled Abhorsen, And Tentatively Scheduled For Fall 2002. Ages 12-up. (apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.</p>