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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he has worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth's books include the award-winning fantasy novels SABRIEL, LIRAEL and ABHORSEN and the science fiction novels SHADE'S CHILDREN and A CONFUSION OF PRINCES. His fantasy novels for children include THE RAGWITCH; the six books of THE SEVENTH TOWER sequence; THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM series; and with Sean Williams, the TROUBLETWISTERS books and SPIRIT ANIMALS: BLOOD TIES.

More than five million copies of Garth's books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of THE NEW YORK TIMES, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, THE GUARDIAN and THE AUSTRALIAN, and his work has been translated into 40 languages. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Follow Garth on twitter at @garthnix or at www.garthnix.com