Rachael's Reviews > Goldenhand

I hate to say it but Garth Nix should have stopped after Clariel. It's the curse of the last book in that it was just not as good as previous works in the series.
OK, the world-building was still great, the magic system still innovative and the writing very good. But, I think Goldenhand could have been better.
There were so many threads in this one which took a while to come together. And actually I had inklings all along about how the novel was going to build up to its climax.
Ferin's pov chapters seemed particularly hard to get through because they were just so slow and I didn't really feel a connection with her like I have with previous Old Kingdom characters. Speaking of which, Sameth, Sabriel, Touchstone and Mogget - where were you?? There was nowhere near enough about those guys.
We do get to read about Lirael and Nick but their strong characters were slightly weakened by a developing romance between them. Can't a boy and a girl just be friends?
Overall, Goldenhand was underwhelming and that's​ why I can only give it 3 stars.