Read the original trilogy as a child and was quite surprised when I saw there were now more books being published in the series. Of course, after so long I was a bit anxious whether the magic would still be there for me. I‘m happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed both this addition and the prequel ‘Clariel‘.

I loved the original three books. I was very excited to finally read Clariel and Goldenhand. I hate to have to say that they were both rather disappointing. They’re a lot like reading fanfics or parodies of the real thing. Both books take more than half of the book to setup basic information that could have been covered in a chapter or two. The story is also driven by returning characters that don’t quite feel like themselves and narrate their feelings quite a lot. Goldenhand, in particular, feels like there’s very little actual story happening other than a focus on the main couple that’s awkwardly depicted. The original books were very focused on building the story and the lore that was so fascinating and wonderful. I’m really sad to say that both of these central elements are missing here.

I just finished Goldenhand, and while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I would say it lives up to the first three books in the Old Kingdom series. Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen and collectively the best series I have ever read, and I would give each five stars easily. Goldenhand, on the other hand (must be the non-golden one), feels somewhat hurried and drawn out at the same time. I found myself wishing some parts would go faster but at the end, I thought it needed at least 50 more pages. Goldenhand reads best not as a standalone book, but as a conclusion of the events that are setup in Clariel, which is a prequel set hundreds of years before Goldenhand. My advice is to definitely read Clariel before reading Goldenhand and think of it as a single story.