‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom

Australian author Garth Nix has set six critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling novels and several shorter works in and around the fictional world of the Old Kingdom, beginning with <i>Sabriel</i> (1995) and continuing most recently with <i>Terciel & Elinor</i&g...

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Main Author: Sean Williams
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Humanities
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/78
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author Sean Williams
author_facet Sean Williams
author_sort Sean Williams
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description Australian author Garth Nix has set six critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling novels and several shorter works in and around the fictional world of the Old Kingdom, beginning with <i>Sabriel</i> (1995) and continuing most recently with <i>Terciel & Elinor</i> (2021). This loose series of texts, with its bellringing protagonists, is the prime contributor to his reputation as an author of high fantasy fiction, although he is also marketed as and known for writing science fiction and other related subgenres. Most notably, his work prominently features elements of the Gothic. This aspect of his work and the ways in which it creates tension within the “high” fantasy genre becomes increasingly apparent when examined through the lens of sound—a critical method that has potential for charting the entanglements of this genre with other popular genres of fiction.
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spelling doaj-art-dd035a36a3eb4c43b5b4e85bea61bc402025-08-20T02:28:28ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872025-03-011447810.3390/h14040078‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old KingdomSean Williams0College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, AustraliaAustralian author Garth Nix has set six critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling novels and several shorter works in and around the fictional world of the Old Kingdom, beginning with <i>Sabriel</i> (1995) and continuing most recently with <i>Terciel & Elinor</i> (2021). This loose series of texts, with its bellringing protagonists, is the prime contributor to his reputation as an author of high fantasy fiction, although he is also marketed as and known for writing science fiction and other related subgenres. Most notably, his work prominently features elements of the Gothic. This aspect of his work and the ways in which it creates tension within the “high” fantasy genre becomes increasingly apparent when examined through the lens of sound—a critical method that has potential for charting the entanglements of this genre with other popular genres of fiction.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/78Garth Nixfantasy fictiongothic literaturesoundmusic
spellingShingle Sean Williams
‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
Humanities
Garth Nix
fantasy fiction
gothic literature
sound
music
title ‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
title_full ‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
title_fullStr ‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
title_full_unstemmed ‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
title_short ‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom
title_sort ring the bells sound and silence in garth nix s old kingdom
topic Garth Nix
fantasy fiction
gothic literature
sound
music
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/78
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