Product Description

From the author of Abhorsen comes classic fantasy set in a world dominated by the Ragwitch, a being of sinister, destructive intent. An ancient spirit wreaks death and destruction on the world that sought to cripple her powers. "Julia turned around -- and Paul skidded to a stop in shock. He felt like he'd been winded, struck so hard he couldn't breathe at all. For the person in front of him wasn't Julia at all, but a hideous mixture of girl and doll: half flesh, half cloth, and the eyes and face had nothing of Julia left at all, only the evil features of the doll." When Julia finds the ugly doll in the strange ball of feathers on the beach, Paul instinctively knows that his sister has meddled with something that is going to cause trouble. But already it's too late -- the power behind the doll already has his sister in its thrall and, later that night, the Ragwitch claims Julia for its own. Fighting against his natural urge to run from this hideous being, Paul is drawn into the creature's own world. Can he save his sister -- or even himself?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97510 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Giving young readers a tantalising taste of the imagination unleashed in books to come, The Ragwitch is Garth Nix’s first novel, dating from 1990, and a book that is only now making its deserved first appearance in the UK. Nix’s immense reputation as a fantasy writer has been subsequently built on the success of books such as Sabriel and Lirael from his Old Kingdom trilogy, and Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday, early episodes of the Keys to the Kingdom sequence, but his debut, nevertheless, remains a readable and enjoyable adventure.

The story concerns a brother and sister, Paul and Julia, who discover a feather-covered ragdoll in a large nest on an Aboriginal midden heap besides an Australian beach. At breakneck speed, the plot has Julia possessed by the ragdoll, who is revealed as a powerful witch, and then the pair are transported through magic into the Ragwitch’s own alternate kingdom. Paul, not brave by nature, instinctively follows them in order to save his sister.

While the Ragwitch tries to regain control of her old world, with Julia trapped inside her and giving her form, Paul is lost and at the behest of a host of strange creatures in a nearby forest. His task, in order to save his sibling and defeat the evil that has overtaken her, involves finding four talismans, representing Earth, Air, Fire and Water, so that he can call upon Wild Magic to do so.

All the signs were there that with The Ragwitch, Nix was at the exciting beginning of his storytelling abilities with its glorious cast of quirky characters and weird and wonderful new monsters. This earlier work is not as crisply executed, nor as boldly original, as later efforts but it remains a worthwhile encounter and is an illuminating taste of what was to come from this author.

(Age 10 and over) --John McLay

Review
Praise for Garth Nix "[Garth Nix is] the coolest read in the playground." Amanda Craig "Sabriel is a winner, a fantasy that reads like realism. Here is a world with the same solidity and four-dimensional authority as our own, created with invention, clarity and intellience." Philip Pullman "I think Garth Nix has created a really remarkable and persuasive wold, and done it in the grand style of high fantasy and heroic romance, with some wonderful twists and turns. His Sabriel is a heroine truly worthy of that role." Lloyd Alexander "By turns rousing, charming and slyly funny, Sabriel is an engaging tale that slays sexual stereotypes along with its monsters." San Francisco Chronicle "What makes LIRAEL a delight is the magic that Nix brings to his story and to his characters. It is filled with twists and turns, playful inventiveness and dark magic, and is sure to satisfy his many readers." Locus

From the Publisher
Question and Answer with Garth Nix:

What is your favourite piece of clothing?
My R. M. Williams elastic-sided boots
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you want to have with you?
I presume a satellite phone is out of the question, so:
1. "The How to Survive on a Deserted Island Manual"
2. A knife or machete
3. A very large clear plastic tarpaulin
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Absent-minded writer guy
What time do you get up in the morning?
Usually between 4:45am and 7:00am depending upon my young son. Preferably closer to 7:00am!
Do you have any pets? What are their names?
No pets, unless you count the two swallows that are building a nest under the canopy above my office door. Maybe I should give them names.
What are 3 things you love about where you live?
The sea, the trees, the birds
What makes you most happy?
A cup of tea, a good book and my family around me
Did you like school? What was your favourite subject?
I sometimes liked school. My favourite subject was History. Or maybe English. Or Drama.
When did you start writing and what gave you the inspiration to start?
I started writing stories when I was six or seven, but didn't seriously try to write and get published till I was nineteen.
What do you like to read? And what book are you reading now?
I like to read all sorts of books. I'm currently reading a history of Venice by John Julius Norwich.
What was the first book you can remember reading?
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
What is your favourite TV programme and pop band?
My favourite TV program is an old one, Dr Who. My favourite pop band changes, but I guess my all-time favourite would be The Beatles.
What is your perfect holiday?
Taking it easy at a beach house on the NSW South Coast in late Spring, before lots of people go there
If you could travel back in time, who would you be and why?
I would like to be all sorts of people, but I wouldn't mind being a long-lived, healthy medieval king who died in bed at an advanced age, mourned by all.
What is your favourite food?
Sausages and mash
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Give some of it away, invest the rest in interesting projects like making films, or producing a play, or re-publishing some old books that have disappeared
What is your favourite sport?
Fishing
If you could be invisible for the day, where would you go?
The Invisible Club, though it's a pain to find and you keep bumping into people
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Where I live now, near the beach in Sydney
What is your ideal Saturday/weekend?
To be at home with my family, with no obligation to do anything or be anywhere
If you had 3 wishes from a genie what would it be?
That would depend upon the nature of the wishes. If I could make really big wishes for other people I would wish:
* For everyone in the world to be healthy and vigorous (and if that was too hard for the genie, then I'd try for all children to be healthy and vigorous)
* For all the weapons in the world to turn into flowers
* For everyone to be able to experience compassion and understand kindness
If the wishes had to be for myself, I would wish for:
* A really good singing voice
* Extremely good health for my whole family
* A small very comfortable castle on a large private island in Sydney Harbour

Customer Reviews

A good novel, no where near as good as the later ones
It has been well documented that this isn't one of Nix’s later and more successful novels so I won’t delve too deeply into that, although suffice to say Sabriel or Mr Monday – this isn't… What it is however is a novel of no small amount of skill and patience, the story line is inventive and likable, its just the execution that is a bit lacking.

It is almost unfortunate the Garth Nix is as successful as he is as any of his early work is bound to compared to his massively successful later works. I am a huge fan of said later works and in turn a huge fan of Nix so that is how I base my review.

The story is focuses around Julia and her brother Paul. Julia is the more adventurous of the two siblings and one day when playing on the beach she comes across a rag dull buried mysteriously in the sand, Paul wants nothing to do with it but Julia is entranced, for this doll is no ordinary one and consumes Julia entirely. For this is the Ragwitch, previously the evil North Queen of a far off distant world. Paul manages to force himself through to the other world along with the Ragwitch but how can he do anything to stop such a fearsome creature?

Meeting guides along the way both Paul and the now consumed Julia begin to fight and find inner strength they never knew they had. Is this enough though?

This book really shows the threads that have made Garth Nix such a talented author – the execution is lacking, for example the ending feels rushed, threads of storyline are untold and characters can be a little wooden. For all this though it is a decent novel, just don't compare it to his later works.

breathtaking book
I found this book when browsing for a good read on amazon, and decided to buy it because of a good sypnosis and the good reputation of garth nix's other books. This book will blow you away as it keeps the reader guessing as the plot becomes thicker and a higher tempo. This book will not fail to entertain with all its twists and turns. Prepare to be pulled into a world of magic,adventure and the power of love and family. 5 stars, a must read.

Captivating but with some rough edges
When the rag doll the brother and sister find on the beach turns out to be a trapped witch who possesses Julia in order to gain a new body, Paul finds himself travelling through a strange world in an attempt to collect the magic he needs to save his sister and journey home. Meanwhile Julia, trapped inside the Ragwitch's mind, goes on a journey of her own: there are others trapped with her, and together they search for a way to destroy the Ragwitch from within - before she can conquer and destroy a world.

This book was one of Garth Nix's earliest - and it shows. The writing is rather clumsy, and the story feels very rushed - especially in the beginning. One small niggle that another reviewer has also mentioned was the names: all too often they do sound like made-up names pretending to be Welsh, and are therefore often unpronounceable (although, in all fairness, I'm not Welsh and despair of ever pronouncing certain names in various Arthurian trilogys like Bernard Cornwell's so for all I know they aren't made up... but I suspect they are).
Still, I could hardly put it down: I loved the Elementals, and Julia's story was great fun. When you are possessed, you don't usually have any kind of freedom left - I just loved the idea that she could roam more or less freely through her captors thoughts and memories. Paul's slow change of attitude from desperate to return home with Julia to wanting to destroy the Ragwitch and save the world - and the friends - he has come to know was one of the best bits: nicely written and totally believeable.