Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Serious, Straightforward
Nix is a man on a mission with this book, and he doesn't waste readers' time with a lot of flowery descriptions and metaphors. He's got an exciting story to tell, and he gets straight into the action. There's a lot of movement in this book, and it covers a long journey and tons of adventures, so Nix doesn't dwell on his characters' inner thoughts for long stretches of time—there's too much going on to dilly dally.
When Sabriel first arrives in the Old Kingdom, we don't mess around with talk of landscape or even what's in her head—the action starts right away:
Sabriel found the first dead Ancelstierre soldier six miles from the Wall in the last, fading hours of the afternoon. (4.1)
The time of day is described—"last, fading hours of the afternoon"—but that's about it. Sabriel's just arrived in a place that is totally new to us as readers, but the emphasis remains on what's happening, instead of what it all looks like. This is no Tolkien-esque journey with descriptions of every last kind of tree and what Sabriel cooked for lunch—no, this is a flat-out sprint from one location to the next. It fits the adventure-filled plot perfectly.