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aabaileyauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Some of the best short stories I’ve read
abderiandumpling's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mkhare's review against another edition
Favourites -
Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case
The Hill
Heart’s Desire
Hansel’s Eyes
Honourable Mentions -
From the Lighthouse (mostly because it sticks in my mind)
Hope Chest
I didn’t mind some of the more comedic writing as there were some good little wicked moments, but overall I felt there were too many wicked moments packed into too few pages, lessening their impact. That’s just the nature of the shorter format however, so I think I would read longer form comedic works by him.
Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case
The Hill
Heart’s Desire
Hansel’s Eyes
Honourable Mentions -
From the Lighthouse (mostly because it sticks in my mind)
Hope Chest
I didn’t mind some of the more comedic writing as there were some good little wicked moments, but overall I felt there were too many wicked moments packed into too few pages, lessening their impact. That’s just the nature of the shorter format however, so I think I would read longer form comedic works by him.
madame_medusa's review against another edition
5.0
For an author who supposedly doesn't enjoy Arthurian Mythos, Nix certainly wrote two beautiful short stories in this collection. "Heart's Desire" was not what I expected and I want an animator to create a short film of that particular story because I'm not sure my imagination did it justice.
eqicbunny's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kberry513's review against another edition
5.0
I almost gave this a 4 star rating because it wasn't all Old Kingdom stories, but rather a mixture of short stories of various worlds.
One of my favorites is the Three Roses, the story of a gardener who lost his wife and planted a rose to remember her by, which has bloomed the exact black of her hair; the king comes and takes it and it lasts only a short time at the palace, so he goes back and the gardener has a rose the color of his dead wife's eyes, etc. etc. The last time the palace jardinier comes to get a rose, he asks the gardener why he allows the king to take the flowers and if he's afraid he'll forget his wife, but the gardener responds that he sees her everywhere and will always have her with him, but since the king has never known such love and has no memories of it, he grows the flowers for him.
I also liked knowing what happened to Nick post Abhorsen and it sounds like it leads right into the new book that comes out next month.
The Hansel and Gretel retelling was awesome; I could have read a whole book about that.
Charlie Rabbit, which was about two little boys and a stuffed rabbit needing to get to safety during an airstrike, was heart wrenching, as was Hope Chest - I want to know what happened to Alice May Susan Hopkins after she liberated her home by killing a bunch of people. That plus Margaletta's ruthlessness in From the Lighthouse was very demonstrative of Nix's penchant for "dark justice" type endings in his works. I also liked his satiric take on fantasy series, My New Really Epic Fantasy Series
One of my favorites is the Three Roses, the story of a gardener who lost his wife and planted a rose to remember her by, which has bloomed the exact black of her hair; the king comes and takes it and it lasts only a short time at the palace, so he goes back and the gardener has a rose the color of his dead wife's eyes, etc. etc. The last time the palace jardinier comes to get a rose, he asks the gardener why he allows the king to take the flowers and if he's afraid he'll forget his wife, but the gardener responds that he sees her everywhere and will always have her with him, but since the king has never known such love and has no memories of it, he grows the flowers for him.
I also liked knowing what happened to Nick post Abhorsen and it sounds like it leads right into the new book that comes out next month.
The Hansel and Gretel retelling was awesome; I could have read a whole book about that.
Charlie Rabbit, which was about two little boys and a stuffed rabbit needing to get to safety during an airstrike, was heart wrenching, as was Hope Chest - I want to know what happened to Alice May Susan Hopkins after she liberated her home by killing a bunch of people. That plus Margaletta's ruthlessness in From the Lighthouse was very demonstrative of Nix's penchant for "dark justice" type endings in his works. I also liked his satiric take on fantasy series, My New Really Epic Fantasy Series
authoraugust's review against another edition
4.0
Short story collections are always hit and miss for me, because of how much variety is in them. In Nix's case, that works well in his favor - I loved his novels, and I liked seeing the scraps of the other worlds he might have made. I wasn't thrilled with the titular novella, but the most of the other stories were very effective (especially Three Roses). An enjoyable collection. (Thanks, Anna!)
steph01924's review against another edition
3.0
Framing this book as one in the Abhorsen series is a bit misleading since it mostly features other short stories written by Garth Nix. Read my review on Forever Young Adult to see if it's worth your time.
nimeneth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
The first story is about the only one I liked. The rest are well-written, but very dark and weird, even in comparison to the Abhorsen series. The first is the only Old Kingdom story and the rest are miscellaneous settings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
alyshadeshae's review against another edition
5.0
My full review is here on my personal website. I'll post a few excerpts here, though:
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is that Garth Nix dares to tell us that he doesn’t want to hear if our favorite story is “The Coin Shower.” What was he thinking?!
The very best thing about this book is the variety of stories. They aren’t all Old Kingdom tales, and the one that is wasn’t my favorite – I’m not big on mysteries. My favorites were probably “The Hill” and “Heart’s Desire.” “Lightning Bringer” was interesting, if not a little disturbing and kind of out of place, I think. They’re all great, though! Even “The Coin Shower” in it’s eight-word glory. :-D
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The very worst thing about this book is that Garth Nix dares to tell us that he doesn’t want to hear if our favorite story is “The Coin Shower.” What was he thinking?!
The very best thing about this book is the variety of stories. They aren’t all Old Kingdom tales, and the one that is wasn’t my favorite – I’m not big on mysteries. My favorites were probably “The Hill” and “Heart’s Desire.” “Lightning Bringer” was interesting, if not a little disturbing and kind of out of place, I think. They’re all great, though! Even “The Coin Shower” in it’s eight-word glory. :-D