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pnw_afox's review against another edition
4.0
I'm drawn to the short story lately. I've read M is for Magic, bits of horror anthologies, and Across the Wall in the past few months. I truely enjoyed Nix's collection of stories. Some favorites include: Endings, Hope Chest, and Down the Scum Quarter. Each story has an informative introduction that gave it context as well as made the collection cohesive.
mattlefevers's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book the same day I finished reading Nix's "Old Kingdom" trilogy. I had really enjoyed Sabriel and its sequels, and wanted to round things out with the novella that opens this collection. "Nicholas Sayre and The Creature in the Case" is well worth it - though it's a novella, it takes up a third of this book's length, and it is set after the events of "Abhorsen" so it provides a satisfying glimpse at some of the aftermath of the trilogy proper. It also goes a long way to redeem the character Nick, who was (through no fault of his own) mostly weak and pointless in the other books.
The rest of the book is rounded out by short stories, none of which have any connection to the "Old Kingdom" series but most of which are pretty good in their own right. There are two very enjoyable takes on the King Arthur mythos, and an incredibly cool retelling of Hansel and Gretel in a modern setting. One of the longest stories besides "Nicholas Sayre" is called "Hope Chest", and its curious blend of classic western and Lovecraftian darkness was enough to make me wish it was even longer. It felt like Buffy The Vampire Slayer set in the Old West, and man is that a show I would watch.
The humorous stories are the ones that didn't really land for me. Nix's parody of a Choose Your Own Adventure book elicited a few chuckles from me but was mostly sort of flat, and his fake introduction to a fifty-eight book fantasy series is made up of what I almost have to call Dad Humor (referring to the third Lord of the Rings book as "The Return of the Mistakenly Purchased King" made me groan even though I kind of laughed).
The final two stories, however, end things on a strong note. "Three Roses", at only four pages long, might be the loveliest thing in the collection, and the equally minimal "Endings" closes things on a note of mystery and beauty.
Overall, there were more hits than misses here, and for fans of Lirael & company the novella would be well worth the price of admission.
The rest of the book is rounded out by short stories, none of which have any connection to the "Old Kingdom" series but most of which are pretty good in their own right. There are two very enjoyable takes on the King Arthur mythos, and an incredibly cool retelling of Hansel and Gretel in a modern setting. One of the longest stories besides "Nicholas Sayre" is called "Hope Chest", and its curious blend of classic western and Lovecraftian darkness was enough to make me wish it was even longer. It felt like Buffy The Vampire Slayer set in the Old West, and man is that a show I would watch.
The humorous stories are the ones that didn't really land for me. Nix's parody of a Choose Your Own Adventure book elicited a few chuckles from me but was mostly sort of flat, and his fake introduction to a fifty-eight book fantasy series is made up of what I almost have to call Dad Humor (referring to the third Lord of the Rings book as "The Return of the Mistakenly Purchased King" made me groan even though I kind of laughed).
The final two stories, however, end things on a strong note. "Three Roses", at only four pages long, might be the loveliest thing in the collection, and the equally minimal "Endings" closes things on a note of mystery and beauty.
Overall, there were more hits than misses here, and for fans of Lirael & company the novella would be well worth the price of admission.
charmoffinches's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely collection of short stories. There isn't an overarching theme, but they were all really enjoyable. The silly ones, like the choose your own adventure and the joke "Introduction to my new really epic fantasy series" were great.
tgzink01's review against another edition
4.0
I read the whole thing and everything after the novella does not need to be reviewed. I wish I could have bought the novella about Nick separately from the rest of the stories because I wasn't particularly interested in the second half of this book at all. It was not bad, it just was not what I was in the mood to read since I am working my way through the entire Old Kingdom series. However the novella was really good and I thought it did a great job of building out Nick's character post the end of Abhorsen. Nick seems more sure of himself and I like his internal call to action.
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
3.0
Eh. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed parts of it. For instance, I liked Charlie Rabbit, From the Lighthouse, stories seven through to ten and Three Roses. But the rest were so very meh.
I guess I was just hoping for some more epic Old Kingdom stories, but only got two. Garth Nix, I am disappoint!
It's a very easy read, though. I probably would have easily finished it in a day if I had the time.
But if you're looking for more Abhorsen-esque stories, you won't receive it here, sry2say.
I guess I was just hoping for some more epic Old Kingdom stories, but only got two. Garth Nix, I am disappoint!
It's a very easy read, though. I probably would have easily finished it in a day if I had the time.
But if you're looking for more Abhorsen-esque stories, you won't receive it here, sry2say.
someonetookit's review against another edition
I loved some stories while loathing others. Therefore i have neglected to give it an actual rating.
menshevixen's review against another edition
4.0
A fun addition to the Abhorsen trilogy. The main attraction here is the story "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case", but many of the other stories are good as well.
bookladykd's review against another edition
4.0
Well-done short stories of widely varied subject matter. The title story starts to answer all the "and then what happened!!" feelings left over at the end of _Abhorsen_, but I have to say I'm still hungry for more. Guess I'll have to read his other series instead.
saidahgilbert's review against another edition
4.0
I read all the stories for the first time rather just the one from the Abhorsen series. They were quite interesting.