Reviews

Across the Wall: Tales of the Old Kingdom and Elsewhere by Garth Nix

go_jan's review against another edition

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2.0

Firstly and most importantly - this book is a collection of short stories, however only the first one of those is part of the 'Abhorsen' saga. The rest (over half a dozen of them) are various other short stories written by Garth Nix, some of which I found better than others. Thus, in my opinion, the book was 'ok'. I was hoping for more Abhorsen, but nevertheless enjoyed the Arthurian legends, The Hill and The Three Roses.

kaypat23's review against another edition

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1.0

Repeat after me:

We! Want! More! Nicholas Sayre! And Old Kingdom! Stuff!

NOT ENDLESS RAMBLINGS ON MERLIN OR LIGHTNING MEN OR FIFTH GRADE ESSAYS

teenytinylibrary's review against another edition

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3.0

I only picked this up because I thought I was missing something when I started Goldenhand. And "Across the Wall" was decent and a good re-introduction to Nicholas Sayre. But yeah, I don't particularly love short stories. I did enjoy both of the Arthurian stories - "Under the Lake" and "Heart's Desire" - along with "Three Roses," "The Hill," and "Hope Chest" (which was my favorite from this collection).

renatasnacks's review against another edition

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3.0

ok first of all why do Garth Nix's books all have THE WORST COVERS, like is his publisher MAD AT HIM or what

anyway I mostly picked this up for the first story, a novella about Nicholas Sayre from Lirael, which I loved. the other stories were good? It's kind of a mixed bag of stuff that has been published elsewhere; nothing else in here is related to the Old Kingdom series. A fun but inessential read.

alissa_cleo's review against another edition

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5.0

Who but Nix could bring tears to my eye in a mere four pages

thechronicknitter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

dairine's review against another edition

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3.0

I truly enjoyed the universe of the Abhorsen, so when I encountered this short story collection, I erroneously assumed that ALL the stories were about said universe.

I was wrong.

Admittedly, didn't finish all the stories, as some were less interesting than others, but I must say, my favorite story was "Hope Chest."

And the Abhorsen-universe story was also not shabby, for what it's worth.

funsizelibrarian's review against another edition

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3.0

Enjoyed reading stories that weren't set in the Old Kingdom world I love. Recommend this even if you aren't familiar with that series, as it showcases Nix's range and humor.

egelantier's review against another edition

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4.0

a psmithian nick's sequel novella wherein he once again claims his uncontested title of Character Most Likely To Get Violated By Eldritch Horrors But Be Kind Of A Good Sport About It. plus a smattering of elegant and concise short stories.

ifthebook's review against another edition

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4.0

The novella about the Old Kingdom was done well, with little things thrown in there that I somehow overlooked the first time through. (You probably know what I'm talking about.) The short stories are good, too, and range from the humorous to the serious, covering everything from Arthurian Legend to the Wild West. A great little collection.