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annaavaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
skeleton_ashleigh's review against another edition
I liked the old kingdom one. I stopped at the Dracula one. It simply didn't interest me any longer.
kberry513's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked A Handful of Ashes; I would totally read a whole book about that world! The various schools for witches and wizards, the idea of working your way through, it all just seemed so appealing to me.
I also found Vampire Weather really intriguing - an Amish-style society that has kept itself apart from technology and vaccinations in a world with vampires, they don't even know that a vampire vaccination exists, but when they learn of it they are against it. Very cool.
I enjoyed the Quiet Knight, too, although that one works best as a short story.
What's up with the Hellboy story? Isn't that a proprietary character? I'm missing the type of intros from the other short story book; maybe this was for an anthology with Hellboy as a side character?
I really loved A Handful of Ashes - I would totally read a whole book based in that world. There were various colleges of magic and some of them allowed sizars (people who can't afford to pay and essentially are indentured servants in return for being allowed to study there). Mari and Francesca are awesome and I would love to read more of their adventures!
Infestation was interesting - another vampire-ish one, with a team of vampire hunters. Although it turns out that the vampires are actually aliens?
The one with Sherlock Holmes' cousin was also really enjoyable.
I loved An Unwelcome Guest - it was kind of a play on a Rapunzel retelling where the witch was required to let the Rapunzel stay in the tower due to guest rules even though she broke in.
I also found Vampire Weather really intriguing - an Amish-style society that has kept itself apart from technology and vaccinations in a world with vampires, they don't even know that a vampire vaccination exists, but when they learn of it they are against it. Very cool.
I enjoyed the Quiet Knight, too, although that one works best as a short story.
What's up with the Hellboy story? Isn't that a proprietary character? I'm missing the type of intros from the other short story book; maybe this was for an anthology with Hellboy as a side character?
I really loved A Handful of Ashes - I would totally read a whole book based in that world. There were various colleges of magic and some of them allowed sizars (people who can't afford to pay and essentially are indentured servants in return for being allowed to study there). Mari and Francesca are awesome and I would love to read more of their adventures!
Infestation was interesting - another vampire-ish one, with a team of vampire hunters. Although it turns out that the vampires are actually aliens?
The one with Sherlock Holmes' cousin was also really enjoyable.
I loved An Unwelcome Guest - it was kind of a play on a Rapunzel retelling where the witch was required to let the Rapunzel stay in the tower due to guest rules even though she broke in.
jaymoonneyyy's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed these short stories. The first one being part of the Old Kingdom in entirety was quite interesting. However, following the first were a series of stories that were a variation of fantasy settings; I liked reading through SOME of them, while others I quickly skipped through. As a big fan of Garth Nix and enjoy his writing, I liked this but not as much as I usually enjoy his books!
lydskelly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rollforlibrarian's review
3.0
I enjoyed the title story, many of the others were stories I had read elsewhere before - I wad glad to read Ambrose and the Ancient Spirits of East and West again though.
themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition
2.0
DNF 77% Highly variable. I worked my way through 11 of the short stories and they were a real mixed bag. By way of context I think the author shares a lot in common with writers like Charles Stross in that they have wildly original ideas and then a tendency to over-reach. The story arc fizzles out rather than terminating. The Keys to the Kingdom started with a bang but by the time it got to Superior Saturday I had lost interest. However, I can forgive Garth Nix an awful lot when he can write something like Abhorsen!
Anyway, time to stop rambling. There is one Old Kingdom story that, along with A Handful of Ashes & Infestation, was quite good. The quality of the rest was quite low, and two or three felt like outlines and gave me no encouragement to read further.
Anyway, time to stop rambling. There is one Old Kingdom story that, along with A Handful of Ashes & Infestation, was quite good. The quality of the rest was quite low, and two or three felt like outlines and gave me no encouragement to read further.
emilyrandolph_epstein's review against another edition
5.0
Garth Nix is one of my favorite writers. I started reading his books when I was in fifth grade. My greatest wish is that he'd write more adult books since some of his books are middle reader and while I love Nix, now that I'm getting older I have a hard time sympathizing with the lives of some of his younger protagonists. This book of short stories answered that wish at least in part.
The stories vary in genre from high fantasy to sci-fi and all points in between. There are stories for both mature readers and younger readers. Not all of the stories are great, but many of them are wonderfully developed and I found myself wanting to know more, which is, I think what makes a great short story - something that offers you a taste of something greater and leaves you craving more while still being a complete entity in and of itself.
I recommend this book to any fans of the Abhorsen books as the first story is set in the Old Kingdom and definitely satisfied my desire for more stories from that world. But I also recommend this book for anyone who has been wanting to write short stories but just can't quite figure out how to do it. I think Nix sets a good example for how it's done and I felt that these stories really highlighted his craft. I intend to study it further and try to write some short stories of my own based on this example.
The stories vary in genre from high fantasy to sci-fi and all points in between. There are stories for both mature readers and younger readers. Not all of the stories are great, but many of them are wonderfully developed and I found myself wanting to know more, which is, I think what makes a great short story - something that offers you a taste of something greater and leaves you craving more while still being a complete entity in and of itself.
I recommend this book to any fans of the Abhorsen books as the first story is set in the Old Kingdom and definitely satisfied my desire for more stories from that world. But I also recommend this book for anyone who has been wanting to write short stories but just can't quite figure out how to do it. I think Nix sets a good example for how it's done and I felt that these stories really highlighted his craft. I intend to study it further and try to write some short stories of my own based on this example.