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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Go across the Wall, July 5, 2005
Garth Nix changed the face of dark fantasy with his tales of Sabriel, Lirael and the gruesome enemies they defeated. Now he provides not only a novella in the world of the Abhorsen Trilogy, but several other short stories that he has penned over the years -- dark, chilling, beautiful and amusing.
After the events of "Abhorsen," Nicholas Sayre has decided that he wants to go to the Old Kingdom, to be near Sabriel and Lirael. Unfortunately, he gets sidetracked at a secret government base. Then a maddened official steals his blood to awaken a hideous Free Magic creature, which has lain dormant inside a clear case. Now the creature is on a rampage, seeking more blood to increase its power -- and Nicholas has no way to stop it.
That novella, called "The Creature In the Case," is the main draw for this collection of short stories. But it's also not the only one -- Nix includes several other stories: A pair of Arthurian stories, one about Nimue and the other about the Lady of the Lake; a man comes to the island of Lisden as its new owner... not knowing that he's been duped; and a young boy is enlisted by his grandfather to help save a forest from his greedy dad. Nix also shows off his more playful side in "Down to the Scud Corner," a hilarious spoof of those "choose your own adventure" books.
There are also darker stories in here as well. One story focuses on sex and death, as a young man tries to save the local girls from a lover who can call down lightning. And "Charlie Rabbit" is a surprisingly harrowing story about two boys hiding in a flooded building during a war. And the fairy-tale adaptation "Hansel's Eyes," while not unusually dark, has a rather macabre ending.
In all these stories, Garth Nix shows all his writing talents -- he's funny, he's chilling, and he's good at adventure stories and likable characters. It's wonderful to check out his earlier stories, and see how he has matured as a writer. But the main novella is perhaps the best of all, giving the underrated Nicholas a chance to shine. It also hints at possible future adventures for Sabriel, Lirael and their friends.
The stories are not completely even, since Nix wrote them at different times in his life -- apparently some of his earliest work, including a story written when he was six, were not deemed worthy. But apparently he's had his rich, detailed writing style for a long time now, best evidenced by the internal monologue of the Lady of the Lake. While a few like "Lightning Bringer" feel rather underfleshed, most of his short stories feel satisfyingly complete on their own.
"Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories" adds to Garth Nix's impressive list of dark fantasy. This collection is well-worth reading, for some chilling, vivid storytelling.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another treasure by Garth Nix, July 10, 2005
Garth Nix is a great writer. He is one of the most inventive writers in the fantasy genre today (the Abhorsen trilogy is a testimony to this). His plots are much different from other plots; he isn't using the same worn-out story lines. He also isn't overly given to prose like some writers of the genre, but his writing style is fluid and has enough details to keep the reader satisfied.
This collection of short stories (and a novella) is one to treasure. It starts with a novella about Nicholas Sayre, whom you might remember from the Abhorsen trilogy. I loved this story; it was a great continuation to an amazing trilogy.
The short stories are aplenty. They range from a western-style story with a fantastical twist to some Authurian tales that are quite unique. But, one of my personal favourites of this collection was a very short story called "Endings". It is kind of dark fantasy. The story is, coincidentally enough, about two endings: sorrow and joy. It's one of those stories that sticks in your mind and makes you keep thinking about it. It is by no means definite, but that's one of the reasons I like it.
Most of the stories in this collection lean toward dark fantasy and can deal with serious issues, such as war. However, Mr. Nix did include some funny material. "Down to the Scum Quarter" is in the paragraph-choice game format, and it is somewhat of a parody. It is quite funny, and I found it very creative. It was a lot of fun to have this little interactive section; it's a fun game to play.
Overall, I think readers of Nix's other works (and even people who haven't read works by Nix) will enjoy this. It's a collection filled with creativity and uniqueness.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of Nix's short stories perfect for old fans and newcomers alike, August 11, 2005
Existing fans and newcomers alike will quickly fall into this latest title from Garth Nix as he proves his versatility as a storyteller. A wide and interesting array of subjects and settings provides fantasy readers with a good read. ACROSS THE WALL is a collection of the author's previously published short stories. However, it opens with "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case," a novella Nix wrote out of "the desire to see what happened next" to character Nicholas Sayre from The Abhorsen Trilogy.
Throughout the book, Nix is candid with readers about facts that went into the production of each short story. Information about his writing techniques and practices also are sprinkled among the pages. Readers who already appreciate Nix's fantasy adventure stories will enjoy the snippets as they add interesting background to each story. As a writer, I found it intriguing to follow Nix's patterns of note taking, ideas, and outlining so much that I chose to visit his website where I found even more details on how he creates his work.
Nix claims to be "someone who doesn't like the Arthurian mythos," but provides readers two stories written from his fantastical perspective of King Arthur and surrounding characters, primarily Merlin. "Under the Lake" explores Arthurianna from the eyes and mind of The Lady of the Lake. "Heart's Desire" retells the story of Merlin and Nimue "in a different light." Both present a sort of History Camelot and both clamor with the empty sounds of choosing power over love.
A dry wit permeates "From the Lighthouse" as Nix portrays a larger than life millionaire madman who thinks he has bought an island to assuage his entrepreneurial desires. The natives are pleasant until it is discovered how Marcus Kilman intends to change their lives with new industry and wealthy citizens looking for a travel adventure. Greed colors everything Kilman thinks and says. Nix is clever in his commentary on contemporary efforts to cultivate vacation lands out of quiet, pristine islands that would be better off left undiscovered.
For the busy days of summer, ACROSS THE WALL is the perfect book for Nix fans old and new to keep by the bed and read a story or two at a time. A word of caution: Nix has arranged the pieces to be progressively deep and macabre, so be careful how late at night you choose to read!
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