Across the Wall

Across the Wall (2005) Garth Nix

I absolutely loved Sabriel. The rest of the Abhorsen trilogy was good, but Sabriel was fantastic. So I am prepared to give anything written by Garth Nix a chance.

I picked up Across the Wall for two reasons. First, because I like his writing, and second, because this is a short story collection, and I love short stories.

Interestingly, yet unsurprisingly I suppose, I have already read three of these stories. “Hansel’s Eyes” appeared in A Wolf at the Door. As with all the stories in that collection, it was a retelling of a fairy tale, in this case, Hansel and Gretel. It’s an eerie tale, but then so is the original. However we are so familiar with the original that it has lost much of it’s power to shock. This tale restores that sense of shock. I also particularly like the ending, which follows the original but takes it one tiny step further.

“Hope Chest” appeared in Firebirds, which I read last year, but apparently never reviewed. This is another good story, and like Hansel’s Eyes, is quite different from his other stories. It’s a Western and a fantasy at the same time. What I like best about these stories is that Garth Nix does an excellent job of writing strong female characters.

“Heart’s Desire” was in an Autherian anthology, and I remember reading it, but I don’t remember the rest of the anthology. The story wasn’t as good the second time, because I vaguely remembered what happened, so the ending wasn’t very surprising.

As for the remaining stories, “Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case” returned to Ancelstierre of the Abhorsen Trilogy. It was a good story, but served to remind me that I have forgotten much of the second and third books in that series. I may well have to remedy that situation here in the near future.

The remaining stories were all good. I partiularly liked “Under the Lake” which would have belonged in the Grails anthology (another book I read and forgot to review).

“Down to the Scum Quarter” was fun and amusing. It’s a “choose your own adventure” story, and I need to go back and take some other paths to read the other choices. It starts out great, and then goes from there.

How to Play
2. Go down to the costume rental shop and get a Three Musketeers outfit. This is called “getting into character.”
3. If you’re old enough, stop by the liquor store on the way back and pick up a few bottles of cheap red wine.

What is it about authors who love “The Three Musketeers”?

What surprised me most about this anthology is how dark the stories are. “Charlie Rabbit” and “Lightning Bringer” are very dark stories–far darker than I would have expected. They’re good stories, but they’re quite dark.

All in all, this is a good anthology. If you have not read these stories in other anthologies, then I definitely recommend this collection.
Rating: 7/10

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