Really 3.5. ( )

the things I would give for novels set in this universe!!!! ( )

I fell for this book almost instantly as the writing is so clever it hits all the right spots. There are three stories here, ranging from short to novella length. They are:
Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again (2007)
Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarsköe (2008)
A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet (2010)

I read these in a signed and numbered limited edition from Subterranean Press which has a lovely wrap around cover.

Sir Hereward at first appears to be something of a skilled and educated knight and beau brummel (but so much more) and Mister Fitz is a puppet, magically animated, and these are their travel adventures in godslaying. Although I have the book, one can buy the kindle edition at the moment for all of 99 cents and those pennies would be well spent I'd say for a bit of pleasurable reading. The wordplay back and forth between the two characters especially at the start just made me happy. By the end of the first story we have learned who Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz are, and there are some surprises. There is a sad edge to the stories as our "heroes" go forth. The puppet Fitz really caught my fancy and the author does a very good job creating unique characters.

Recommended for fans of darkish fantasy, I really enjoyed this and it will make it into my top reads of the year.

Several more stories of this pair have been published in the last couple years. I'll be looking for them. ( )

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/sir-hereward-and-mister-fitz-three-adve...

When I think of Garth Nix I think of excellent fantasy literature for children, but Nix writes for adults, too. Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Three Adventures is a collection of three previously published stories about a knight and artillerist named Sir Hereward and a magically animated puppet called Mr. Fitz. The duo works for the Council for the Saftey of the World and they�??ve taken a vow to hunt down and exterminate the supernatural beings who are on a proscribed list of evil godlets. Sir Hereward contributes his skill with explosives while Fitz does the magic. Each of the adventures in this collection tells how they dealt with one of the godlets.

ƒ??Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Againƒ? (originally published in Jim Baenƒ??s Universe, April 2007, edited by Eric Flint) ƒ?? Hereward and Fitz travel to a pastoral community where a proscribed godlet is leaching the land of its strength. They must fight their way into his inner sanctuary so they can slay the god.

ƒ??Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarskoeƒ? (originally published in the anthology Fast Ships, Black Sails, edited by the Vandermeers) ƒ?? The knight and the puppet team up with a lovely female pirate and her crew to blast a sea-gate which protects the hideout of a god who takes the form of a giant yellow starfish.

ƒ??A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppetƒ? (originally published in the anthology Swords and Dark Magic, edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan) ƒ?? Sir Hereward is recuperating at a monastery and trying to find a birthday present for Mr. Fitz when he discovers a god in the monasteryƒ??s attic.

I enjoyed these adventures of Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz. Hereward is an appealing rogue ƒ?? heƒ??s open and charming and heƒ??s a sucker for a woman with scars. Fitz is the real hero, though ƒ?? an inscrutable puppet with unknown powers. Heƒ??s quite creepy to the reader but heƒ??s been with Hereward since childhood, so we tend to trust him, but weƒ??re not sure where his arcane arts or his motivation come from. Nixƒ??s world is intriguing, too, and thereƒ??s some great scenery. Iƒ??d like to spend more time exploring it. Nixƒ??s prose is perhaps most appealing to me. The setting and action are succinctly but adequately described with a deadpan tone thatƒ??s frequently amusing (though these stories would be better categorized as horror than comedy).

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Three Adventures was previously self-published as an e-book, but Subterranean Press has recently released it in hardback and paperback formats. As the publisher warns, this is a book for adults, not children. Giant yellow starfish may sound cheery, but believe me, theyƒ??re not. These stories are quite dark and often gruesome and Hereward and Fitz leave a lot of dead bodies in their wake. ( )

A cute little e-collection from Garth Nix, with a novella (the best of the set) and two short stories. Its strength is in the world-building and Nix's deft character development, particularly for Mister Fitz. However, this definitely has the feel of a work in progress; at the moment it's picaresque and the action, while entertaining and enjoyable, doesn't seem to advance the plot or maturation (though it's hinted that Mister Fitz becomes a darker character, and Sir Hereward more ambivalent about him and their mission over time). While not a young adult piece, I really fail to see why it needs a warning that it's intended for adults. Yes, there are some gooey deaths and references to sexual behavior, but it's pretty tame compared to something like Bella and Edward's pillow-snapping sex in [b:Breaking Dawn|1162543|Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307516367s/1162543.jpg|2960529]. ( )