I typically hate short stories, yet here is a short story collection I mostly enjoyed. I wished that many of these stories were actually part of books. I even liked the zombie story, and i hate zombies. ( )

I bought this book for the eponymous novella, which for me was the highlight of the selection of short stories. I also liked 'Vampire Weather' and 'The Quiet Knight', inasmuch that they were actually engaging enough to be considered worth reading from beginning to end. The rest of the stories I skim-read, which is a shame, because there were some promising-looking beginnings; the best thing that can be said about them is that they certainly seemed inventive, but I just didn't get on with them. ( )

Gave up on page 100. Really struggled through the Hellboy fan fiction and after that couldn't find a story I liked. I was mostly interested in more Old Kingdom stories but there doesn't seem to be many. The other short stories are just too bland to read ( )

I read this as a judge for the 2015 Aurealis Awards. This review is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

I loved it. I didn't want to put it down-- I had to steal it back from my Eldest child, who picked it up while I took a necessary break to eat. I've read a bit of Nix's work, and enjoyed it, but not the worlds that feature here. The grouping by theme was interesting, but I felt that it meant that some of the weaker stories were grouped together. If there was an intro that added useful context, I didn't notice it.

The first story was fantastic, with the worldbuilding and the character and the story all beautifully written. The collection manages a startling cohesion, given the disparity of the stories -- Nix has a strong writing style, so it holds together nicely from this viewpoint. All the stories are good, although not all of them meet the standard of the opening story, which means that a couple felt a bit flat. ( )

I quite enjoy Garth Nix's short stories, though I've only ever picked up a collection because it contained one set in his Old Kingdom. I was hoping for a story featuring characters we already know from this series, but this was not at all related and could quite stand on its own, even if one isn't familiar with the other works set in this realm. As with most short story collections, I liked some more than others ("A Handful of Ashes" was my favorite; I'd like more in this world) but all of them were at least a bit enjoyable. I don't remember any standing out as 'bad.' ( )