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To Hold the Bridge: Tales from the Old Kingdom and Beyond

by Garth Nix

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3971563,302 (3.63)5
An entertaining short-story collection from bestselling fantasy author Garth Nix, including an Old Kingdom novella, a short story set in the same world as Shade's Children, and another story set in the world of A Confusion of Princes. Garth Nix is renowned for his legendary fantasy works, but To Hold the Bridge showcases his versatility as the collection offers nineteen short stories from every genre of literature including science fiction, paranormal, realistic fiction, mystery, and adventure. Whether writing about vampires, detectives, ancient spirits, or odd jobs, Garth Nix's ability to pull his readers into new worlds is extraordinary.… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
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. ( )
  mslibrarynerd | Jan 13, 2024 |
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. ( )
  passion4reading | Oct 1, 2023 |
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 ( )
  pgarri16 | Mar 5, 2022 |
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. ( )
  fred_mouse | Dec 21, 2021 |
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.' ( )
  EmScape | Mar 23, 2021 |
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To Anna, Edward, and Thomas, and all my family and friends, and also to all the editors and anthologists who commissioned these stories in the first place, with my thanks for the impetus!
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Please do not combine with the novella "To Hold The Bridge". "To Hold the Bridge" is part of the Old Kingdom series, but this anthology contains many works unrelated to the series, and it not itself part of the series.
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An entertaining short-story collection from bestselling fantasy author Garth Nix, including an Old Kingdom novella, a short story set in the same world as Shade's Children, and another story set in the world of A Confusion of Princes. Garth Nix is renowned for his legendary fantasy works, but To Hold the Bridge showcases his versatility as the collection offers nineteen short stories from every genre of literature including science fiction, paranormal, realistic fiction, mystery, and adventure. Whether writing about vampires, detectives, ancient spirits, or odd jobs, Garth Nix's ability to pull his readers into new worlds is extraordinary.

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Book description
Contains the following stories:
To Hold the Bridge: an Old Kingdom Story [novella]
Vampire Weather
Strange Fishing in the Western Highlands
Old Friends
The Quiet Knight
You Won't Feel a Thing
A Handful of Ashes
The Big Question
Stop!
Infestation
The Heart of the City
Ambrose and the Ancient Spirits of East and West
Holly and Iron
The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder: As Experienced by Sir Magnus Holmes and Almost-Doctor Susan Shrike
An Unwelcome Guest
The Highest Justice
Master Haddad's Holiday
A Sidekick of Mars
Peace in Our Time
Haiku summary
A selection of
imaginative tales in
various settings.
(passion4reading)

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