Across the Wall by Garth Nix

It's always exciting to find more written in a world when I think I've read it all. Part of the reason I don't tend to rush to read series fiction the minute they come out is because once I've read the latest I have to wait a year or more for the next one to come out and by that point I feel the urge to reread the earlier books. Last time I did this on purpose was the Harry Potter nonsense. By the time the last book came out, I had read Chamber of Secrets six times which is excessive. . . even for me.

Truly, only the first story is an Old Kingdom story, but it's a solid collection over all. There are 13 stories. My five favorite are:

1. "Heart's Desire" - As it turns out I'd read this one before, probably in a "Fantasy and Science Fiction" issue. Much like Nix, I'm not a big fan of Arthurian stories, not because I don't like King Arthur story, but more because I'f just read so many people's adaptations that I got tired of them. This however is an interesting take on the story between Merlin and Nimue.
2. "Hope Chest" - this is a kind of gritty old west fantasy story with a mysterious protagonist and an evil dictator. I liked the feel of it, there was a darkness to it all that was enticing.
3. "Three Roses" - This is a short, short story presented as a fable about love, loss, and generosity. It is tightly woven and has a clear lesson.
4. "From the Lighthouse" - it took me a while to decide I liked this one. It's a sort of science fantasy setting involving an arrogant and grasping businessman who tries to buy a village, overtones of the British Empire there. However, the villagers have a method for dealing with such things.
5. "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case" - Honestly, this isn't the strongest story in the book but it is the reason I hunted this collection down. This story picks up right after Lirael and bridges the gap and connects it to Abhorsen. While it's not necessary to read this between the two books, it does help to figure out what is going on.

There's also a Choose your Own Path story ("Down to the Scum Quarter") in there and a few others worth really looking at such as "Lightning Bringer," which was very dark, and "Charlie Rabbit," that just ripped my heart out of my chest. All of the stories are linear in nature and many would appeal to thoughtful sort of high school student.