The wonderful cover on this collection features the bridge from the namesake short story, To Hold the Bridge. I liked this story very much as it had the same flavor as the longer Old Kingdom novels Sabriel, Liriel and Abhorsen. Bridge is the only Old Kingdom story in this collection and I didn’t care for most of the other stories.

To Hold the Bridge gets started with Morghan, penniless orphan who has hiked a couple hundred miles in hope of becoming a cadet of the Worshipful Company of the Greenwash and Field Market Bridge. The company feeds, houses and clothes its cadets and Morghan is hungry, homeless and raggedy. Morghan is able to secure a position and proves his worth when a necromancer attacks the bridge with swarms of undead and vile creatures.

The other good story is A Handful of Ashes, featuring Francesca and Mari, servant /students at the magic college. The head of the college and her spoilt niece both dislike the idea of lower class or poor girls moving up in the world due to hard work and skill. They force Mari to read aloud part of the Old Bylaws, magic contracts that bind the college, and as a side effect, force the poor servant/students to wear ashes on their faces.

Bridge and Ashes have a sense of urgency, similar to the Old Kingdom novels, and underdog characters we identify with. Both are good stories, probably 4 stars on their own.

The Highest Justice is OK. The situation and plot leave me cold but I liked the main character Jess, a girl determined to help her mother have her last wish, even after death.

The rest of the collection is mediocre. I didn’t care for the characters and the plots are unexceptional and I’ve seen several in other anthologies.

I would be very disappointed if I had bought this collection. As a library loan it’s OK but I wouldn’t bother getting it again.

3 Stars

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