こんな感じでどうなんだろうか。
SQLServer2000のNorthwindのOrdersテーブルで試してみた。
select top 10 * FROM dbo.Orders WHERE orderid NOT IN ( select top 10 orderid FROM dbo.Orders ORDER BY orderid) ORDER BY orderid
select top 10 * FROM ( select top 20 * FROM dbo.Orders ORDER BY orderid) AS tbl ORDER BY orderid DESC