Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix
| Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: The sixth in the Keys to the Kingdom series keeps up the high standard of the others, although perhaps picks up a little too much pace. This fantasy mixes the mundane with the surreal to wonderful effect. Fans will love it. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 323 | Date: July 2008 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins | |
| ISBN: 0007175116 | |
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Arthur Penhaligon has managed to free five of the seven keys from the Morrow Days and is thus five-sevenths of the way to restoring the Will of the Architect. But the sixth is going to prove troublesome. Superior Saturday isn't just a Morrow Day and trustee of the will - she's also the oldest Denizen and the most powerful sorceror in the House. And she has been anticipating Arthur for the past ten thousand years. She knew the Will couldn't be confined forever, and so her fortress is utterly impregnable.
With his home city under attack, his allies wavering, and his mother missing, Arthur faces his greatest challenge yet.
Arthur's adventures in this sixth book are templated in the others - he finds the Will fragment, has a big ol' fight with the Morrow Day, and retrieves the key. This is not to say the books are repetitive - they are not. There is such a wealth of world-building in Nix's imaginings that you could be lost in the House for fifty books. Children who like this kind of detail - and playground gossip tells you they are legion - will happily immerse themselves in a similar narrative because they love to see the world unfold. However, to the adult reader, you do get a slight sense of the author wanting to hurry along to the big finale. This is a super book, but probably the weakest so far.
However, Arthur's development is very interesting here. He's becoming more and more tied to the House the longer he spends there and it's beginning to show. Like Dame Primus, the embodiment of the Will, he's becoming arrogant. But it's Arthur's saving grace that he sees it and worries. You have to love this kid. He's brave, he's resourceful and he's the ultimate in fantasy questing - an unwilling hero.
Supreme Sunday is going to be a corker!
My thanks to the nice people at Harper Collins for sending the book.
Begin this series with Mister Monday. The Palace of Laughter by Jon Berkeley will also appeal to fans of his Nixiness.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Superior Saturday (The Keys to the Kingdom) by Garth Nix at Amazon.com.
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