Customer Reviews
Great Story! 
2007-04-05
Apparently this series is aimed at a pre-adolescent reader; I am not in that category and yet I am unable to put these books down. The Keys To The Kingdom is a well written and compelling story!
"It is Clearly the Latest Move of the Morrow Days Against You, Arthur, and Against Us..." 
2007-03-17
By now the basic premise of Garth Nix's seven-part "The Keys to the Kingdom" series is well established. Arthur Penhaligon has been thrown into an extraordinary world: the epicenter of the universe, known as "the House". Ruled by the treacherous Morrow Days (named after the days of the week and each personifying one of the seven deadly sins: Mister Monday/sloth; Grim Tuesday/greed; Drowned Wednesday/gluttony and now Sir Thursday who appears to be pride), Arthur has been given the task of reassembling the missing pieces of the Will that will strip these characters of their power and return it to the Rightful Heir - himself!
Perhaps a bit more exposition is needed: the Will is the written word of the creator of this world; a mysterious female-deity known as the Architect. Each piece of the Will takes the form of an animal before each is enveloped into Dame Primus; the embodiment of the Will itself. She grows stronger as Arthur returns each part of herself, and armed with the keys of the Morrow Days, the two stand a chance against the awesome power that each Morrow Day wields. So far Arthur has been successful, though the reluctant hero is getting nervous about his chances of returning home to his ordinary life, not to mention the dangers posed to his own world thanks to the upheavals taking place in the House.
In particular, Arthur is terrified about "the Skinless Boy", the doppelganger that has taken his place in the real world and who has the power to infect those about him with a grey mould that renders them his mindless servants. Sending his friend Leaf (her parents were hippies) back home to attempt to find the source of the Skinless Boy's power and destroy it, Arthur turns his attention to matters in the House. He has unknowingly been drafted into the Glorious Army of Sir Thursday, who has arrogantly released several thousand Nithlings (creatures made from Nothingness) into his province, the Great Maze, in order to train his troops. Feeling that it is the best hiding place for Arthur, Dame Primus encourages him to enlist so that he might seize the opportunity to get close find the forth piece of the Will. Moving between the two plots is the irrepressible Suzy Turquoise Blue, easily Nix's most vivacious character.
Garth Nix spent a few years in the Australian Army Reserve, which explains why so much of the routine and regulations of army life is so vividly captured in Arthur's stint as a soldier. Long hours of tedious training, yelling drill sergeants, heavy marches through difficult terrain, endless inspections, being shuffled from officer to officer, and then the heat and confusion of battle itself - it's enough to put you off war for good.
Arthur is gradually growing up as the stories go on, willingly taking more and more responsibility on his young shoulders as his emotional investment in the House and its inhabitants grow (not to mention the symbiotic effect it has on his own world). Even if it means loosing his own humanity and becoming a Denizen of the House, Arthur is now fully committed to his cause, foregoing a way out at what seems like a great personal cost. Likewise, pieces of the master-plan at work behind the Morrow Days are beginning to show - could it be that the Days of the Week are not behind some of the chaos? Arthur finds himself relying more and more on himself to find his own path through the turmoil of the political intrigue. At one stage he finds himself caught between three morally ambiguous characters: the self-righteous Will, the tyrannical Sir Thursday and the mysterious Piper that considers himself the Rightful Heir. Event the Architect herself - supposedly the creator of the universe - is thrown into some doubt in this installment. How Arthur wades through these murky waters makes for challenging and thought-provoking reading.
Unfortunately, much of the story feels a bit like padding. Arthur gets "cleaned between the ears", that is, his memory is wiped, but this somewhat clichéd amnesia-device adds little to the plot itself save as a minor inconvenience that he soon overcomes. Likewise, although the action-sequences of Leaf attempting to thwart the designs of the Skinless Boy are tense and fast-paced, it is ultimately a subplot that has no real bearing on the central thread of the story. Garth Nix's vivid imagination is firmly intact when it comes to atmosphere - particularly in his portrayal of the Great Maze as a moveable checkerboard, with each square covered in a different terrain - but although I enjoyed this installment better than "Drowned Wednesday", it still doesn't quite live up to the intense imaginative tour-de-force of "Mister Monday" and "Grim Tuesday." Nevertheless, I'll be on the lookout for "Lady Friday!"
The balance shifts 2007-03-14
In this forth installment of The Keys To The Kingdom Arthur once again plans to battle imposible odds to gain the keys to the house.(read the other books first;)Matters are comlicated when he is drafted into the house army. This is a good book so dont take my word READ IT!!!
The balance shifts 2007-03-13
In this forth installment of The Keys To The Kingdom Arthur once again plans to battle imposible odds to gain the keys to the house.(read the other books first;)Matters are comlicated when he is drafted into the house army. This is a good book so dont take my word READ IT!!!
My Review 2007-02-16
Well, this book is one of the latest installment of the Keys To The House series by Garth Nix. I find that the book is very good, although it could use some improvement towards the end.
Overall, this is the best one so far in this series
Wow! War and Bravery! 2008-07-20
Garth Nix creates two stories that comes together with a fantastic ending. Arthur is drafted into the Architect's Army, and Leaf volunteers to help on Earth by finding the one important object that will help stop Arthur's double from infecting people on Earth. For a little while, Suzie is left out...unable to do anything for Arthur or Leaf. But when she does get involved, she makes all the difference.
Leaf plays an important role in this version. She is a brave little girl trying to outsmart Arthur's double. Even though, Leaf does not want anymore adventures after her Border Sea experience from the last book, she steps up to the plate without hesitation. She becomes a key character in saving Arthur and the world. Meanwhile, Arthur is going through training in the Architect's Army and eventually fights in a battle with the Nithlings. He even gets washed behind the ears and loose his memory, but he gains it back just in time to face Sir Thursday.
My favorite character in this novel is Leaf. I really liked how Garth Nix puts her more into the book and made her very important to Arthur's success.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one...Lady Friday.
Thanks.
Best book in the series so far; although Arthur is still whiny 
2008-05-13
This is the fourth book in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. I think this is easily the best book in the series so far.
Arthur is anxious to return back to his own world when he finds out about the presence of the Skinless Boy. He finds he is unable to return to his world and has been drafted into Sir Thursday's Army. Arthur is also very concerned about the magical contamination he has received from using the keys. If he gets too much magical contamination he will turn into a Denizen and never be able to return home. As if this all wasn't complicated enough someone has started killing the former Days. Arthur needs to disable the skinless boy and get the 4th part of the will along with Sir Thursday's key but how will he do all of this from the Army's ranks?
This was a great book. Arthur is finally starting to grow up. At least in this book he only spent 20% of the time whining instead of 60%. I am glad the Suzi Blue was in the book more and even more glad that Leaf played a larger role in this book too. The book was a little slow in the middle but the end was full of non-stop action. I thought the role of the Piper was interesting. Also the mention of Lady Friday at the end of the book was very ominous.
My only real complaint in this book is (again) Arthur's whining. Also there are points in the book where he seems to be helpless and then suddenly he takes action; it seems a bit inconsistent. This book is still the best of the four so far. I am interested to see what happens in Lady Friday (the next book). I have found it interesting how the personality of the Will changes as more and more parts of it are found. This book does end with a bit of a cliff hanger that will have you wishing for the next book.
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Great book series!! 2008-02-17
The keys to the kingdom books are great for pe-teens up. Arthur is the lead role in the book, and he copes with his new found powers well. He shows caring and compassion for his friends and family, he does what is nessacery to protect them from the baddies while trying to complete his new tasks to gain a new key of power. It is a fansty type book, it does have some dangerous situations, and it is a series, so if your thinking about buying this please read the other books that are before it in the series. The story line is not so complicated that a young reader couldn't follow it with easy. Adults would enjoy it also. It's a good book.
Great Series 2008-01-07
Garth Nix's Keys to the kingdom series is an excellent read. easy to comprehend and follow. I highly reccomend this series. the books are short and you can get them cheap right here on amazon.com
the books are in order
Mister Monday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 1)
Grim Tuesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 2)
Drowned Wednesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 3)
Sir Thursday (The Keys To The Kingdom, Book 4)
Lady Friday (The Keys To The Kingdom, Book 5)
and two more on the way!
Don't Care For War But Still A Gr8 Book 2007-07-06
When I first saw that it was about war it kinda turned me off but I still read it anyway b/c I love this series. It wasn't so bad. It's my least favorite of the series though
