This might be the best in the series yet. Action packed, quick-paced, shifting viewpoints and parallel stories--I hardly put it down!We begin with Arthur desperately trying to get home, after Wednesday's adventures, only to find that he can't get through the Front Door. As it turns out, this happens to be the least of his problems. Reluctantly he sets off back into the house with his ever-growing staff to hold a meeting.Not long into said meeting, his earthly friend Leaf is sent back home to try to deal with the troubles at hand there, and Arthur, upon finishing his orange juice, comes to find himself drafted into Sir Thursday's army. As all Denizens of the house must do a century of service sometimes in their lives, there's nothing to be done in terms of stopping him going. Which turns out to be a blessing and a curse.As a mortal still, Arthur can be easily wounded or killed. But as Sir Thursday is the next Trustee he must take on, being that much closer could prove helpful. He can seek the next key and part four of the will from the inside while his friends search from the outside.Things get more complicated still, when upon arriving for training Arthur finds himself subjected to the same washing between the ears that all Piper's children get, as it is assumed he is one himself. Therefore he forgets who he is and what he's meant to be doing. Luckily, he fights well and makes it through battle, and eventually recovers his memory. Although as he is now headed straight for the center of the Army's world, he's not entirely thrilled with the revelation.The army attacking the house is like none ever witnessed before, and the battles are being won mostly due to the fact that Tectonic Strategy moves portions of the enemy far away every sundown, splitting its forces. When the plates of the maze stop moving, the real trouble begins.Arthur finds himself not only face-to-face with Sir Thursday, but promoted to his Second Lieutenant for the special mission he's taking on to destroy the spike which has defeated his maze. On this mission they learn the truth of the war, who is leading the enemy, and the perils of his presence. Sir Thursday attempts to escape, only to be caught by Arthur, who confronts him on arrival back at Headquarters. He has been told by part four of the will that anger is the only way to distract Sir Thursday, and only when he is sufficiently distracted can the will break itself free of him. So it is that Arthur comes to claim the fourth key, and frees the will.Back at home Leaf has had her hands full on her own adventure; in the end both sides end well, if slightly worse for the wear. And Arthur is beginning to realize that his hope of remaining human will not last--the Morrow Days will not rest, and without using the Keys' powers he cannot defeat them. As this battle has wound its way into Friday, on his world, there is likely to be no rest between missions yet again.
What I didn't realise in the previous Keys to the Kingdom books was that each Trustee (or Morrow Days - I think, I don't know, it's been so long since the last book and even back then, I may have no idea haha) also represents one of the seven deadly sins... until this book anyway. (Though Wikipedia says that they are "afflicted" - curious choice of word, obviously I've missed something important =P) It was a bit of an *enlightened* ooooh moment for me when I found out heheSo... Mister Monday was Sloth, Grim Tuesday got Greedy, Drowned Wednesday turned out to be a "whale" of a pig , and Sir Thursday was.. well ... very very wrathful. Lady Friday hit Australian shelves in March this year and she's suppose to be Lust. (Ooo!)Have you ever wondered at the degree of callousness you may have towards a character that is not quite ... umm, emotionally bonded to you? I know it sounds corny, but you know what I mean... you don't want your favourite character to die or you really wish the villain would get his comeuppance. It was discovered that the more magic Arthur uses, the more he becomes a Denizen and thus, less human. /rantObviously he's totally against this as then he won't be able to go back into our world, be with his friends and family, etc... but I was thinking... the average Denizen is much more attractive than the average human, height also denotes your social status/importance to the House. You also live longer. And tbh, the Realm of the House (i.e. how things work, what you can do) sounds much more appealing to me than our world. But that's just me...Perhaps given the (non)choice of using magic for a realm I got pretty much yanked into without my say-so until I can't go back into my own world, let alone my beloved room, most probably would also have me stamping my foot in a "this is SO totally unfair!" whinge.But it got really annoying in the book. Everyone has a responsibility, and since Arthur is the Rightful Heir and all that nonsense, he should just bloody well fulfil it. Bet any money he doesn't become a Denizen, that he would (in the end of the series perhaps) almost become one or there is a method that would negate Denizen-ness on humans. Bah I say./endrantBesides my rant, it was a pretty good book. I do admire Arthur in some aspect, I guess because of that I expected more than this childish tantrum he was throwing regarding him becoming a Denizen. (Ah, sucky that my care factor was like 0.5)Suzy is easily my favourite character in the series... and she's right, she should be given something too for all her contributions in regaining the Keys =D
What do You think about Sir Thursday (2007)?
Arthur has been replaced in his own world by a Soul-eater – a mysterious being crafted from Nothing who takes on the form of the person it is to replace and then imitates that person. It learns more about the person by infecting the minds of people around it with a kind of telepathic mold that then transmits information back to it. This also gives it the ability to control the minds of the people who it infects. Arthur wants to go home, but as he’s making a case to return, he is drafted into the
—Arminzerella
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.
—Karissa
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 ... Read More:http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
—Fantasy Literature
