The Keys to the Kingdom
Garth Nix series a great summer adventure!
There is not a dull moment in any of the books in The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix.
In the first book, Arthur goes through the front door of The House (the center of the universe), and into the realm of Mister Monday. There he meets Suzy Turquois Blue, who becomes his friend and partner.
Suzy lives in The House and has more experience with magic. They join up with a talking frog who is actually part one of The Will of the Architect. They find Monday in his lair and after a small battle Arthur takes the first key from him.
In book two, Arthur is back in The House and (almost) ready to tackle the faithless trustee, the grim Tuesday. But he’s tougher than Monday, so complications arise. First he must enroll as a worker, and then sneak off past the armed guards to where The Will is being kept. Arthur finds the mariner, one of the architects sons, and they fly off on a Sunship before Tuesday finds them.
On a distant sun, Arthur finds part two of The Will of the Architect. He then goes with the mariner back to grim Tuesday’s place where he must face Tuesday in a contest for the key.
Make sense yet? It will when you read this fascinating series in which Arthur must wrest keys from Mister Monday to Lord Sunday. He is helped on his quest by friends Suzy, Doctor Scamandros, Dame Primus, and Leaf (a human girl he befriended on earth).
Nix is a master of words, with plots so intricately crafted that he almost always has to have more than one screen open at a time, showing both the characters on earth and the ones in the house. I couldn’t pull myself out of the pages.
What are you reading this summer? Use the comment section below to let us know!
PHOTO: Kaj Olsen has his summer reading piled around him at his home in Washington State. (Photo Courtesy Kaj Lund Olsen)
