Title: Mister Monday
Series: The Keys to the Kingdom (Book #1)
Year: 2006
Author: Garth Nix
Summary: Arthur Penhaligon's first days at his new school don't go too well, particularly when a fiendish Mister Monday appears, gives Arthur a magical clock hand, and then orders his gang of dog-faced goons to chase Arthur around and get it back. But when the confused and curious boy discovers that a mysterious virus is spreading through town, he decides to enter an otherworldly house to stop it. After meeting Suzy Blue and the first part of "the Will" (a frog-looking entity that knows everything about the House), Arthur learns that he's been selected as Rightful Heir to the House and must get the other part of the clock hand in order to defeat Monday. That means getting past Monday's henchmen and journeying to the Dayroom itself. Thankfully, Arthur is up to the challenge, but as he finds out, his fight seems to be only one-seventh over.
With a weapon-wielding hero and a villain who doesn't make Mondays any nicer, Nix's Keys to the Kingdom launch is imaginative and gripping. After an action-packed crescendo to the book's middle -- when Arthur finally learns his destiny -- Nix keeps the drama going and doesn't let it fall. By the end, you might be winded from all the fantastic explanation, but you'll definitely be salivating for what's to come. (from Goodreads)
With a weapon-wielding hero and a villain who doesn't make Mondays any nicer, Nix's Keys to the Kingdom launch is imaginative and gripping. After an action-packed crescendo to the book's middle -- when Arthur finally learns his destiny -- Nix keeps the drama going and doesn't let it fall. By the end, you might be winded from all the fantastic explanation, but you'll definitely be salivating for what's to come. (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Arthur Penhaligon
~ Suzy Turquoise Blue
~ The Will
~ Arthur Penhaligon
~ Suzy Turquoise Blue
~ The Will
Review: I have never read a story like this before. And truth be told, I'm having mixed feelings about it. Honestly, I really liked the steampunk flair and the machines and clock references. I'm fairly new to the steampunk genre, but I felt that this story captured it really well.
Personally, I really enjoyed the main character, Arthur. He was asthmatic! I've always been slightly frustrated with books when they make heroes out of healthy guys, but no one ever remembers that poor little hero who has trouble with his lungs. I have asthma as well, so I was really able to relate to Arthur's breathing problems. And the asthma was described well. Many people don't realize how difficult living with asthma is, but I applaud Arthur for living and saving the world while battling asthma. The world needs more heroes with asthma. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.
The adventure is fun, the characters are fun, and the writing style (though sometimes difficult to follow) is fun. I'd hate to parallel it to the Percy Jackson series, but certain things in the book often reminded me of that famous demigod. The end was clever, with pleasant twists. I found a few times that I had to slap myself in the face for not realizing how the author was setting certain things up. *should have seen that coming* But, well done.
The down side is that the tale sometimes felt a little simple and somewhat boring. Multiple times I had to stop just because certain elements/sections of dialogue were just unbelievable. I was willing and able to accept the stretch of steampunk/fantasy/magic without difficulty. There were just too many things besides the steampunk that were difficult to comprehend. My brain would change things just to explain them better - just because I had a hard time accepting what was written as a believable reality.
And then of course - the end. Mister "Monday" really means that you only get 1/7th of the whole adventure. There's Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on. Which means I need to now go find the other six books, finish the week, and finish the adventure. I'm not in a hurry to find out what happened, but I guess at some point I'll wonder what became of that asthmatic hero.
Personally, I really enjoyed the main character, Arthur. He was asthmatic! I've always been slightly frustrated with books when they make heroes out of healthy guys, but no one ever remembers that poor little hero who has trouble with his lungs. I have asthma as well, so I was really able to relate to Arthur's breathing problems. And the asthma was described well. Many people don't realize how difficult living with asthma is, but I applaud Arthur for living and saving the world while battling asthma. The world needs more heroes with asthma. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.
The adventure is fun, the characters are fun, and the writing style (though sometimes difficult to follow) is fun. I'd hate to parallel it to the Percy Jackson series, but certain things in the book often reminded me of that famous demigod. The end was clever, with pleasant twists. I found a few times that I had to slap myself in the face for not realizing how the author was setting certain things up. *should have seen that coming* But, well done.
The down side is that the tale sometimes felt a little simple and somewhat boring. Multiple times I had to stop just because certain elements/sections of dialogue were just unbelievable. I was willing and able to accept the stretch of steampunk/fantasy/magic without difficulty. There were just too many things besides the steampunk that were difficult to comprehend. My brain would change things just to explain them better - just because I had a hard time accepting what was written as a believable reality.
And then of course - the end. Mister "Monday" really means that you only get 1/7th of the whole adventure. There's Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on. Which means I need to now go find the other six books, finish the week, and finish the adventure. I'm not in a hurry to find out what happened, but I guess at some point I'll wonder what became of that asthmatic hero.
Advisory: I can't think of much that I'd put as an advisory for this book. Some fighting and violence, but all a manageable, elementary level. I can't remember anything that would be of a concern, really.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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