The book I read was The Keys to the Kingdom: Drowned Wednesday by the author Garth Nix, who has also, wrote some other action, fiction, books. This story was about a Kid in an ordinary town who has lots of problems in his life till one day after almost dying from an asthma attack everything changed and he was met by two men in a park who said they were from a different realm. They said that they could save his life and heal him. We find out he is the prophecy that everyone in the house has been waiting for, waiting to be saved from the other keeper. But what that was in the first book of the 7 book series. My book that i read was the third in the series and it was all about this Kid named Arthur Miller (protagonist of the novel) who wildly ends up going from a safe non- hostile hospital on earth to magically ending up floating on his hospital bed on what is the border sea of the house, which is one of the 7 main realms in this world called the house. What happens to Arthur then is that he ends up floating onto a pirate ship vessel called the flying mantis and becoming a sea boy on the ship, where eventually he ends up being swallowed with the ship whole by a whale who is the keeper of that realm. A keeper is someone who holds the set amount of power in, in that realm of the whole "house" world. He ends up fighting is way through challenges inside the whale, or keeper to get out in time to talk to her in her normal state as a human. He eventually convinces the keeper that it will be the common good of the house and she agrees completely that something has to be done to stop Sunday's reign of power. What i liked about the story was the detail and thought that the author had to put into the "House" (The main setting of the series) he had to create 7 different realms all special and unique in their own way. I also liked how the author kept the story interesting throughout the whole novel. He made sure even though the books setting was around the border sea or this big large land mass he kept it interesting and kept me reading on and on by changing up the challenge or episode that Arthur Miller went through. One thing i did dislike in the novel is at some parts when describing the house or characters in the novel Garth Nix had to so much detail that it made the story semi- confusing to me. For instance when describing how this special stair case worked and how you can travel any amount of space but it was somehow unsafe; he made it confusing on how Arthur got off and on this staircase and why wouldn't the people of the house create a different method of traveling. The people who I would recommend this novel to is the people who have read Garth Nix's other novels like or have read the first or second story in the series. This book is very in-depth and has a massive amount of detail and thought put into it. If you like to read stories that have lots of interesting twist and turns, and you like a complex story that everything ties into each other than i would recommend this story for you. If you also enjoy fictional action stories, and love the fantasy aspect and how you can do anything you want then this book would be one to check out for yourself.
Arthur Penhaligan was only chosen as Heir to the Architect's Will because he was about to die of a brutal asthma attack. But to the surprise of the magical beings known as the Morrow Days, he not only survived, he also managed to wrest control from Mister Monday and Grim Tuesday. Each of his triumphs only serve to whip his foes into a greater froth of rage, and they are drowning him in paperwork, pursuing legal action--and threatening his mortal family. Arthur has barely returned from his adventure against Grim Tuesday when he's magically whisked back to deal with the next of the Morrow Days: Lady Wednesday. Unlike her fellows, Wednesday would love to relinquish her power to Arthur, but a fiendish pirate named Feverfew has control over it. To save the Border Sea from being eaten by the voracious Wednesday (who no longer has control of her appetite), Arthur must defeat Feverfew--all while he has no magical power, a broken leg, and asthma.This might actually be my favorite of Arthur's adventures yet. Nix is gifted at creating fantastical magic and creatures without ever seeming derivative or cutesy-clever. There's danger in the magic, particularly to the mortal main character, who is surrounded by magical creatures who don't need to eat, drink, or breathe, and can even survive beheading. Even Arthur's allies are a bit casual about his bodily needs (like breathing). But there's also wonder and imagination in Nix's world: a counting house is turned into a sailing ship, but remnants of old magic remain and so every day at teatime cups of tea and biscuits appear out of the sea in the exact location of the former tea-room; every inch of a sorcerer's skin is tattooed, and the tattoos reflect his current state (broken masted hulks sinking when he's depressed that abruptly gain masts and bouyancy when Arthur asks him if he's really recovered enough to help); the rats the Pied Piper piped away from the mortal realm have become Risen rats who will help anyone in exchange for new information...it's all wonderful and memorable, and viewed through the eyes of a very nice, relateable boy. It's all a bit mad and topsy-turvey and out of Arthur's control, but he's smart, good-hearted, and hard-working, so it might turn out all right after all. It's a bit like a mash-up of Treasure Island with Alice in Wonderland--very fun!
What do You think about Drowned Wednesday (2006)?
Mister Monday mildly intrigued me. Grim Tuesday grabbed my interest. Drowned Wednesday chewed my heart and swallowed my mind. I love stories about oceans, imaginary creatures, and...everything else featured in this book. It reminded me of the Greek myth of Erysichthon, Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, a certain scene in Spirited Away, and the more intentional literary references. Unlike the earlier books, no urgent threat to Arthur's home or any part of the house is described in detail, though I can make my own disturbing allegories about gluttony and rising seas. Add civilized rats, pirates, fish-worshippers, a brief squid-man tribute, and a tear-jerker ending.Appropriately, I now have a craving for more books about the Border Sea and everyone we meet in it, including the Lady Leviathan. But I'll settle for the four remaining Keys to the Kingdom books.
—Sasha Paris
This book presents a bit of a change of pace from the first two. Instead of having to fight the holder of the Key for its possession, Lady Wednesday, or Drowned Wednesday as she's now known, would be happy to give both the Key and her portion of the Will to Arthur. The only problem is, the other Days tricked and trapped her thousands of years ago and she has no idea where the Will is hidden now.And that's the challenge for Arthur, this time. He has to track down the Will and free it. In the proc
—Liz
I really love and recommend this series to you if you haven't tried it yet.This series is amazing. While reading this I thought that it would be so cool if the House were a real thing and I want to meet all the characters, all the Times, the Morrow Days and all of the Denizens. That would have been the best day of my life, but oh well. Anyways, I'm sidetracking. The book is taking place directly after the second book ended. Arthur has a broken leg and is waiting for Lady Wednesday to pick him up for a luncheon, since she arranged transportation to pick him up and transfer Arthur to the Border Sea, where Drowned Wednesday rules. Now he is in the House with a broken leg and trying to find the Third Part of the Will.This time the plot of the book is different from the previous two books. We are introduced to the Border Sea, a new demesne of the House with Denizens Made especially for sailing. Arthur has to meet new challenges and face new enemies. Since Leaf visited Arthur while he was being transported into the House, Leaf caught a ride to the Border Sea as well and they both get separated from each other. Arthur gets taken aboard a ship by some friendly Scavengers and discovers more about his enemy, Pirate Feverfew, and about Drowned Wednesday and why she is "drowned". The characters in this book always take risks and try to find the solution to the problems and sometimes things don't go according to plan. Which is fine! There is also a lot of action, near-death experiences and fighting.I love all of the characters. You know the feeling when you are reading a book and all the characters are so awesome that you cannot decide which one your favourite character is. All of them have qualities that make them likable. So, in this book I don't have a favourite character, although I of course like Arthur. I was surprised by Suzy at first, but then I understood why.This book always gave me a feeling of excitement and this is just that type of book, where you cannot stop reading. This book did not drag at all. I fully recommend this book to fantasy-lovers and adventurers. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!
—Angelina Ruby
