In this seventh and last book of THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM, the mysteries of the House, the Architect, the Trustees, the Keys and the Will are revealed, and the fate of Arthur, our Earth, and the entire Universe is finally decided. Arthur has wrested the Sixth Key from Superior Saturday, but has fallen from the Incomparable Gardens; fallen not to the Upper House but to somewhere completely unexpected. Alone in enemy territory, as his mind and body are further transformed by the power of the Keys, Arthur must struggle with himself as much as with his many enemies. Meanwhile, Arthur's friend Suzy Blue plots an escape from her prison in Saturday's tower, as battle rages above and below. Saturday's elite force is pressing on into the Incomparable Gardens, while her massed sorcerers fight a desperate rear-guard action against the Piper and his Newnith army. On earth, Leaf has to cope with the aftermath of a nuclear strike. Responsible for all the Sleepers in Friday's private hospital, she needs all the help she can get, particularly as Leaf herself has become a target for intruders from the House. And the tide of Nothing continues to rise, destroying everything in its path ...
Review:
As you can tell by the synopsis there is a lot of action and elements going on within this book. As an avid fan of the Keys to the Kingdom Series I have been eagerly awaiting the final installment. This is one series that you have to read from the beginning or you will not be able to understand the storyline.
The book begins at the point Superior Saturday ends, the reader is really thrown in at the deep end with the action and plot. It did take me a while to remember exactly what had occurred in the previous books.
The characters are all extremely well developed and their interactions cleverly crafted. There are numerous threads to the plot which can take some keeping up with. The action occurs on multi-levels with numerous plot twists, all leading to a singular finale.
I have always found the way in which Garth Nix combines religious imagery and theory with that of science ingenious. The vocabulary used can be challenging for younger readers but I do think that it aids their education/articulation (that is what dictionaries are for!) As I have already stated I like to read books that I think are expanding my education (my favorite ideal education via osmosis).
Some of the imagery can be quite disturbing especially if you have a technicolor imagination like myself. Having a snake phobia I am getting a little bit annoyed that a lot of books have snake imagery, it makes my skin crawl (which I guess is the point of using it).
After such a long wait for the conclusion of this series I have to say I thought the end was rather anticlimactic and cliched. The action appeared to be cut short and personally I felt it became rather moralistic. I did enjoy how all the threads of the story culminated into a single end. Fans of the Keys to the Kingdom series end to read this book in order to obtain resolution.
I do adore Garth Nix, but I've never gotten into these books. I started Mister Monday and it just wasn't the right timing, and I've never gone back to them. Maybe now that the series is finished I'll consider it again!
ReplyDeleteThat is the best way to read a series...when all the books are finished. I get so frustrated waiting for the next installment and have forgotten most of the plot by the time the next book is released :)
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