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Not superior, but still pretty good: "Now that it's raining more than ever Know that we'll still have each other You can stand under my umbrella You can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)" - Rihanna Book Six of the series "The Keys to the Kingdom" has the young hero Arthur Penhaligon taking on the oldest Trustee and first Denizen who just happens to be the third oldest entity in the Universe. Superior Saturday is a powerful sorceress who rules the Upper House with the help of thousands upon thousands of lesser sorcerers who do her bidding while stacked in iron framed cubicles with wire meshed floors and no ceilings. Working conditions suck big time, what with the perpetual rainfall and all, and the job is even tougher for the "grease monkeys" who have to keep the chains and gears in working order. Promotions and demotions are physical moves, sometimes accompanied by projectiles and heckling, and job perks usually mean not much more than a different colored umbrella (ella, ella, eh eh eh) Superior Saturday is afflicted with the sin of envy, and her sole ambition is to infiltrate the domain of Lord Sunday, through the "Incomparable Gardens". It's up to Arthur, with a little help from his friends, to rise to the top of her Babel-like Tower and secure the Sixth Key. With this series, you need to read the books in order so as to understand what's going on. This one is very short, but is one of the least complicated as far as the convoluted links that exist between the House and its parts, namely The Lower House, The Far Reaches, The Border Sea, The Great Maze, The Middle House, The Upper House and the Incomparable Gardens. Many sub-plots are left hanging, but the major bummer is the cliff-hanger ending that leaves the reader suspended in mid-air awaiting the final book of the series. A must-buy for fans of the series in preparation for the final showdown, but a bit lacking in substance on its own. Amanda Richards
| Author: | Garth Nix | | Binding: | Hardcover | | EAN: | 9780439700894 | | ISBN: | 0439700892 | | Number Of Pages: | 288 | | Publication Date: | 2008-08-01 | | Reading Level: | Ages 9-12 |
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