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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Floats your boat, 18 Jan 2006
It's hard to be Arthur Penhaligon. As if moving and being asthmatic wasn't bad enough, now he has had two nightmarish adventures, and dealt with the malevolent Morrow Days. In the third book of Garth Nix's dark fantasy series, "Drowned Wednesday," Nix spins his best story yet in this series.
Arthur and his pal Leaf are recuperating from the strange events of Monday and Tuesday... until suddenly the hospital is flooded. Leaf is abducted by a strange boat, and Arthur finds himself adrift on the Border Sea, on a hospital bed. After he's picked up by a shipful of friendly Salvagers, he finds that he's inadvertantly become the target for the malevolent pirate Feverfew, a mortal-turned-Denizen on a ship of bone.
He also encounters Drowned Wednesday, who has invited him to lunch. But unlike Grim Tuesday and Mister Monday, Wednesday needs his help, because she is cursed: she takes the form of a whale, and has a monstrous appetite. She's willing to give him the Key, but he has to deal with the malevolent Feverfew first, and rescue Leaf. Unfortunately to do that, he will have to take a rescue submarine to a seaport... which happens to be inside Wednesday's stomach.
For some reason, after the publication of "Grim Tuesday," the publishers decided to halt production and rerelease the two previous books in hardcover. As a result, "Drowned Wednesday" took forever to come out. Fortunately, it was worth the wait: as writing and characters go, "Drowned Wednesday" beats the second book and equals the first.
"Drowned Wednesday" more or less fits the mold of the previous novels: Arthur deals with the strange residents (rats and Denizens) of the various worlds, while trying to avoid being killed. It sounds grim, but Nix spices it up with plenty of humor, such as the stamp-collecting Salvager captain. One of the funniest moments has Arthur looking at a book about his adventures, which shows him as a buff action hero.
Fortunately, Nix keeps the story from getting formulaic by giving new twists to the story. Not only is it a seafaring tale, but he portrays the Morrow Day Wednesday as a victim, not a villain. Though Arthur is initially suspicious, it turns out that she's actually rather pitiful. And the final chapter of the book ends on an eerie cliffhanger involving the Skinless Boy.
The biggest change is in Arthur himself. In the previous two books, he was a reluctant hero. But now he is beginning to use the power of the Keys without worrying about it, and he is determined to deal with the other Morrow Days. Okay, he still worries a lot, but he's overcoming that; by the finale, he is much more comfortable as the Heir.
"Drowned Wednesday" equals "Mister Monday" for humorous dark-fantasy goodness. Here's hoping that "Sir Thursday" doesn't take long to get here.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An intriguing story, 23 Jul 2005
Well how would you feel if you had just made it back to your realm and to the comfort of a hospital bed (the broken leg has slowed you down) when the room you and your friend leaf are in fills up with water. A lot of it.Well add in the fact your bed is washed outside to be met by a pirate ship then you begin to understand the position that Arthur Penhaligon finds himself in. The week so far hasn't really been a good one in all honest, finding out you are the true heir to the Upper and Lower houses of the Architect as well as the other realms is a pretty big responsibility. Finding out all the guardians (now corrupt guardians) of the house - the morrow days - are now after you to stop you taking up your rightful position, makes things a lot more problematic. The morrow days can only act on their given day, that's why this book allows Drowned (once Lady) Wednesday to come into play. For reasons that will soon be understood Drowned Wednesday cannot be there to meet Arthur herself, as such her servant s come abroad a pirate ship. Should Arthur trust her though? Mr Monday and Grim Tuesday weren't exactly trust worthy individuals themselves and will this morrow day be any different? The style of writing of the book is very similar to the previous stories and is very easy to pick up. It's clean, sharp and to the point, choosing to really develop characters over many books rather than over many chapters. We do see Arthur facing up to his responsibility more in this novel, as well as Arthur realising the responsibility he has to his travelling companions and it is this that tends to dictate his decisions more and more as the story goes on. We have another wonderful interjection from the inimitable Suzy Blue who takes on a guise not before scene when we first meet her, has the change been permenant, has she had the dreaded "clean between the ears"? Well to answer these questions, and the others, I will leave you to read the book, but suffice to say it's a cracking bit writing and one I strongly recommend.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wednesday down, onto Thursday, 8 Jun 2005
I have to say I find Garth Nix's books refreshing, he creates a fantasy world which have fantastic but consistent rules. The Keys to the Kingdom Series is a lighter weight, brighter story than the Abhorsen trilogy, but he is not averse to a bit of mortal peril here and there!Anyone reading the first two books will be expecting the Wednesday baddy to battle on, but fortunately there is a change in plot, which is a relief. There is a certain inevitability about the plot - we know Arthur is going to get to Sunday don't we? - but even Arthur appears to acknowledge this. The fun is in the telling, so though this day of the series isn't the strongest, it is an entertaining read.
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