Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 1) (The Keys to the Kingdom)

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Monster Whale: Drowned Wednesday's curse turned her into a Leviathan-sized whale. In this form she's so big that she be get mistaken for an island and her Horror Hunger makes her eat people whole. Must Be Invited: the Fetchers, although apparently you don't have to own/live in the building to invite them in.

Arthur himself. By the third book, Japeth has been assigned to writing fictionalized versions of his already fairly impressive accomplishments that portray him as seven-foot tall, and looking something akin to a Greek God. Needless to say, people often tend to be somewhat disappointed on meeting him in person. The substance called 'Nothing' causes damage to things in the House and ultimately wipes it out when the Will is complete. One of the Trustees, Tuesday, makes various things out of it using his Key. The Piper creates an army of so-called 'Newniths' from it. America, the UK, and Australia are all likely candidates, however. References to bushfires and the Australian emergency lines suggest Australia, but pounds are in use. Xanatos Speed Chess: The Architect made the Will to get the Trustees to carry out her plan to destroy all of Creation, but they refused and broke the Will. However, the Architect then twisted their natures, corrupting each with one of the Seven Deadly Sins, causing them to destroy the House anyway. Then she recruited Arthur to finish the Will and, even though he resisted every step of the way, she managed to manipulate him into completing the Will regardless. Note that this "Speed Chess" took thousands of relative years.The pirate Feverfew is this in Drowned Wednesday, and the title character of each other book in the series is the big bad of that book. The Will, because each represents a classical virtue related to the keyholder's sin, but untempered by the presence of other virtues. Specifically: Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Leaf and especially her brother Branch. Seriously, can you blame the guy for going by 'Ed' instead? Grim Tuesday took his three Denizens, melded them into one and then separated that into seven, calling them Grotesques and giving them each different names. It's unknown what time they can be on Earth. At the 2012 Texas Book Festival, Nix stated that "(I) have no plans for movies but would like to see a card game." [ citation needed]

The Bad Guy Wins: Dame Primus, aka The Architect, ultimately succeeds in manipulating everyone into destroying almost the entirety of the House and the rest of the universe. Becomes a Bittersweet Ending as she leaves behind enough information and tools to rebuild everything. Mister Monday is the first novel in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. The other books in the series are: Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Superior Saturday and Lord Sunday. Mister Monday is afflicted with the deadly sin of Sloth. However, it may not apply. Arthur's hi-tech cast in Drowned Wednesday, and the fleetingly mentioned electronic paper are two examples of future technology, meaning that the plague could be a future event, and the story is set 20 Minutes into the Future.Central to the story is the magical world called the House. The house is divided into seven parts, each with its Trustee: The Power of Friendship: Arthur has a habit of making friends wherever he is. Subverted in the final book, where his new "friend" is Lord Sunday in disguise, leading him into a trap. Arthur's world is almost the same as ours, except it was the scene of a devastating plague that prompted the government to take the hard line on any epidemic.

The Compleat Atlas of the House is a pretty major one; in Lord Sunday Arthur uses it to, ahem, remake the Universe. Outside of his name, Arthur is quite a good lead. Asthmatic and very much limited by hit, smart, shy, and courageous - what's not to like? One thing, actually, and that is: I never got a sense of Arthur's hobbies. What does he do when he's not in school or the House? Hopefully that question will be answered later in the series.End of the World" Special: At the end of the series, Arthur becomes the successor to the Architect and is given the opportunity to replace the universe that was just destroyed. Instead of starting from scratch, he just recreates the old universe. Mobile Maze: The Great Maze, the section of the House used to train the Glorious Army of the Architect. It is a one thousand by one thousand grid of one mile by one mile tiles which randomly switch their positions every day. Mister Monday is said to be a pale, handsome young man with circled eyes. His primary mode of transportation is being pushed around in a bath-chair device by his butler, Sneezer. He is affected by the deadly sin of sloth, causing him to lose interest in managing the affairs of the Lower House. Okay, the plot. Basically, the story revolves around our protagonist- Arthur. In the start of the first book we are told that he has pretty serious asthma and (due to an overexerting gym teacher- isn't it always) he nearly dies. But he is saved by some mysterious characters who pop out of thin air. Now he's been chosen, whether he likes it or not- which he doesn't. So the series follows Arthur and his Piper's child friend Suzy, as they try to defeat their enemies and typical other hero stuff. Along the way, they (of course) make friends, are betrayed and have genuinely terrifying obstacles to overcome. The First Part (The Frog) represents Fortitude, being the most proactive and biggest risk taker among the Wills.

That said, I wouldn't have read this book - let alone bought it - if not for a glowing recommendation from the great and wonderful Cillian/BB. And so here's a big thank-you to her, because while my mind wasn't (quite) blown, I am glad not to have missed out on what seems a fantastic series.

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Laser-Guided Amnesia: Averted in that washing between the ears removes all memories rather than just the personal identity. Garth's books include: the YA fantasy Old Kingdom series, including Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel and Goldenhand; SF novels Shade's Children and A Confusion of Princes; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt's Emerald. His fantasy novels for children include The Ragwitch, the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence, The Keys to the Kingdom series and others. He has co-written several books with Sean Williams, including the Troubletwisters series and the forthcoming Have Sword, Will Travel. The Lower House – ruled by Mister Monday. Contains the prison of the divine being the 'Old One', contains the 'Front Door', which is a dome with many two-way portals including one connected with Earth, and the 'Seven Dials', which allows travel to anywhere in the universe.