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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
By Book #7, the crisis in the series and the mechanisms through which the story will be told have become fairly clear. Something will happen either on Earth or within the House that requires Arthur, a middle schooler now grown unusually tall for his age, to fall out of time and into the House to confront a new and ever more deadly threat. Each of the Trustees of the House personifies a different deadly sin. For example, Mister Monday is consumed by sloth, Grim Tuesday by avarice, and Drowned Wednesday by gluttony.
As Arthur confronts each Trustee, the magic of the House begins to fail, throwing the House and by extension, the Earth, into chaos and war. To save his family (and the universe), Arthur must defeat Lord Sunday and claim the final key to the House.
Overall, this series has enough emotional resonance to keep me invested in the characters. And yet the events in the book are unreal enough* that the story never required more emotional bandwidth than I could offer.
*If you haven't read this series yet, the deadly threat in Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom #1) is a pandemic, which might make for tough slogging for readers sensitive to stuff like that. I read Mister Monday well before COVID-19 began, so that didn't bother me the way it might/probably would now.
As Arthur confronts each Trustee, the magic of the House begins to fail, throwing the House and by extension, the Earth, into chaos and war. To save his family (and the universe), Arthur must defeat Lord Sunday and claim the final key to the House.
Overall, this series has enough emotional resonance to keep me invested in the characters. And yet the events in the book are unreal enough* that the story never required more emotional bandwidth than I could offer.
*If you haven't read this series yet, the deadly threat in Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom #1) is a pandemic, which might make for tough slogging for readers sensitive to stuff like that. I read Mister Monday well before COVID-19 began, so that didn't bother me the way it might/probably would now.
The much-anticipated finale of the Keys to the Kingdom. I wasn't 100% satisfied, but questions were answered and it wasn't all a dream. Some hard decisions were made and consequences reaped. Secondary doorway: character.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lord Sunday picks up where Superior Saturday left off, with Arthur having just grabbed the Sixth Key and begun falling through a big ol' hole in the floor. It continues on in the same vein as the other books, by which I mean he goes to find the Seventh Key and the corresponding part of the Will, and gets in trouble along the way, and then totally finds them.
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adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Decent conclusion to he Keys of the Kingdom, but not as good as many of the earlier ones. And Sunday is wrong. You can't imagine the character in this book behaving as Sunday has (not that he did much) in earlier ones. Selfish he may be, but he's not lazy, fair-minded or uncaring here, which he would have had to be to stay completely apart from the earlier events, I think. You will want to read this eventually if you read all the others, but this certainly won't be on my re-read list, as most of the earlier ones are.
And the ending's a bit much. No, I won't spoil it, but you are unlikely to have envisioned it ending as it does, and you may find it unsatisfying.
And the ending's a bit much. No, I won't spoil it, but you are unlikely to have envisioned it ending as it does, and you may find it unsatisfying.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn’t see the big reveal ending coming, so the twist did get me. It made sense within the context of the story but it still wasn’t 100% satisfying to me, and I’m not really sure why.
The book was very readable (finished in the wee hours of the morning) and enjoyable overall, but because of the ending not my favourite. It’s hard to know what exactly to rate it, because it was well-written, and the only issue with the resolution was that it wasn’t to my taste (I didn’t entirely understand why none of the key holders just…told Arthur why they didn’t want to hand over the keys?).
The book was very readable (finished in the wee hours of the morning) and enjoyable overall, but because of the ending not my favourite. It’s hard to know what exactly to rate it, because it was well-written, and the only issue with the resolution was that it wasn’t to my taste (I didn’t entirely understand why none of the key holders just…told Arthur why they didn’t want to hand over the keys?).
A fitting and satisfying end to a fabulous series though I shall miss all the characters immensely. Arthur, Suzy, each part of the will (not Dame Primus), the Doctor, Mariner, and all the other Denizens who were rather amusing throughout the series.
It was not an entirely "happily ever after" ending but it made sense. Plus, Suzy made the ending amusing, as she usually does with everything.
It was not an entirely "happily ever after" ending but it made sense. Plus, Suzy made the ending amusing, as she usually does with everything.