Product Description

The secret of his own identity.

The identity of The Architect.

The complete Will of the House.

The fulfillment of his fate.

Arthur Penhaligon is getting closer and closer to these things... but not without risks, conflict, and adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #376 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the Author
GARTH NIX is the author of the New York Times bestselling Keys to the Kingdom series, The Seventh Tower series, and the Abhorsen trilogy. He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Customer Reviews

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, July 19, 2008

Disappointing Semi-Finale
Every book in this series takes a while to get into. However, I was extremely disappointed with the dud of an ending this book had. Either Nix was pressured to finish this book before he was ready, or the publisher got too used to the one book for every denizen Monday-Sunday in the series.

This book seemed rushed, half-hearted and not at all as satisfying as the others in the series. If you don't want to be disappointed, buy Superior Saturday and Lord Sunday together (when it comes out) and read them together as they should have been one book from the start. I really like this author and feel that there must be too much pressure to meet deadlines and follow formulas, a combination of which has stifled Nix's creativity in his latest installment of The Keys to the Kingdom series.

Superior Saturday
What I found in this book is what I have found in other books by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lireal, Abhorsen, Mister Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday). His imagination continues: colorful umbrella, "Grease Monkeys", and office mix.
Spoiler: The reader can be disappointed as this book does not completely end Saturday.
It is, on the other hand, a great lead in to "Lord Sunday".