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One morning, earlier this month, while we had our morning coffee and caught up on news (using our laptops), my husband told me that Garth Nix had been on the Hugo Awards that had taken place the night before.

Nix is one of our favorite authors. As a family, we read Sabriel aloud on car trips, and did the same with Lireal and Abhorsen.  This summer, we listened to the Keys to the Kingdom series in audio book.

I looked up the Hugo Awards website and found Nix's remarks. I was quite surprised to read his first sentence:

First of all, let me acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this convention centre is built, the Kulin Nations - and pay my respects to their elders past and present.

"The Hill" was written for an interesting international publishing scheme, in which a bunch of publishing houses in Europe and Allen & Unwin in Australia decided to simultaneously publish the same collection of short stories in English and four European languages, with the theme of the new millennium.

I was one of the two Australian writers invited to participate, and I wrote "The Hill" in an attempt to try to tell an overtly Australian story---something I'm not known for, since nearly all of my work is set in imagined worlds. This proved to be somewhat problematical, particularly when in the first drafts of "The Hill," I made the major characters part Aboriginal and tried to interweave a backstory involving Aboriginal myth and beliefs about land. I knew this would be difficult to pull off, but I didn't expect my Australian publisher's reaction, which was basically that, as a white Australian, I simply couldn't use either Aboriginal characters or Aboriginal myth. My initially simplistic attitude was that, as a fantasy writer, I should be able to draw on anything from everywhere for inspiration; that I could mine any history, myth, or religion.

After some discussions with both the publisher and an Aboriginal author, I realized that the issue was more complex, and that many Aboriginal people would feel that I was not inspired by their myth but was appropriating something valuable, one of the few things of value that hadn't been taken over in the process of colonization. It would be particularly hurtful because, as an Australian, I should know that some Aboriginal people would consider this yet another theft.

So the fantasy element of "The Hill," inspired by some Aboriginal myths, was removed and I rewrote it in a more straightforward way. However, given the constraints of the multilingual publishing schedule, and some misunderstanding along the way,

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Lord Sunday by Garth Nix. Scholastic. 2010. Review copy from publisher.

On the first day, there was a mystery.
On the second day, there was darkness.
On the third day, there were pirates.
On the fourth day, there was war.
On the fifth day, there was fear.
On the sixth day, there was sorcery.
On the seventh day, there was a choice.

The Plot: Arthur is falling; Suzy Blue is imprisoned; Leaf is surrounded by radioactive fallout. Somehow, Arthur must get the final part of the Will and the seventh key from Lord Sunday. Is it enough to triumph over Lord Sunday? What will happen when all the parts of the Will are rejoined and become one?

The Good: The seven parts of Keys to the Kingdom is a stunning sequence of books; more like seven volumes of one book than seven books. At first, it didn't seem like that. It was Monday; there was an adventure. It was Tuesday; there was an adventure. But then, wow, realizing that more, much more, is going on than a simple quest by Arthur to find the seven keys and seven parts of the Will.

The layers of Nix's worlds astound. Obviously, Lord Sunday is best read if you've read the other books in the series. Otherwise - well, it can be confusing. Plus, part of the pleasure of this series is how it begins so simply. Arthur accidentally pulled into a world and adventure he knows nothing about. a fairly common occurrence in children's fantasy.

What isn't common? How elaborate and detailed Nix's fantasy world is. It is dense in the best sense of the word, because there is so much more to this world. There is the House (the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House); the Far Reaches; the Border Sea; the Incomparable Gardens. It has its own entry in Wikipedia, trying to sort it all out, and NO, don't go there until you've read the books. It's best discovered by Nix's books.

This isn't a book "based on" or "inspired by" existing mythology or religion; it is its own creation.
Creation... Like many things that are created there are references to things that are familiar to us, almost half-remembered bits and pieces put together and reinvented. A Piper, a Mariner, the Old One, the Architect. You think you know them, but you don't. So, yes, there are references but they are used in such new and different ways. So there is a garden; and an apple; and a snake; and a woman who bites the apple. But it is not Eden.

Arthur's Earth. His Earth is clearly not our planet, even though for the first few books I thought it was our Earth. If it is, it's a few years into the future. Or maybe it is just one of the many worlds in Arthur's universe.

Worlds created by the Old One and Architect, creating something out of Nothing, creating people. Powers, immortality -- and while Nix stays away from using words like "God"
or "Angel," c'mon. An all powerful entity creates the world out of nothing. Almost immortal beings with wings are at times loyal to the creator or disagreeing with his vision. Humans are the only creatures who can truly create.

Garth Nix's Lady Friday is the fifth of the seven "Keys to the Kingdom" series. In it, Arthur, a 12 year old boy who's been chosen as the Rightful Heir of the Keys to Kingdom the first Creation of the female Architect, must find a way of claiming the fifth Key from Lady Friday. She sends Arthur, the Piper (one of the Architect's sons) and Superior Saturday (the female Trustee of the Architect's Will who appears to be the prime mover against Arthur), a message saying that she has abdicated her role and left her Key, a mirror-like device, in her Scriptorium in the Middle House, for which ever one of the three of them can find it and claim it first. Arthur then has to get himself to the Scriptorium to claim the Key, but he decides instead to find the fifth Part of the Will, reasoning that it will be likely to help him to free itself. All seven parts of the Will of the Architect are embodied in animal forms and each one represents one of the seven Heavenly Virtues, just as each Trustee embodies one of the seven Deadly Sins. Since each part of the Will is imprisoned somewhere by one of the Trustees, Arthur believes that freeing the fifth part of the Will should make him more likely to succeed in laying claim to the fifth Key.

Like the fourth book (Sir Thursday), Lady Friday is a rather darker book than were the first three (Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday and Drowned Wednesday). And not only is Arthur in danger. His friend from the Secondary Realms (as Earth and other planets outside the great House are known), Leaf, has been captured by Lady Friday, as has Leaf's Aunt Mango. She must try to remain alive and active so that she can rescue her Aunt from Lady Friday, who uses her Key to "taste" mortal experiences (she withdraws the memories of older people using the power of the Key and drinks the memories to give her experience of human emotions). Unfortunately having one's experiences drained leaves a mortal in a vegetative state from which there is no recovery (making it akin to Alzheimer's Disease).

Things I like about this book:

1 - Arthur's insistence to Dame Primus (who is a Denizen comprising the first four parts of the Will) that he loves his adopted family and that he doesn't want to be a fully-fledged immortal Denizen himself. Dame Primus is scornful of Arthur's expression of love - interestingly, since that is supposed to be the most important human emotion.

2 - The fact that Arthur is no longer refusing his role as the Heir - despite his desire not to become a Denizen. He retains the fourth of the Keys, following his encounter with Sir Thursday, and he isn't afraid to use it when necessary, even though he knows that its uses takes away his mortality. (An interesting philosophical comment on power and humanity.)

3 - The fact that Arthur is turning into a capable leader and that he isn't allowing Dame Primus to boss him around any longer. Since he is the Rightful Heir, she should only advise Arthur, not try to manipulate him (as she clearly does in the first two books). He starts thinking for himself and making his own decisions.

4 - I was fascinated by the Winged Servants of the Night and the role they play in the story, especially with regard to the fifth part of the Will. I like the way Nix leads the reader to believe that the fifth part of the Will is a terrifying dragon-like creature that eats people (well the Winged Servants at any rate), when in fact, it merely eats their clothes, and then the Servants stumble off in horrified embarrassment to find places elsewhere in the House (except for One Who Survived the Darkness).

So what do you think of the series and of this book in particular ? What worked for you, what didn't ? Did anyone read this book without having read the previous four titles in the series ?

The fourth Scholar's Blog Book Discussion has kicked off over on the Scholar's Blog Spoiler Zone. If you've read Lady Friday please free to hop over there and join in the conversation... Read the rest of this post

Just a quick reminder that discussion of the next book, Garth Nix's Lady Friday begins next Tuesday, May 1 over on my Spoiler Zone Blog. If you've read the latest in Garth Nix's wonderful "Keys to the Kingdom" series, please feel free to come along next week and join the discussion - I think it's going to be pretty intense and I'm really looking forward to it !

Lady Friday
The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5

by Garth Nix

No sooner has Arthur recovered from the battle with Sir Thursday, than he receives a message from Lady Friday. Apparently, she is abdicating her position as mistress of the Middle House, and has left the fifth key in her Scriptorium, as well as part five of the Will. Whoever finds the key shall be master of the Middle House, and she has sent the same message to Superior Saturday and the Piper. Arthur finds himself in the Middle House with no friends and nothing but the fourth key to help him—and if he uses the fourth key, he risks losing his humanity forever. He must find his way to the Scriptorium and recover the fifth key and the Will before Saturday and the Piper. Meanwhile, Arthur's friend Leaf is a prisoner in Lady Friday's sanctuary, where she risks her life to find a way to escape and save the other mortals imprisoned by Lady Friday.

The Keys to the Kingdom is one of the most imaginative and exciting series that I've read in a long time, and this newest installment didn't disappoint. You'll want to set aside a few hours to read it, since it's the kind of book you won't want to put down. I love the way that Arthur has grown throughout the series from the helpless, whiny boy he was in the first book. In Lady Friday, he has really come into his own: he exudes a quiet confidence and intelligence, as he finds ways to deal with every situation that arises. He still longs for home and family and a normal human life, but he takes his responsibilities seriously, and consistently puts the well-being of his friends and the people who come under his care before his own. And most of the people and denizens he meet seem to sense that leadership quality in him, and respond to it.

There's so much going on in these books that I feel like I need to go back and reread them all to catch everything. For example, there's a recurring clock motif that appears in various forms throughout the books, and I'd like to go back and try to find them all. There's a lot of symbolism and references in the books. It's obvious that each of the trustees represents one of the seven deadly sins, but I didn't realize until I read the article in Wikipedia that the parts of the Will may also represent virtues.

If you haven't read these books, you're missing out on a great series. I highly recommend that you start at the first book, Mister Monday, since the books really build on each other.

Lady Friday is the May selection for the Scholar's Blog book discussion group, so if you hurry and read it, you can join in the discussion!

Also read David's review.

Lady Friday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book #5)
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN 10: 0-439-70088-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-439-70088-7

Here is another adventure fantasy that is part of a complex series. Readers are advised to begin with Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, and Sir Thursday in order to understand what is going on in Lady Friday.

Arthur Penhaligon is a sickly adolescent who may be the heir to what is essentially the whole universe; but the seven Trustees (think of fallen archangels) are loath to give up the godlike power that they have been wielding in the Architect’s absence. Arthur has been fighting them individually, to stay alive and protect his human family and friends more than to gain his inheritance.

As he defeats each enemy, Arthur gains another portion of the Architect’s Will; yet each gain transforms him slightly more into a Denizen of the House. If Arthur is forced to claim his full Inheritance (defeat all seven Trustees), he will have become more than mortal and can never return to Earth. By this volume, the action has already moved from Arthur’s normal home and school locale into the supernatural realms within the House.

Lady Friday is divided into two parallel stories. Leaf, Arthur’s mortal school chum, is drawn into the House despite Arthur’s hopes to protect her, when Lady Friday decides that the girl may make a valuable hostage. Arthur has the support of the loyal teen friends he has met previously, Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold; but they are now identified as children of the Piper, one of Arthur’s more dangerous adversaries, and possible pawns under his control. Arthur is urged to kill them by all of his other supporters.

The plot and action, full of traps and potential betrayals, are almost incidental to the exotic areas within the House. Leaf explores and tries to escape from Lady Friday’s lair within the huge crater of an extinct volcano, with hundreds of galleries and balconies and walkways surrounding a large central lake.

Arthur and his companions must traverse a snowbound Middle House which is the locale of the Guild of Gilding and Illumination (a castlelike stone fortress), the Guild of Illustration and Augmentation (“and a nastier bunch you’ll never meet, unless you go up to the Top Shelf, where the so-called High Guild of Binding and Restoration laze about. I understand that Lady Friday’s Scriptorium is actually beyond that, on the mountain peak, …”), and the Extremely Grand Canal which flows up the mountainside, with the Paper Pushers (“the Noble and Exalted Association of Waterway Motivators”) who regulate the traffic upon it.

All the novels of The Keys to the Kingdom series are filled with imaginatively bizarre imagery, and Lady Friday adds to the eclectic marvel of the universe-filling House.

Garth Nix's Lady Friday is probably the darkest of the "Keys to the Kingdom" series so far. Arthur Penhaligon's adventures in the House of the Architect are becoming more dangerous as he nears the end of his quest to claim all seven of the Keys to the Kingdom. Four of the seven Trustees have now been defeated and their Keys claimed by Arthur, with the relevant parts of the Will amalgamated into Dame Primus, but for Arthur things are just getting worse. He's turning into a Denizen, instead of remaining an ordinary Mortal as he wishes. His friends Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold were captured by the Piper at the end of the last book, and they're missing, presumed under the control of the Piper, whose New Nithling army still controls most of the Great Maze.

To make matters worse, Superior Saturday has turned off all the Elevators in the House and has ordered that the Front Door be locked, so Arthur can't get home or find out what is happening there. All he knows is that Leaf isn't on Earth any more - she's missing, along with hundreds of other people who were transferred from regular hospitals in the Secondary Realms to a private institution run by a "Doctor Friday" (aka Lady Friday). From there they've been taken to somewhere else in the Secondary Realms. In addition to all this trouble, Arthur's mother is also missing, and he must weigh up an offer from Lady Friday that is either a cunning trap for the Rightful Heir or a golden opportunity he must seize - before either Superior Saturday or the Piper (who've both been made the same offer) can beat him to it.

Arthur finds himself working with a Newnith (as the New Nithlings have styled themselves) in a rather uneasy alliance, and racing to find the Fifth Part of the Will before Superior Saturday or the Piper can claim the Fifth Key. In the meantime, Leaf is trying to work out how to contact Arthur, and how to stay alive when Lady Friday is determined to use her as a hostage. To make things worse for Leaf, her Aunt Mango is also being held hostage by Lady Friday. And Superior Saturday has declared all the Piper's Children are to be killed on sight, which means Leaf is in even more danger than Arthur, who at least has the Fourth Key still to aid him.

The series is building up to an epic, climatic battle in the sixth book. It will be interesting to see how Arthur gets on in the final book, since Lord Sunday appears to have handed over most of his power to Superior Saturday.

Lady Friday is also available from Amazon.com.

*Thunk*

That was the sound of my head hitting my table as I finally finished writing the first draft of my second piece of "Doctor Who" fiction... All that lies ahead is proof-reading and revisions, and that'll keep until tomorrow.

Now that's out of the way, I'll drag my head back out of the Whoniverse to tell you about this year's Oxford Literary Festival - the programme for which arrived on Friday and received a cursory flick accompanied by moans of mingled joy and misery. Joy, because there are some great talks going on again this year; misery, because my budget's going to keep me from getting to ANY of the talks I'm keen to attend (I get paid a week after it's all over, wouldn't you just know it?!)

Anyway, just to tantalise everyone, here's what I'm missing:

WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH ANTHONY HOROWITZ - Nightrise 4.30 pm

Anthony Horowitz is a hugely popular children's author whose books have won many awards and sold millions of copies around the world. He is the creator of the phenomenal Alex Rider series, which follows a teenage spy's adrenalin-packed adventures. He also writes extensively for film and television, with credits including Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War * and the recent Alex Rider movie, Stormbreaker. His new book, Nightrise, is the third in "The Power of Five" supernatural saga [the second of which was nominated for a Cybil].

(* David Tennant starred in an episode of Foyle's War - it's on my TBW (To Be Watched) list !)

FRIDAY 23 MARCH PHILIP PULLMAN and ADRIAN HODGES with MARK LAWSON The Ruby in the Smoke 6 pm

The Ruby in the Smoke, the first book in Philip Pullman's gripping Sally Lockhart quartet, set in Victorian England, was adapted for television recently by Adrian Hodges (starring Billie Piper as Sally). Philip Pullman and Adrian Hodges discuss the adaptation (with clips from the film) and Philip shares some photographs that helped to inspire the writing of the book. Chaired by Mark Lawson.

(The thought of missing this makes me want to cry - or scream ! Ditto the one below.)

SATURDAY 24 MARCH PHILIP PULLMAN'S THE GOLDEN COMPASS From Book to Film 2 pm

This year's Festival is proud to host a discussion on the evolution of The Golden Compass from book to film, in which Philip Pullman is joined by producer Deborah Forte to discuss their roles in taking an award-winning book to one of the most anticipated films of 2007. Chaired by BBC arts presenter, Mark Lawson.

The Golden Compass, adapted and directed by Chris Weitz, is the first of three films based on Philip Pullman’s acclaimed "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Released in December, it stars Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter, Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel and introduces Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra.


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Perhaps I should try my Sonic Screwdriver on a nearby ATM, as The Doctor did in the Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride" ?



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I'm in the middle (literally) of re-reading Garth Nix's "The Keys to the Kingdom" series at present, having picked up Lady Friday yesterday. However, I shall have to put the fourth book on hold whilst I re-read The House in Norham Gardens ready to start the Book Discussion on Tuesday. I'm also reading Paul Parsons' fascinating and very readable The Science of Doctor Who. Oh and I shall soon start researching for a third Who story featuring my original companion - so that means there will continue to be only a few book reviews each week.

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If you can get to Bristol's Forbidden Planet on Saturday March 17 from 1 - 2 pm, Diana Wynne Jones and Stephen Hunt will be appearing with four members of the Write Fantastic collective: Juliet E McKenna, Stan Nichols, Marc Chadbourn and Jessica Rydill. Fortunately it's a free event, and I've got a lift to get there and back too, so I'll be able to go - and maybe I'll even find something half way intelligent (or intelligible !) to say to Diana Wynne Jones, whose books I've admired since I read Fire and Hemlock (Of course, I'll have to be forcibly restrained from looking at all the lovely "Doctor Who" goodies!)

I first learned of Garth Nix's collection, Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories from Amazon.com after The Creature in the Case was published as a World Book Day in the UK; and it's this story which is the first in the Across the Wall collection. I've wanted to own Across the Wall ever since and I was pleased when it was finally published in the UK. My patience was rewarded too, as there are some fabulous pieces in this collection, each one of which is introduced by Garth Nix.

The other 12 stories in the collection are as follows:

"Under the Lake": A tale based on Arthurian legend told from the viewpoint of the Lady of the Lake, who's less nice than so many of those film versions would lead you to believe.

"Charlie Rabbit": A dramatic war story about hope, faith and survival, featuring two small boys.

"From the Lighthouse": A rather different sci-fantasy story of conquest.

"The Hill": A family story set in Australia about property, inheritance and ownership.

"Lightning Bringer": A horror story about power.

"Down in the Scum Quarter": A parody of the Role Playing Game books beloved of my younger brother when he was a child, where the reader chooses their own story based on options at the end of each paragraph.

"Heart's Desire": Another tale based on Arthurian legend, this time about Merlin and his ill-fated love life.

"Hansel's Eyes": A retelling of the classic tale in a modern setting - and quite macabre in its way !

"Hope Chest": A cowgirl takes on a supernatural cult, guns a-blazing. Garth is a fan of Westerns but as he says in the introduction, he cannot write a story without a fantasy element creeping in somewhere. This was my favourite of the shorter stories in the collection - and together with "The Creature in the Case" made the book worth its price.

"My New Really Epic Fantasy Series": A piece originally presented by Garth at a panel session at the 1999 WorldCon; it's completely tongue in cheek and therefore very funny.

"Three Roses": An interesting little tale about love - completely unsentimental.

"Endings": A tale of sorrow and joy with alternate endings - and another one (besides "The Creature in the Case" - that I had read before as it's in the Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales I read and reviewed last November.

In the introductory note to "Hansel's Eyes", Garth mentions that his mother made him a gingerbread house, complete with a witch made of sweets; for his eighth birthday, she made puppets of all Tove Jansson's Moominland Midwinter characters and a puppet theatre, then performed the book as a puppet play. How fantastic is that ?! He notes that

without the influence, example and encouragement of my mother (and my father, whose collection of fantasy and science fiction books supplied me with reading matter for my most formative years), I would not be the write I have become, or indeed, a writer at all. (p. 272)

Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories