Product Description

Friday is here! The race is on to find the secret of the Middle House. The fifth eagerly awaited installment in Garth Nix's best selling fantasy series,The Keys to the Kingdom. Arthur Penhaligon's adventures in the House get ever more perilous as the week unfolds. On the fifth day, there was fear! Four of the seven Trustees have been defeated and their Keys taken, but for Arthur, the week is still getting worse. Suzy Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold have been captured by the Piper, and his New Nithling army still controls most of the Great Maze. Superior Saturday is causing trouble wherever she can, including turning off all the elevators in the House and blocking the Front Door. Arthur can't even find out what is happening back home. All he knows is that Leaf isn't on earth any more. She's missing and so are hundreds of other people who were transferred from regular hospitals to a private institution run by a 'Doctor Friday'. From there they have been taken somewhere else in the Secondary Realms, for Lady Friday's own horrible purposes. Amid 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 Superior Saturday or the Piper beats him to it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14414 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
"[Garth Nix is] the coolest read in the playground." Amanda Craig

From the Publisher
Question and Answer with Garth Nix:

What is your favourite piece of clothing?
My R. M. Williams elastic-sided boots
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you want to have with you?
I presume a satellite phone is out of the question, so:
1. "The How to Survive on a Deserted Island Manual"
2. A knife or machete
3. A very large clear plastic tarpaulin
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Absent-minded writer guy
What time do you get up in the morning?
Usually between 4:45am and 7:00am depending upon my young son. Preferably closer to 7:00am!
Do you have any pets? What are their names?
No pets, unless you count the two swallows that are building a nest under the canopy above my office door. Maybe I should give them names.
What are 3 things you love about where you live?
The sea, the trees, the birds
What makes you most happy?
A cup of tea, a good book and my family around me
Did you like school? What was your favourite subject?
I sometimes liked school. My favourite subject was History. Or maybe English. Or Drama.
When did you start writing and what gave you the inspiration to start?
I started writing stories when I was six or seven, but didn't seriously try to write and get published till I was nineteen.
What do you like to read? And what book are you reading now?
I like to read all sorts of books. I'm currently reading a history of Venice by John Julius Norwich.
What was the first book you can remember reading?
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
What is your favourite TV programme and pop band?
My favourite TV program is an old one, Dr Who. My favourite pop band changes, but I guess my all-time favourite would be The Beatles.
What is your perfect holiday?
Taking it easy at a beach house on the NSW South Coast in late Spring, before lots of people go there
If you could travel back in time, who would you be and why?
I would like to be all sorts of people, but I wouldn't mind being a long-lived, healthy medieval king who died in bed at an advanced age, mourned by all.
What is your favourite food?
Sausages and mash
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Give some of it away, invest the rest in interesting projects like making films, or producing a play, or re-publishing some old books that have disappeared
What is your favourite sport?
Fishing
If you could be invisible for the day, where would you go?
The Invisible Club, though it's a pain to find and you keep bumping into people
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Where I live now, near the beach in Sydney
What is your ideal Saturday/weekend?
To be at home with my family, with no obligation to do anything or be anywhere
If you had 3 wishes from a genie what would it be?
That would depend upon the nature of the wishes. If I could make really big wishes for other people I would wish:
* For everyone in the world to be healthy and vigorous (and if that was too hard for the genie, then I'd try for all children to be healthy and vigorous)
* For all the weapons in the world to turn into flowers
* For everyone to be able to experience compassion and understand kindness
If the wishes had to be for myself, I would wish for:
* A really good singing voice
* Extremely good health for my whole family
* A small very comfortable castle on a large private island in Sydney Harbour

From the Author
Garth Nix shares his writing secrets in this brilliant look at the life of Lady Friday!

As LADY FRIDAY is flying into bookstores and ready for your waiting hands, you may be interested to know that according to my computer and various handwritten notes, I was actively writing the book from some time in November 2005 through to mid-October 2006 when I finished my response to the initial edit. After that, of course, there were corrections to page proofs and so on, but the majority of the writing was done.

I am already hard at work on SUPERIOR SATURDAY. As with all its predecessors, I have many, many pages of notes about the story, the plot, the characters and so on. But as always, many of these initial thoughts and 'story sketches' will not end up in the finished book. Even though I won't use most of them, it's still a necessary part of the process. I reckon that I need to spend around a year or so thinking about a book and making notes before I start writing (though I'll usually be writing something else during that period) and even though most of the thoughts that are generated in this time will not be used, I still need to have them in order to get to the story that will end up in the book.

Customer Reviews

Nothing's the same here on FRIDAY
The week is close to its end, and for Arthur Penhaligon, it can't happen soon enough.

At least, that's how it seems in "Lady Friday," the next-to-penultimate book of the Keys To The Kingdom series. Garth Nix's latest suffers from a bit of middle-book syndrome, but he keeps things interesting with a brewing three-way battle, a New Nithling ally, and a vampiric Trustee who sucks the experiences from her victims.

Arthur is struggling with a bunch of new problems, when he is given Lady Friday's resignation... and a transfer plate. The next thing, he's been transported to Lady Friday's frozen, mountainous realm. And unknown to him, Leaf has followed thousands of senior citizens (including her disabled aunt) into Friday's realm.

Arthur's dire situation becomes even more difficult when he learns that his friends Suzy and Fred have been forcibly drafted into the Piper's army (they're only allowed out with a New Nithling accompanying them). And Superior Saturday is claiming control over Friday's realm. Time is growing short for Arthur to find the fifth piece of the Will... but that can't stop Saturday and the Piper.

"Lady Friday" suffers from the "middle book" syndrome -- it's building up to the battle between Saturday, Arthur and the Piper, but not quite there yet. By the cliffhanger ending, Nix has spun up the beginnings of an epic conflict, which only promises to get nastier when Superior Saturday finally makes an appearance. And who knows what's going to arrive with Lord Sunday?

The plot is slower-moving and darker than the previous books, with lots of ruthless Denizens who want Arthur stopped, not to mention the haughty, cruel Friday stealing the good experiences from elderly mortals. And a measure of uncertainty has come into the plot, with the New Nithlings and their ambiguous loyalties. Even Dame Primus (four-sevenths of the Will) is getting unreliable.

But Nix includes the occasional quirky moment to lighten all this dark stuff, such as the rather funny Beast, and the fact that the New Nithlings just want to garden. It's a bit like Lewis Carroll writing a steampunk epic. And by the last few chapters, things speed up to breakneck pace, and even dealing with the latest Trustee won't fix things.

Arthur is under plenty of stress in this one, since every time he uses a Key, he comes closer to becoming a Denizen. So he has to rely mainly on his wits in this one, to deal with everything from savage Nithlings to Friday herself. And poor Leaf is even worse off -- she's far away from Arthur, and surrounded by some very nasty Denizens.

"Lady Friday" is the buildup to the grand finale of Garth Nix's newest series, and while it's slower than the other books, it holds the promise of a great "Superior Saturday."

"On the fifth day there was fear..."
As Keys to the Kingdom fans will already know, the trustees all embody a deadly sin and the part of the will they have locked up embodies a cardinal or theological virtue. This has always been a really interesting aspect of the books for me and Lady Friday does not disappoint in this respect. Lady Friday's Sin is Lust and the Will's Virtue is Temperance. That is the idea driving a lot of Lady Friday's actions... she constantly lusts after the experiences of aged humans and kidnaps them from the hospital Arthur's mother works at. This idea really sets the plot.

The four parts of the will which make up Dame Primus have become cantankerous and vengeful. Superior Saturday is really trying to extend her power, the fact that she seems to have a constant shadow over events seems to indicate that she'll play an important role in the upcoming books. This book isn't as eventful as the previous four but it really is because it is the "middle book" in a sense. This is the book that has to set the events; it has to start themes and gets the plot really cooking. But this is what is so great about the book, when you finish reading it, you're left with questions.

I know some people have complained the characters aren't as developed and that Lady Friday isn't as explored as the other trustees but I disagree. The fact that Lady Friday acts the way she does (I'm refraining from giving the plot away) indicates much a about her character, and her lust for experiences also demonstrates the way her mind works in terms of morals etc.

I love Suzy in this book as always, she really adds humour to the darkest of situations. Hopefully in Superior Saturday the fifth part of the will would have balanced Dame Primus... but in this book I have to admit you start asking yourself why Arthur doesn't just destroy it somehow because Dame Primus really grates on your nerves.

Day 5 & Arthur Roles On...
I must admit I wasn't enamoured with the previous outing of young Arthur on his quest to rejoin all the pieces of the Will, capture all the keys and return to his home in the secondary realm whilst ensuring the house and all within in remain safe and with all the trustee's defeated. Oh that and ensure the Piper doesn't reek havoc. You could just say I was getting jaded with the series...

Lady Friday doesn't exactly snap me out of this but it doesn't sink me any further towards this conclusion either, I am still left with the feeling that Nix is now waiting to finish the book but because we have this situation with 7 trustees he has to pad out these middle sections but thankfully I think the editor has gotten onto him about this one and the padding that was clearly evident in Sir Thursday isn't quite so obvious this time. Lady Friday as a character is far more underused in comparison to the other trustees but that is fine for me as this book more than any other feels like a precursor to the next - Superior Saturday is mentioned a lot in this book and clearly this trustee is going to be far more of an issue than any before. On top of this there is the development of the secondary characters which I really enjoyed, most specifically Leaf but also Suzie Turquoise Blue and Fred Gold Numbers - now that they are reunited I feel the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. One obvious omission is the Will itself which since it has subsumed the snake like 4th part has become slightly less trustworthy in Arthur's eyes. It's a bit of a shame this wasn't explored as I liked the concept but so be it.

I am finding it harder and harder to think of Arthur as this asthmatic, weak young boy and much more as the leader he so clearly is becoming and this is quite skilled writing by Nix throughout the series but if you read this book cold without having had the introduction from the other books I get the feeling this would be tough to reconcile.

Whereas the first 3 books felt exciting, chilling and standalone the last 2 have felt far more like the glue that binds the middle and the end and have as such had to be deliberately vague and far more about setting us up for the conclusion. In a way I almost feel glad to have gotten them out of the way as I know feel in a position where I can enjoy the end and that is no bad position to be in.