How cool would it be to find out how the universe really works? And wouldn’t it be even more cool if you were essentially chosen to know? Talk about having the best scoop in history. You’d know it all! All the questions mankind has been asking for all these many centuries answered. All those puzzling moments of existential angst as to man’s place in the greater scheme of things (and the nature of that greater scheme) finally calmed. Yes, it would be cool. Unless you’re just a kid who wants to go home, of course, in which case it could be kind of a pain in the rear.

Arthur Penhaligon is that kid. He’s a regular kid. Okay, so maybe he’s not exactly a regular kid. He’s an orphan who lives with a top medical researcher and her musician husband and their children, he’s about to start at a new school where he knows nobody and he’s severely asthmatic. Oh, and he’s about to be handed half of one of the Keys to the Kingdom. See, there’s been a little touch of upheaval in The House. The House is where The Architect long ago made, well, everything. Since that time she has disappeared, her will (as in “last will and testament”) has been broken – literally – and the Seven Days entrusted to run things have been up to some shenanigans.

This first installment in the Keys of the Kingdom series by Australian author Garth Nix tells us the tale of Arthur’s introduction to The House, as well as to the first of these wily, often underhanded “Morrow Days”, Mister Monday (to be followed in the next book by Grim Tuesday). A lazy lout, Mister Monday thinks that by giving Arthur half of his key right before Arthur is scheduled for a fatal asthma attack, he will be able to circumvent the rules set by The Architect, avoid trouble from an escaped bit of The Will and keep his little part of The House to himself. He just needs Arthur to die so he can take the key back and go on his merry way. Unfortunately for him, that little part of just one key prevents Arthur’s untimely death and Mister Monday now has a problem. A problem named Arthur Penhaligon. It seems that now Arthur is in charge of setting things to right in The House – whether he wants to or not. His first job is to get the rest of that first key from Mister Monday. Little does he know the adventures that await him….

Okay, that last bit was pretty corny, but Arthur does have adventures, and plenty of them. Mister Monday sets up the world for this series of Young Adult books. We learn a little about The House and a little about the Days and a little about Arthur. In between all that learning, we get to find out just how one perpetually short of breath little boy is going to set about saving the first seventh of the universe. He makes some friends, uncovers some enemies and tries to get a handle on this place, as well as his role here. We readers do the same.

I admit it; the first part of this book had me confused. We start off with some very science-fiction-y doings on a faraway planet then abruptly switch to Arthur preparing for his first day of school. When Mister Monday shows up, we’re as confused as he is. This is partly annoying and partly what gives the book its charm. We’re not a step or three ahead of Arthur, we need to wait and see and wonder just like he does. We aren’t the omniscient reader; we’re along for the ride. Once you get used to the style of presentation, it’s great fun to find out what might be hiding around the next corner. Once Nix grabs you – and it might take a while – he’ll have you staying up far too late at night seeing just what might come next.

The character of Arthur is fine – not quite as charismatic as Harry Potter, but quite relatable in his sheer ordinariness. He doesn’t know what’s happening and has a lot of regular kid feelings about this rather major detour his life seems to be taking. Nix doles out information about Arthur a little at a time, as it’s pertinent to the story at hand, so that he becomes more rounded as the story proceeds. He gives Arthur some interesting friends, and some far more interesting nemeses. His writing can get a little descriptively dense as he tries to draw you into this world, and some of those descriptions end up confusing rather than enlightening. Oftentimes when this happens, a better picture will be drawn at another point in the story to help flesh out whatever locale our heroes and villains inhabit. It doesn’t kill the story by any means, but it’s a little irritating and I suspect for younger readers a little frustrating.

As one could deduce from the brief description, there would seem to be some religious undertones to the entire series – with The Architect Who Created Everything and all. If you’ve firm religious convictions, or firm convictions against religion, this series might not appeal. But as far as I’m concerned, those themes are there for the taking – or the leaving. Mister Monday can be enjoyed for its creativeness and sense of adventure without reading too far between the lines. There may come a point in the series where this theme is more overtly explored, but in this first book, it’s there without being omnipresent or expounded upon. Mostly I noted it with interest and then read on to see what was going to happen to Arthur.

Overall, Mister Monday is a terrific – if initially a little confusing – introduction to the Keys to the Kingdom series. Nix gives us a likeable, easy to relate to young hero and a fun, truly imaginative world to follow him through. The pace clips right along, with lots of action accompanying the introduction of Arthur and various aspects of The House and its workings. Definitely not only for the kidlets, Mister Monday is fun and engaging, a great start to the series.


Recommended: Yes