Title: Drowned WednesdayAuthor: Garth Nix
Series: Keys to the Kingdom (book 3)
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Release Date: 6 Jun 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0007175055
Synopsis
On the third day, there were PIRATES! Arthur Penhaligon
finds himself on an adventure that will pit him against pirates,
storms, explosions and a vast beast that eats everything it encounters.
Will our unwitting hero be able to find the third part of the Will and
claim the Third Key?
No rest for poor Arthur Penhaligon. As Grim Tuesday ends, he discovers a square of stiff cardboard under his pillow, gilt-edged and inscribed with the following words:
LADY WEDNESDAY
Trustee of the Architect and Duchess of the Border Sea
has great pleasure in inviting
ARTHUR PENHALIGON
to a Particular Luncheon
of Seventeen Removes
Transport has been arranged
RSVP not required…
It’s an invitation he cannot refuse. From hospital room to the high seas, Arthur finds himself on an adventure that will pit him against pirates, storms, explosions of Nothing-laced gunpowder, and a vast beast that eats everything it encounters. Through it all, he is drawn deeper into the central mystery of the House. Arthur must find the third part of the Will and claim the Third Key – not just for himself, but for the millions (if not trillions) who will suffer if he doesn't.
The first step? Surviving life aboard ship on the Border Sea…
My Review
After finishing books 1 & 2 so quickly I was ready to dive into book 3, but I've had a hectic week at work and I only managed to read about 100 pages throughout the last 5 days. I sat down today to finish it and hopefully get onto the next one.
Maybe that's why I struggled a bit more with this one, I didn't feel as hooked or interested. My mind kept wandering and I had to concentrate harder on it. This is strange for me as I usually love things to do with pirates and the high seas. The actual plot was good and I liked Arthur's journey on the Moth ship and all the new characters. I second guessed who was trustworthy thorughout, and if i really think about it I should have loved this more than the previous two, but I just didn't feel really pulled in. Something was missing. Maybe the fact that Suzy isn't in the story nearly enough, in fact it's about 65% of the way through before she appears really. She really brightens the page for me and Arthur becomes more interesting next to her.
I did like that Leaf featured more, I've been waiting for that since book 1, and I wish we had got a bit more of her in it. I'm hoping she features more in the coming books.
I did still mostly enjoy this one, it just felt a bit slower. The whole being swallowed by a giant whale thing reminded me a bit of Pinnochio, that's been done before, and I wanted them to get on with it a bit, but the ending was good. Really made me want to go onto the next books.
The characters are really developing and growing and changing as the series progresses and I am looking forward to seeing what will come next.
No rest for poor Arthur Penhaligon. As Grim Tuesday ends, he discovers a square of stiff cardboard under his pillow, gilt-edged and inscribed with the following words:
LADY WEDNESDAY
Trustee of the Architect and Duchess of the Border Sea
has great pleasure in inviting
ARTHUR PENHALIGON
to a Particular Luncheon
of Seventeen Removes
Transport has been arranged
RSVP not required…
It’s an invitation he cannot refuse. From hospital room to the high seas, Arthur finds himself on an adventure that will pit him against pirates, storms, explosions of Nothing-laced gunpowder, and a vast beast that eats everything it encounters. Through it all, he is drawn deeper into the central mystery of the House. Arthur must find the third part of the Will and claim the Third Key – not just for himself, but for the millions (if not trillions) who will suffer if he doesn't.
The first step? Surviving life aboard ship on the Border Sea…
My Review
After finishing books 1 & 2 so quickly I was ready to dive into book 3, but I've had a hectic week at work and I only managed to read about 100 pages throughout the last 5 days. I sat down today to finish it and hopefully get onto the next one.
Maybe that's why I struggled a bit more with this one, I didn't feel as hooked or interested. My mind kept wandering and I had to concentrate harder on it. This is strange for me as I usually love things to do with pirates and the high seas. The actual plot was good and I liked Arthur's journey on the Moth ship and all the new characters. I second guessed who was trustworthy thorughout, and if i really think about it I should have loved this more than the previous two, but I just didn't feel really pulled in. Something was missing. Maybe the fact that Suzy isn't in the story nearly enough, in fact it's about 65% of the way through before she appears really. She really brightens the page for me and Arthur becomes more interesting next to her.
I did like that Leaf featured more, I've been waiting for that since book 1, and I wish we had got a bit more of her in it. I'm hoping she features more in the coming books.
I did still mostly enjoy this one, it just felt a bit slower. The whole being swallowed by a giant whale thing reminded me a bit of Pinnochio, that's been done before, and I wanted them to get on with it a bit, but the ending was good. Really made me want to go onto the next books.
The characters are really developing and growing and changing as the series progresses and I am looking forward to seeing what will come next.
My Review
After finishing the first 2 books so quickly I was looking forward to continuing with this one, but I had a manic week at work and only managed to read about 100 pages of this throughout the week, so I sat down today determined to finish it. That may be why I didn't enjoy it as much though, for some reason this book just didn't grab me like the first 2.
I usually love anything to do with pirates and the high seas but this just didn't work for me. I liked the Moth and it's crew and the set up of the other ships and the threat of the dreaded Feverview pirate king. They brightened the story up for me, but the Giant Whale thing was a bit silly to me, and reminded me a lot of the bit in Pinocchio when they get swallowed by a whale.
I found myself having to really concentrate on reading this one, I kept getting distracted, I missed the presence of Suzy in this one, she isn't in it until about 65% of the way through and I find she brightens the page and Arthur becomes more interesting next to her. However, the characters have grown with the story and changed and are really holding their own now.
I love that Leaf featured more and I would like to see even more from her, hopefully in the coming books.
The overall plot wasn't bad but I just felt it was a bit too drawn out. The ending however totally pulled me back and got me excited for the next book, which I have ready to read beside me.
My Rating
2 comments:
I agree with you -- the first two are amazing, but I thought that the middle books of this series kind of lagged. Despite that, I enjoyed the last couple immensely. So sticking with the series is worth it! Great review! :)
Thanks, glad you agree. Most people seem to really like this one but it fell a bit flat to me. Just finished Thursday and actually rather liked it. Halfway through Friday now, still curious to see where it goes.
Thanks for stopping by. :D
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