Customer Reviews
Garth Nix's amazing series continues on the high seas! - By: L. Green, 28 Mar 2008 
Barcode: 9780007175055
Drowned Wednesday continues where preceding book, Grim Tuesday, left off. As with all of Nix's work it is some of the best contemporary fantasy on offer at the moment & his imagery is pure magic. On the whole, i felt Drowned Wednesday lacked some of the carefree charm of Grim Tuesday but made up for it with a more mature feel. It shows the series progressing, both Nix & his characters only adding to the appeal & power of the series.
Arthur comes across as a far more interesting characterin this book, beginning to realise just what he has to do, his mission becomming ever more dangerous through the course of this book & seeing him taking up a sword & riding the wavesin various boats & even a submarine. The delightful Suzy takes more of a backseat here although we have a good new companionin the form of Dr. Scaramandos.
The magic & lore of the House also sees lots of devolpmentin Drowned Wednesday & the idea of the semi-immortal Denizens still fascinates me. The plot is exciting & tense from start to end, never letting upin what is wholeheartedly a fantastic addition to the Keys To The Kingdom series.
Cool!!! - By: Laura Phillipson, 14 Jul 2007 I loved this book, its the second bestin the series after Mister Monday. Garth Nix imagination knows no bounds. He is amazing.
Arthurs is off on his adventures again & must free part 3 of the Will of the Architecht & claim the 3rd key to the kingdom.
This is a bit tricky as Arthur is only 12 years old & a chronic Asthmatic! But along with Leaf & Suzy Turquoise Blue, he will fight his way through the House & sail the Border Sea with pirates (on a bed at one point)
Seriously good book BUY IT!
Pirates ahoy!! The best book so far! - By: C. E. Magos, 14 Jun 2007 In the third book of the series Garth Nix comes backin full form, introducing & using brilliantly concepts & ideas for the next books.
In this book, Arthur is invited to meet with Drowned Wednesday, the keeper of the third Key, that allows control over the Border Sea domain of the House. Drowned Wednesday is affected by the sin of Gluttony & has eaten so much she has become a huge whale 126 miles long!!
Arthur will find himself against the pirates using magic, travelingin submarines & some other interesting locations, escaping from pirate ships, & introduces a lot of new friends like the sorcerer Dr. Scamandros or the Mariner, that will appear again & again the next books.
This book isin my opinion the best of the first five (ok, many used ideas perhaps, but beautifully blended) as it offers more of the samein a magical way. Nix's writing style is, as usual, fluid & immersive.
A real must read!
Here we go again - By: George Eliot, 08 Aug 2006 
I don't think theres any pointin wasting my time - & yours - explaining the plot of the third bookin Garth Nix' Keys to the Kingdom series. Mostly because it is exactly the same as the first two. Having read the Old Kingdom trilogy I can't quite believe I'm giving a book by the same author only three stars, but there you go. Life is full of these little disappointments.
The biggest problem with "Drowned Wednesday" is that the reader finishes with the awful impression that Garth Nix has absolutely no idea where this series is going or what he is really writing about. There seems to be no planning behind this book (or the first two); it feels as if Nix has taken a vague idea for a seven-book series & simply padded it out with action to make it look as though he knew what he was doing without ever developing either the plot or the setting or even the characters. Arthur does nothing but whine, Leaf we hardly see & Suzy Blue gets more & more irritating every time she opens her big mouth. As for the whale! Did it remind anyone else of a certain Disney film? One with a puppet that wants to be a real boy?
My final conclusion: Nix makes his idea work for the first three books: they are quick & entertaining, the literary equivalent of silly action films, but with all the downsides as well: no real content, forgottenin ten minutes flat, & worst of all no characters likeable enough for the reader to put up with them for longer than two-and-a-half books (I simply can't be bothered to read the rest of the week). If you've read the Old Kingdom series, you will be sadly disappointed.
The Tale of the Whale - By: Amanda Richards, 04 Jul 2006 Wednesday being the third day of the week (if you don't start at Sunday of course), there are no prizes for guessing that this is book three of The Keys to the Kingdom series. If you haven't read Mister Monday & Grim Tuesday, please look no further - without the two preceding books you'll be up a creek without a paddle if you try this one on its own.
Arthur is still recuperatingin hospital from his adventuresin book two when he is summoned for lunch by Lady Wednesday, Trustee of the Architect & Duchess of the Border Sea. A ship is dispatched to pick him up, which is an unusual mode of transport seeing that he isin a hospital far away from any major body of water. Arrangements are made to resolve this minor inconvenience, & soon Arthur is adrift on his steel bed accompanied by his friend Leaf who was visiting at the time.
Unfortunately the crew of the Flying Mantis picks up the wrong passenger, & Arthur is left adrift, broken leg & all, & with sinking bed & spirits. His spirits are "buoyed"in the nick of time when he discovers a convenient flotation device, but this turns out to be a not a blessingin disguise, but a disasterin the making.
Caught red-handed fooling around with pirate treasure, he is picked up by the crew of a ship named the Moth, & barely escapes being captured by the dread pirate Feverfew (owner of said treasure) & his ship of bone, the Shiver. Soon it's time for lunch with Lady Wednesday, who is cursed with the sin of gluttony, & has been transformed into a creature worthy of her voracious appetite. Barely escaping being a part of the menu, Arthur agrees to an alliance for ownership of the third key & sets off on his third quest of the weekin the name of the Will. This proves to be a huge pill to swallow, & gives him a sinking feelingin the pit of his stomach.
The most exciting adventure of the series so far, this one is heavily laden with sea-faring rats with both two & four legs, sorcery & heroic deeds, & the humor is at its very best. It will be very difficult for Garth Nix to top this one.
Amanda Richards
