Customer Reviews
A slight lull in a usually amazing series - By: L. Green, 15 May 2008 
Barcode: 9780007175093
So, we had the series kicking off to a great start with Mister Monday before confirming its amazingness with the awesome Grim Tuesday (still the best onein my opinion) & adding a new depth & maturityin Drowned Wednesday. But with Lady Friday we have something of an enigma. It is still the same series we know & love, still the same characters & overall feel... but somehow, the energy & pace that made the other books such a joy to read isn't present as much here.
There is still plenty to enjoy here though, by the time you get to the middle of the book where Arthur is well stuckin to the conflict between the various factions & Denizens of the Middle House, things perk up & the 5th part of the Will & the welcome return of the Marinerin particular add a much needed solidity to the events. For that reason, even though it didn't grip me as much as the rest of the series, I'm still going to give this book five stars as taking it more on its own it still holds a great capacity to entertain, Garth Nix's imagination & writing still on top form as he picks out the weird mechanics of the Paper Pushers & the Winged Servants of Night among other things.
The book overall has grander scale than the previous ones which actually gives it a lot of substance, well thought out & while the chapters alternate, sometimes slightly confusingly between Arthur & Leaf, Nix ensures that both are treated with equal respect & attention. Later on, the way Friday's experience draining capabilities & her barren crater of a home are described sees the series taking a more chilling route & if weren't for the ease at which Friday is eventually defeated, this would add real gravitas to this novel.
The Piper is a thoroughly threatening menace lurkingin the background of the novel as does the theme that Arthur must avoid using too much magic or he will turn into a Denizen forever.
Ultimately, if you're reading the series, Lady Friday is an essential linkin the chain & there are enough moments of that fantastical wonderfulness that we have come to expect from Nix to make it memorable. And with two more books to goin the series, things look promising - I can't wait for Superior Saturday!
Lady Friday - By: Stampy, 01 Dec 2007 
I have been a huge fan of this magical series by Garth Nix. Where as this series doesn't deliver the precision seenin the Abhorsen series; Nix is able to focus more on a light hearted teenage adventure about a boy with the power to become the heir to a magical kingdom.
Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday & Drowned Wednesday were 3 great books, combining a wonderful magic element of power & love to the books. They were a joy to read. Sir Thursday was intriguing but not as powerful as the other 3. Likewise Lady Friday fails to pack the punch of the first 3.
It's a very slow moving novel, focusing more on technicalities rather than the adventure with the characters all trying to find solutions to problems rather than being involvedin adventures likein the other books.
However Nix writes with such an energetic style that the book is just a joy to read anyway. I must say that one particular scene towards the end was very tense.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming Superior Saturday next year & hopefully there will be more adventure & action to engage & surprise the readers.
You must read the books from the very beginning as they are brilliant.
7/10
lady friday taking a back seat on this one - By: ben black, 07 Aug 2007 for once the rtusste is fighting bk the main fight is between lord sturday & the piper great book though it twistss & turn though out the house great side plot with that lass whose name escapes me :P
Roll on Saturday - By: Laura Phillipson, 14 Jul 2007 Whilst I adore Garth Nix fantastic & boundless imagination, I find myself more & more skimming to get to the end of the books. I am a bit bored by the whole "want to go home, cant get home, must find key, must free will blah blah thingummy" Its a shame there are 7 daysin a week because frankly I just want to know what the heck is going to happen.
Where & who is the architect.
What will happen when the will is whole again.
What will happen to Arther. Surely he will be a full denizen by the end.
And so on & so forth.
I really feel like we're killing time til Sunday.
Hurry up Garth, we need to know stuff!
However, despite my rambling & grumbling. I love these books & would recomend them. Just a pity its going to take 7 days to save the universe rather than a long weekend!
"On the fifth day there was fear..." - By: CriticalThinker, 28 Mar 2007 
As Keys to the Kingdom fans will already know, the trustees all embody a deadly sin & 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 & Lady Friday does not disappointin this respect. Lady Friday's Sin is Lust & 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 & 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 & 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 rolein 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 & 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 & 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, & her lust for experiences also demonstrates the way her mind worksin terms of morals etc.
I love Suzyin this book as always, she really adds humour to the darkest of situations. Hopefullyin Superior Saturday the fifth part of the will would have balanced Dame Primus... butin 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.
