Customer Reviews
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 03 Sep 2008 
Having read & loved Garth Nix's OLD KINGDOM books (SABRIEL, LIRAEL, & ABHORSEN) as well as his SEVENTH TOWER series, I had pretty high expectations when I startedin on SUPERIOR SATURDAY. I wasn't
disappointed. The action moves along quickly, with new & original presentations of magic at every turn, & major & minor characters worth cheering for (or,in the case of the antagonists, against).
The sixth bookin Nix's KEYS TO THE KINGDOM series picks up right where the fifth book left off, making it a little confusing to understand at first, especially if you're a newcomer to the series, like I was when reading this. The book is certainly good enough to merit your going to the library & checking out all of the previous onesin order to get up to speed, butin case your library is as negligent as mine, here's the background that I wish I could have had going in.
Our protagonist, asthmatic twelve-year-old Arthur Penhaligon, through a series of complicated circumstances describedin previous novels, is taken from his home on Earth & granted the power of being the Heir to the Kingdom. Nix's complicated but fascinating universe centers around a grand House that is the epicenter of all universes, & is ruled by seven Trustees, all named for the days of the week. Within the House, each Trustee has its own domain. As the Heir, Arthur's duty is to wrest the Keys to the Kingdom from the corrupt Trustees, & to recreate the Will of the Architect, which the Trustees have consistently disobeyed. The Architect is a mysterious figure responsible for creating both the House & the "secondary realms," including Earth.
In this sixth bookin the series, Arthur is up against one of the toughest of the Trustees: Superior Saturday, with her power to work great sorceries with the help of the sixth Key. With the help of friends & acquaintances throughout the House, Arthur attempts to infiltrate Saturday's portion of the House & find the sixth part of the Architect's Will. He's running out of time, though, as the dangerously corrosive Nothing eats away at the House's foundations.
Arthur must retrieve the Key, & the next part of the Will,in time to ensure that the House is not destroyed--for if the epicenter of all universes is demolished, the secondary realms that depend upon its survival will also crumble & fall, making for the end of Earth & Arthur's home.
Nix always has a unique perspective on magic, & this series is no differentin that respect. His innovations draw heavily upon archetypes & numerous different branches of mythology that add a richness & texture to his world, even if the average reader does not see them all on the first read-through. I also enjoyed his characterization of Arthur, a young boy who is taking on increasingly difficult tasks & succeeding at them, so that although he is young, there is a strength & maturity to his outlook. Of course, this doesn't prevent him from having his share of doubts.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this book & would recommend the series to anyone interestedin fantasy adventure.
Reviewed by: Candace Cunard
Garth Nix is on top form here, some of the series' best moments to date here - By: L. Green, 24 Aug 2008 Barcode: 9780007175116
And so we come to Superior Saturday, the 6th bookin Garth Nix's fantastic Keys To The Kingdom series. What i've always liked about the series is the way so many elements of it seem so light hearted while on the other hand, there is always a far more mature, serious, darker side lurking justin the background, breaking through the the foreground every so often.
Never more so than Superior Saturday which really ups the stakes. In an interesting cut back to the events unfolding on Earth, the unnamed city now faces destruction by nukes as the army tries a last resort option to control the plague fears. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book & the cutting between Arthur & Leaf no longer feels as jarring as it did previously, Leaf's rolein this book being particularly commendable as Nix worksin a bit of contemporary action-thriller stuff which works as a nice counterpoint to the fantasy of Arthur's adventuresin the house.
And so we come to our lead character himself, Arthur, & finally, he decides to just go for it & accept he's going to have to become a Denizenin order to save the House. I can't tell you how relieved i was when i read that part, finally he could use the key's abilities to their full extent & the way he stops time & holds back a giant wave of Nothing is pretty awe-inspiring cinematic stuff.
Obviously, with this new-found power, comes ever-greater dangers. Saturday is a sutiably aloof villain, Nix's imagery of her 10,000+ feet tower is fascinating as is the workings of its various machinery by the Piper's children. The ever-fabulous Suzy gets a fair share of action too, her cockney charms always serving up great moments humour here & there. The 6th part of the Will is also a likeable character, eager to work alongside Arthur, & along with his increasing powers means that this book just flows that bit better as Arthur is given more freedom.
In this also comes further devlopment of his character & the negative aspects the keys also bring, coming to the forein momentary flashes of arrogance & anger. Arthur's battle to surpress this side of himself only adds to the dynamics of this book.
Following on from Nix's masterful handling of military elementsin Sir Thursday we get another taste of this side of things as Arthur & Saturday's assorted Denizen's raid Sunday's Incomparable Gardensin the book's dramatic finale. It's a fantastic, high-tension end to the book that leads to perhaps the most sudden cliffhanger ever. This will without a doubt leave you wanting more & i'll confess it's 'stopped mid-frame' feel is a little frustrating, especiallyin the ambiguity that Arthur doesn't really get a proper showdown with Saturday. That said though, i found this book immensely enjoyable & it presents some of the best bits of the series so far. Well recommended!
The rain keeps coming down - By: E. A Solinas, 05 Aug 2008 
Arthur Penhaligan's week is almost over, but unfortunately it's not getting any better. Not for him, & not for the House.
In fact, just about everything is tumbling downin the penultimate book of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, "Superior Saturday,"in which Arthur finally encounters the malevolent sorceress who's been messing things up throughout the series. It's a suitably chaotic & haunting story, & Arthur's internal struggles & new discoveries are a pretty fascinating read -- but don't expect it to really end on anything but a massive cliffhanger.
Arthur receives an emergency call from his brother, who warns him that the Army is about to nuke their entire town. Desperate, Arthur tries to shield the town, but instead ends up slowing time. Unfortunately that is only one of his worries: the magic of the Keys is transforming Arthur's body & mind into something inhuman, & Nothing is eroding away the very foundations of the House. To stop it, he must somehow steal away Superior Saturday's power, & he has to rely on one of the less reliable forcesin the House to smuggle himself & Suzy into Saturday's domain.
While Leaf & her pal struggle to save Friday's sleeping victims, Arthur explores Saturday's realm. Turns out Saturday is building a vast tower built by Piper's Children & overseen by sorcerers, so she can reach the Incomparable Gardens that Lord Sunday rules -- & what's more, Arthur is having a lot of trouble locating the Will. His only hope is to climb the tower with Saturday's sorcerous army -- but what awaits them at the top?
"Superior Saturday" is not just saturatedin rain, butin desperation. A lot of bad things are happening all at once, since the House is about to collapse, the town is about to be bombed by the Army, all the Piper's rats & children are suspect, & Arthur has found that he can't even trust Dame Primus anymore. There are a lot of bad things going onin "Superior Saturday," but Nix also unfolds some intriguing new revelations about the House & its purpose, during another visit to the imprisoned Old One.
And Nix somehow loads all of this into the plot without making it feel clunky or infodumpy. He spins a suitably dark & gloomy atmosphere over Saturday's domain, full of steampunk-style machinary & lots of ever-drizzling rain. It moves pretty gradually for awhile, but speeds up after Arthur locates the Will, & bumps into another old enemy. And Nix isn't afraid to throwin some horror moments, such as an unfortunate Denizen whose body was dissolved by Nothing, or the chaotic attacks on Saturday's army during the climax.
The biggest problem is that "Superior Saturday" doesn't really end -- the action & tension slowly build for a long time, only to snap like a recoiling spring... on a cliffhanger. Rather than being story unto itself, it's the first half of a story that "Lord Sunday" will finish.
While Arthur seems to accept his transformation a bit too easily, his struggles with his inhuman thoughts ("For a moment he even felt like striking Scamandros, or forcing the Denizen to prostrate himself & beg forgiveness") & rapidly changing body are well-drawn. And Nix raises some intriguing questions about just what it is that Arthur is turning into, since it's made quite clear that he's not transforming into a run-of-the-mill Denizen.
While it has no real ending, "Superior Saturday" is a dark, mildly horrific ride through what is left of the House, & promises a spellbinding finalein the final Keys to the Kingdom novel. An enthralling little book, so long as you don't mind waiting for what comes next.
Superior Garth Nix! - By: Stampy, 25 Jul 2008 In the sixth instalment of the Keys to the Kingdom series, Arthur is on a journey to gain the sixth key from Saturday, the oldest denizenin the House.
After disappointmentin the Thursday & Friday novels, I was wondering if Nix had somewhat gone into too deep with his attention to detail rather than action & suspense but Saturday is right back on track with intensity, action & a mouth watering prospect for Sunday that I believe this latest addition is right behind Mondayin terms of the bestin the series.
We are offered suspense & action right from the first chapter as the stakes are raisedin the outside world as well as the House & now Arthur has to face the biggest challenge, the oldest & most powerful denizenin the house.
I am a slow reader but the writing was so good & fulfilled the uses & gratifications for the reader that it must have taken me around 2 weeks, & that is for an exceptionally slow reader. Intense, powerful, detailed & most importantly exciting Superior Saturday fulfils the fantasy adventure genre beautifully with more new creatures & a new part of the House to explore.
Despite the intensity & action, there is a feeling of repetition as Nix resorts back to using characters from his previous books to move the plot along. Surely an entire house has so much to explore that there is room for some new creatures & parts to explore? There is also some inconsistency. When the action sequences finishes & Arthur is forced to wait or talk, there is an over analytical view of proceedings, which takes away a bit of imagination.
Nevertheless the action, writing & the best ending I have readin a long time, Superior Saturday is one of the best booksin the Keys to the Kingdom series.
8.5/10
Finshed too early - By: Mr. Humphrey Mildred, 25 Jul 2008 
I have loved every single other Keys to the Kingdom book. However i was disapponited by this one after the heights reachedin Thursday & Friday. My main problem was that the novel doesn't have a proper ending. There should be at least three more chapters. Also the epic battle between Saturday & Arthur fails to occur. Questions are still left unanswered. A few plot lines from the previosu books are ignored. Still it is still a good read & i'm defiantly still looking forward to reading the final instalment.
