Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

Having read and loved Garth Nix's OLD KINGDOM books (SABRIEL, LIRAEL, and ABHORSEN) as well as his SEVENTH TOWER series, I had pretty high expectations when I started in on SUPERIOR SATURDAY. I wasn't disappointed. The action moves along quickly, with new and original presentations of magic at every turn, and major and minor characters worth cheering for (or, in the case of the antagonists, against).

The sixth book in 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 and checking out all of the previous ones in order to get up to speed, but in 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 described in previous novels, is taken from his home on Earth and 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, and 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, and 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 and the "secondary realms," including Earth.

In this sixth book in 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 and acquaintances throughout the House, Arthur attempts to infiltrate Saturday's portion of the House and 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, and 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 and fall, making for the end of Earth and Arthur's home.

Nix always has a unique perspective on magic, and this series is no different in that respect. His innovations draw heavily upon archetypes and numerous different branches of mythology that add a richness and 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 and succeeding at them, so that although he is young, there is a strength and maturity to his outlook. Of course, this doesn't prevent him from having his share of doubts.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and would recommend the series to anyone interested in fantasy adventure. ( )

My book review:
http://ganimede.dreamwidth.org/23446.... ( )

I hadn't read anything in quite a few months. I own a small library of books, but none of them seemed appealing enough to break my reading dry spell until I realized I was still a book behind in the Keys to the Kingdom series, and this book turned out to be just what I needed to get myself reading again.

The further I get in this series, the more solid the characters are, the more suspenseful the plots. True to that pattern, Superior Saturday is my favorite yet. Perhaps I've just grown comfortable with Nix's delightful imagery, but the quirky characteristics of The House that can sometimes feel over-the-top all seem quite natural at this stage in the story. The often predictable formula of Arthur's adventures in the previous books seems to break down as this story takes a few twists, keeping me guessing and engaged. I enjoyed my time in The House and I enjoyed the suspense of this book, but I did not care for the ending, or rather, lack thereof. Books without endings make me feel tricked and cheated, especially when the action is intense and the pages quickly dwindle without any hint of resolution. This was a colorful and exciting read, best of the series so far, and I look forward to the final installation, but I really wanted to throw the book out the window when I realized the action was left hanging until the next book, which has not yet been published. Mr. Nix, that's a dirty trick. ( )

Sooo great, the events of the storyline are getting closer and closer together, until as with the end of Friday and the begining of Saturday, it begins to merge and blend, leaving you holding your breath in hopeful expectancy of the conclusion to the series: Lord Sunday.

Arrgh! Why did I start this series before the last book was published? The ending of each book has been increasingly cliffhanger-ish, but this takes it.
Nix's take on office life is amusing, and the threat to the House and the universe looms most convincingly. Leaf is off stage for much of this book, so we don't know much of what's happening in the secondary realms - and Arthur races from one part of the house to another. This volume is even darker again, with various betrayals and Arthur's claim to humanity dwindling by the paragraph. It'll be a hard wait for the last volume. ( )

Outstanding, Unique, Brilliant, And Just A Really Good Book

Superior Saturday by Garth Nix
Publication Date: July 2008
5 out of 5 stars
PG - Some Gruesome Violence

The House is being destroyed by Nothing and Earth’s existence is being threatened. And the only person who can save the House and Earth is the rightful heir of the architect, a boy named Arthur Penhaligan.

The Lower House has already been destroyed by the Nothing and without Arthur and his 5 keys he has claimed from the unruly Trustees of the Will, the rest of the House will be destroyed. Arthur, with his best friend Suzy Turquoise Blue, set out in search of the sixth part of the Will. But to get into the Upper House, where Part Six of the Will is hidden, they have to outwit thousands of Superior Saturday’s sorcerers, survive working with the grease monkeys and the creatures lurking in the dark, figure out who they can and can’t trust, and hope that Superior Saturday, the oldest and most powerful denizen, doesn’t detect their presence. If they are revealed, their outcome and the world’s outcome looks dim. With outstanding odds against them, Arthur begins to fear more and more about what he is becoming, then the task at hand. The outcome of Arthur’s victory or defeat will affect the fate of the House, Earth, and all their inhabitants. But first, he has to get in…

Superior Saturday was another outstanding, unique, brilliant book in the Keys to the Kingdom Series. This book was an amazingly fast read, just like every book in the series. The plot was not rushed or clumsy, but steadily sped up with each event and was intriguing and held your attention the whole time.

Arthur’s inner battle was realistic and completely believable. His fight to stay human although his outer appearances began to change at an alarming rate, added to my respect for him. He realizes what is right and wrong and doesn’t sway from his decisions even though sometimes it may appear as not going as smoothly or successfully as he had hoped. Arthur holds tightly to the only thing that now keeps him human, his ability to feel compassion, patience, forgiveness, and understanding how whatever he does effects everyone else. Absolutely great character. Arthur is the biggest reason for a person to read this series.

The creatures, landscape, and dialogue are all amazingly creative. This is one of the most original, unique, interesting series created in these modern times.

I highly suggest The Keys to the Kingdom series to everyone, everywhere.

Date Reviewed: November 9th, 2008 ( )

Want to read some fantasy that doesn’t feel like The Lord of the Rings regurgitated? Look no further than Garth Nix’s The Keys to the Kingdom series – now onto its sixth installment and still going strong. Superior Saturday is definitely the fastest book in the series so far; the pace kicks off in the first chapter with a nuclear bomb threat and barely slows down from there! This book has all the qualities that made its prequels so successful, the most important of which are Nix’s signature humour and irresistible originality. Traditional fantasy may be enjoyable to read, but nothing says ‘fun’ like a novel that throws away the tried-and-true Tolkien mould in favour of some of the most bizarre and fantastic ideas ever put to paper. The more fantasy I read, the more I appreciate the delightful distinctiveness of Nix’s work.

As the penultimate book in the series, Superior Saturday resolves some of the mysteries left by its prequels, but not all. Readers will discover more about Arthur’s bitter archenemy, but the quick pace and succinct storyline leave little room for much else. The focus is on building the suspense for the upcoming Lord Sunday, so readers be warned: this one ends on a mean cliffhanger!

It would be all too easy to say that I ‘can’t wait’ for the next instalment – but after reading Superior Saturday, I hesitate to do so. In some places, there is an unfortunate feel about the writing of being rushed into publication; most likely a side effect of Nix’s impatient fan base. On close examination, the writing contains quite a few niggling minor errors and pieces of description that just don’t seem to gel – flaws that are no doubt present in every novel prior to the thorough assistance of an editor. Sadly, it feels a little like Nix’s editor was not allowed enough time with the manuscript to properly perfect it. Lord Sunday may be scheduled for release in less than a year – but I am more than happy to wait a few extra months if it will mean the difference between a rough novel and a polished one.

Minor flaws aside, however, Superior Saturday is a highly enjoyable novel that fans are sure to rip through without a second’s pause. A decidedly superior read. ( )

My kids and I were quite disappointed in this volume in the series. It will have to be read and there's no reason to think that the final volume won't be better, but this is a low point.

The problem with this book is that we go nowhere!

With each of the first five volumes, Arthur was thrown into a new situation, encountered his enemy and defeated him or her. Some of the stories were weaker (e.g. Mister Monday) and some were stronger (e.g. Grim Tuesday) but each got resolved. With Saturday, however, when the book ends, Arthur has just met Superior Saturday for the first time, he hasn't obtained the sixth key; Leaf is back in the Secondary Realms about to be destroyed from a plan put in place by Saturday; we don't know what's happening with Suzie; Dame Primus has started lying to Arthur; Arthur, himself, is coming under the influence of almost-uncontrollable fits of arrogance induced by his Denizen status...in short, the entire volume is just a build-up to the actual story. I felt cheated and am definitely not happy about waiting another year for Lord Sunday.

There's nothing in this particular adventure (that the readers know of) that required him to write half a book. The only explanation I can think of is that Lord Sunday won't prove to be a villain like the other trustees (there have been possible hints along these lines) and Mr. Nix needed to preserve his final bad guy since the structure of the books required seven volumes.

Bah, as I said, you have to read it to get to the final volume and, if you've come this far, you might as well. As always, this particular series is not even in the same league as his Abhorsen series—neither the characters nor plots are as deep; the target juvenile audience dumbs down the writing slightly; it's just not as much fun. Still, I found the series, taken as a whole, amusing and will wait...irritated...for number seven. ( )

A light read aimed at Young Adults. It's certanly an entertaining light read, however that is all it is. There is no real suspense during the book and the plot moves in such a way that nothing ever seems to be long enough. There is, put simply, just not enough detail. Even the 'cliffhanger' ending, leaves much to be desired. The outcome is almost certainly predictable as is the rest of the plot.

I'm sorry to say that having had such high hopes for this series, it pales into insignificance against other, earlier, works of Nix's - so much so that I begin to wonder whether his writing skill is deteriorating.

Originally posted at http://lambadasbooks.wordpress.com ( )

This one seemed shorter than the other books, and happens in a shorter period of time. Is Nix really going to wrap everything up in just one more book.
Aruthur has now accepted the fact that he will never be fully human again, as he struggles, with the help of Susie, to find another part of the will and lay claim the the sixth key. The lower house is being consumed by Nothing and Aruthur figures out that Saturday is at least partly responsible, in her quest to reach the Incomparable Gardens.
I love this world that Garth Nix has created in these books. ( )

The first of this series that didn't complete a story, now left hanging for the last book, am seriously hoping for some resolution here. Not as interested as I was in previous books but I have problems with WIPs and tend to struggle to maintain interest.

Even as he grows stronger and closer to discovering the secret of his identity, Arthur must face further dangers and conflicts as he struggles to attain the Sixth Key from the powerful Saturday.