Garth Nix: Keys to the Kingdom #2: Grim Tuesday

This is the second book in Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series.

In the first book, Mister Monday, we meet our protagonist Arthur Penhaligon when he is saved from a fatal asthma attack by a small key shaped like a clock hand. But the key, which comes from another realm, brings with it a terrible plague, and creatures were sent by Mister Monday to get it back. So Arthur ventures into the realm of the key which exists as a large house of many different levels which only he can see. Here he comes face to face with Mister Monday whom he must defeat to save his world. All this and it's only Monday.

In Grim Tuesday, Arthur gratefully wakes up the next morning in his bed, happy to be back in his own world. However it is soon apparent that's he's not in for a restful day - after all it is Tuesday and the denizen of the next level in the house (Grim Tuesday) is after Arthur's key and will stop at nothing to get it.

Grim Tuesday threatens financial ruin not only on Arthur's world but also the realm he won from Mister Monday just the day before. It's time for Arthur to venture back into the house and brave the dismal pit of the far reaches and risk his life travelling to the heart of a sun and back. If Arthur can get Grim Tuesday's key he can once again save the world from destruction and secure another level of the house, thus further fulfilling his destiny.

It's pretty clear that Arthur is in for a fairly big week and those who have read Mister Monday will not be disappointed in Grim Tuesday. It's a cracking adventure, which will leave the reader as out of breath as our hero Arthur.

The realm of the house is expertly drawn in all its complexity and the level that belongs to Grim Tuesday is wonderfully depicted. The house is once again populated with diverse and interesting characters like Suzy Turquoise Blue, Captain Tom and Grim Tuesday's eyebrow, which magically has a life of its own.

Grim Tuesday himself is a formidable and unscrupulous character who is set on defeating Arthur and laying claim to the lower level of the house. Arthur, while an unlikely hero, is just as determined as Grim Tuesday and will not give up until his world and his friends are safe.

It's not surprising that this will be a seven book series - the inspiration for this comes from when Nix started to write down seven book titles starting with Mister Monday and finishing with Lord Sunday.

Nix, an Australian author, is an accomplished writer and is well-known both in Australia and internationally. He is possibly best known for his Old Kingdom Trilogy - Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen - which is set within a pure fantasy environment and depicts the battle between good and evil.

The Keys to the Kingdom series sees Nix depart from this more traditional fantasy formula to tell a story where the action moves between our world and the world of the bizarre.

Grim Tuesday is a fabulous tale which marks a very good follow-up to the first book and bodes well for the next five titles in the series.

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Price: $17.99

Age: 12-plus