The Keys to the Kingdom
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The Keys to the Kingdom is a fantasy-adventure book series, written by Garth Nix, started in 2003 with plans to span seven books.
| “ | On the first day, there was mystery | ” |
| “ | On the second day, there was darkness | ” |
| “ | On the third day, there were pirates | ” |
| “ | On the fourth day, there was war | ” |
| “ | On the fifth day, there was fear | ” |
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The series' protagonist is a boy, Arthur Penhaligon, who is an asthmatic. The series begins on a Monday, with the main events starting a week later, and each book moves onto the next day of this week, concluding on Sunday. Each day features beings collectively known as the Trustees, who each govern a portion of the House, which is the epicenter of the universe, (the Lower House, the Middle House, the Upper House, the Far Reaches, the Great Maze, the Border Sea and the Incomparable Gardens).
Arthur lives a relatively normal life as an adopted child in a large but caring family. An asthma attack on Monday that should have killed him brings him to the Lower House where he is declared Heir to the Kingdom by convenience and given a key shaped like a minute hand of a clock (the "Lesser" Half of the "First Key"). While Arthur is relieved of his asthma, it is only the beginning of a strange and dangerous set of adventures.
As Arthur discovers, the Will of the Architect who created the world was not fulfilled as it should have been. Instead, it was broken into seven pieces by the Architect's Trustees, the Morrow Days. The Will was forced to act on its own, and chooses Arthur to be the Heir to the Kingdom. It becomes Arthur's responsibility to recover each of the missing pieces of the Will, defeat each Trustee, each of whom has been afflicted with one of the seven deadly sins, and claim their domain by taking their respective Key.
Author Garth Nix's approach to the narrative has drawn heavily on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, with continuous references to archetype and the number 7.[citation needed]
[edit] Characters
Main article: Characters of The Keys to the Kingdom series
[edit] The House and The Morrow Days
The House is the First Creation of the Architect and its purpose is to record and acknowledge the events of the Secondary Realms, essentially making it the epicentre of the Universe. The House is divided into seven parts, each ruled by a respective Trustee. These parts are:
- The Lower House - Ruled by Mister Monday (male)
- The Far Reaches - Ruled by Grim Tuesday (male)
- The Border Sea - Ruled by Drowned (formerly Duchess) Wednesday (female)
- The Great Maze - Ruled by Sir Thursday (male)
- The Middle House - Ruled by Lady Friday (female)
- The Upper House - Ruled by Superior Saturday (female)
- The Incomparable Gardens - Ruled by Lord Sunday (male)
[edit] The Keys
The Keys Arthur attempts to claim each give their wielder power over the corresponding realm of the House and the corresponding day in the Secondary Realms.
- The First Key can be separated into two Keys, taking the forms of the minute and hour hands of a clock. The Hour Hand is more powerful than the Minute Hand, but the Minute Hand is quicker and can be used more often. Combined they make the First Key and take the form of sword with some resemblance to the clock hands, having a silver and gold blade. It gives dominion over the Lower House and Monday.
- The Second Key takes the form of two large silver gauntlets, laced with gold, which were specifically used by Grim Tuesday to form things from Nothing. It gives dominion over the Far Reaches and Tuesday. The gloves can also change to reflect the personality of the person wearing them.
- The Third Key takes the form of a trident that is capable of increasing and decreasing its size. Drowned Wednesday used it as a fork. The Key is not responsible for her insatiable appetite; instead it is the only thing keeping her from growing larger. The Third Key gives dominion over the Border Sea and Wednesday.
- The Fourth Key takes the form of a Marshal's baton, white and glowing green, wrapped in metallic laurel leaves. It can also change into a sword of any kind, for use in combat. Sir Thursday uses it in battle. It gives dominion over the Great Maze and the Glorious Army of the Architect, as well as Thursday.
- The Fifth Key is held by Lady Friday and gives dominion over the Middle House and Friday. It looks like a mirror, and can be used to transport beings to any reflective surface within the House, if Lady Friday has previously been there in person. Also used by Lady Friday to drain people's experiences.
- The Sixth Key is held by Superior Saturday and gives dominion over Saturday. Gives dominion over the Upper House.
- The Seventh Key is held by Lord Sunday and gives dominion over Sunday. Gives dominion over the Incomparable Gardens. Also unlike the other keys, this key is believed to retain it's power anywhere in the House.
[edit] Key Facts
- Each Key is the controlling power in its own domain and cannot be overpowered by any other Key in its domain. Outside of their domains, each Key is of equal power to its counterparts, except for the Seventh Key. Dr. Scamandros implies that the Seventh is able to act as a controlling power outside its own domain, unlike the others.
- Each Key, thus far, has taken a different physical form. Dame Primus has used each one as part of her attire, although Arthur has not yet granted the Fourth or Fifth Keys to her care. It can be assumed from this diversity that the remaining Keys will not take the form of either swords, gloves, tridents, batons or mirrors; hence, when gathered together, a single wielder is hypothetically feasible.
- The Keys are somewhat capable of physically changing; it seems to reflect their owners personality. The First Key can be split into two Keys, the Second Key can change its glove form, the Third Key can grow and shrink in length, and the Fourth Key can become any type of sword, as well as an ivory baton.
- Over time, a Key will slowly turn a mortal into a Denizen of the House-- an immortal, extra-temporal being-- as a result of using its power.
- A touch of any Key can kill any Nithling, Denizen, mortal, or other being. (except Old One)
[edit] Nothing
Nothing is the mythical substance used in The Keys to the Kingdom series of books by Garth Nix. From it the entire Universe formed through a concentration-based process. It appears as oily black smoke, and contains the properties of being able to dissolve anything or create anything. When enough Nothing comes together, it can form a Nithling. Nithlings are creatures not created by the Architect, but are self-made from uncontained or uncontrolled Nothing. The Nithlings have this autonomy in common with both the Architect and the Old One, but apparently lack the power and creative impulses demonstrated by those elder beings.
[edit] Nithlings
Nithlings are formed from Nothing. They are feared by most of the House due to their ability to kill even an immortal Denizen with a festering bite. Nithlings take a variety of shapes and are incorporated into every book in some form. They appear to lack higher intelligence, although some types can be used as servants (Notably the Fetchers, sent to retrieve the Key in Book One). Most lower forms of Nithling can be dispatched with silver or salt, though this has little effect on higher or more substantially Made Nithlings. The Piper managed to create vastly superior Nithlings known as Newniths, for "New Nithlings".
Nithlings return to Nothing when killed. They are employed by many Denizens and the Morrow Days for menial tasks, especially when someone is needed to venture into the Secondary Realms. Nithling species usually are named; this implies that they are usually made in regular forms. The Nithlings seen so far in the books are:
- Bibliophages (Mister Monday)– a snake-like Nithling, expelling a venom that reduces any kind of writing to Nothing. Also they are attracted to writing which they try to destroy.
- Fetchers (Mister Monday, Lady Friday)– resembling men with the faces of bloodhounds, sent to retrieve objects. Fetchers cannot cross thresholds uninvited. They can be banished with salt.
- The Skinless Boy (Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday)- a creature created by Superior Saturday. It is made by sorceries and a seed item belonging to the person that it takes the physical form. It takes a year of House Time to grow in Nothing. It can grow mentally conductive mold on people and can only be destroyed by the person it replicates taking its seed item and plunging it into Nothing. Its technical name is Cocigrue or Spirit-eater.
- The Scoucher (Grim Tuesday)– a Nithling originating from small, semi-enclosed spaces. Can take any form, but always has long, sharp tentacles, with which it causes mortals or Denizens to bleed. It then obtains strength from their blood. Silver, as well as several other elements, can kill a Scoucher upon contact.
- Feverfew's Cormorants (Drowned Wednesday)– heralds that communicate to the pirate Feverfew that his treasures have been breached.
- Feverfew-Part Nithling, Part Human (Drowned Wednesday)– a cruel pirate sailing on the Border Sea. Eventually killed while fighting Lord Arthur.
- Gore-Drakan (Drowned Wednesday)- a creature created when certain lost items come into contact with Nothing
- Not-Horse (Sir Thursday)- a creature created by Grim Tuesday. It has tough, metal skin, fights, is extremely hardy and heals quickly.
Several other Nithlings have been seen throughout the series (especially during Book Two, Grim Tuesday), but are not named.
[edit] Religious, Cultural, and Literary References
The Keys to the Kingdom appears to contain many examples of religious symbolism and references, particularly in Judeo-Christian tradition. The key example is the affliction of each Morrow Day with one of the seven deadly sins, due to their choice not to obey The Will.
- Mister Monday: Sloth.
- Grim Tuesday: Greed.
- Drowned Wednesday: Gluttony.
- Sir Thursday: Wrath.
- Lady Friday: Lust.
- Superior Saturday: Either Pride or Envy. (More likely envy towards Sunday's power)
- Lord Sunday: Either Pride or Envy. (Most likely pride in himself being the strongest of the Morrow Days and first son of the Architect)
Conversely, each paragraph of The Will embodied appears to hold a virtue. Each piece of the Will holds one of the four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice) or the Three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity). Each part of the will also seems to act in a way of the seven deadly sins, different from what their forms imply. The bear for instance seems to act slothful, and the carp seems to embody pride, whilst the frog itself seems wrathful.
- Part One - The Frog: Fortitude
- Part Two - The Bear: Prudence
- Part Three - The Carp: Faith
- Part Four - The Snake: Justice
- Part Five - The Dragon: Temperance
- Part Six: Unknown: possibly Hope or Charity
- Part Seven: Unknown: possibly Hope or Charity
Other religious references include The Old One, a Prometheus character who held great power but was chained and punished by the Architect, or alternatively seen as a Lucifer character, fallen from grace. There is even a range of literary and mythological reference in the series: Mister Monday's butler is compared to Nestor of The Adventures of Tintin; the Piper is a re-creation of the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin, who with his music led a population of rats from a city-- later to do the same to the town's children, whose parents had refused to pay him the promised fee. The Mariner from the second book in the series is likely a reference to the mariner found in the ballad The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Both the mariner from the book and the poem had shot a bird, though Garth Nix does not specify what type of bird the mariner in his book had shot. Some other religious references are Mister Monday transforming into a snake while fighting Arthur (the punishment in Hell for sloth is to be eaten by snakes). Grim Tuesday dies by falling into a pool of Nothing; the punishment in Hell for greed is to be boiled alive.
A cultural reference is found in the use of the word Architect to designate the Creator. It may signify either an association with Freemasonry or a simple leap of logic, in that the Freemasons use the epithet "Great Architect" to signify the Supreme Being whereas in a history of the world wherein the Epicentre of the Universe is a house, its maker must necessarily be an architect.
[edit] Books in the series
The title of each of the books refers to the name of the master of each Day that Arthur must enter.
- Nix, Garth (2003). Mister Monday. ISBN 0-00-717501-9.
- Nix, Garth (2004). Grim Tuesday. ISBN 0-00-717503-5.
- Nix, Garth (2005). Drowned Wednesday. ISBN 0-00-717505-1.
- Nix, Garth (2006). Sir Thursday. ISBN 0-00-717507-8.
- Nix, Garth (2007). Lady Friday. ISBN 0-00-717509-4.
- Nix, Garth (Unreleased). Superior Saturday.
- Nix, Garth (Unreleased). Lord Sunday.
[edit] Related Articals
[edit] External links
- Series listing at SciFan
- Allen and Unwin - Keys to the Kingdom
- Scholastic's Keys to the Kingdom website
- HarperCollins Publishers' Keys to the Kingdom website
- Author Garth Nix's personal website
| Novels by Garth Nix | |
|---|---|
| The Keys to the Kingdom: | Mister Monday • Grim Tuesday • Drowned Wednesday • Sir Thursday • Lady Friday • Superior Saturday • Lord Sunday |
| The Old Kingdom series: | Sabriel • Lirael • Abhorsen • Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories |
| The Seventh Tower: | The Fall • Castle • Aenir • Above the Veil • Into Battle • The Violet Keystone |
| Standalone novels: | The Ragwitch • Shade's Children |
