CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Publication Date: March 16, 2010 Publisher: Scholastic Author: · Garth Nix Grade: B
It's been a long, long ride since Garth Nix first introduced us to the House and the Keys to the Kingdom. And now, with the seventh and final volume in hand and a look back all the way to Mister Monday, where it all started, I find myself asking:
"Did we really just go through seven novels to get a twist on the old joke, Our Father, Who is Art in Heaven?"
Arthur Penhaligon, once a sickly boy from Earth, was chosen as the Heir of the Architect -- the Architect being the person who built the House, of which known reality is but a secondary realm. He's tasked with recovering the seven keys of the house and the seven sundered parts of the Will of the Architect -- all of which have been shared among the seven disloyal trustees of the House -- Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday, Lady Friday, Superior Saturday and, ultimately, Lord Sunday. To prevent Arthur from achieving his goals, the trustees have set forth various plagues into the secondary realms, endangering his friends and family.
As Arthur progresses through the trustees (book by book, deadly sin by deadly sin), he finds himself becoming more and more contaminated by the sorcery of the House, the ultimate result meaning that if he reaches a certain level of contamination he'll become a full-fledged resident -- taller, more beautiful, more angelic, and completely unable to return to his normal life.
In Lord Sunday, Arthur seems more than ever to doubt his quest. The Will -- which evolves with each recovered piece, and which manifests as a living being named Dame Primus -- is becoming more haughty and belligerent with each retrieved part. Superior Saturday's forces have breached Lord Sundays Incomparable Gardens, the Piper and his children have allied with Saturday, and Nothing has consumed all of the Lower House and most of the Middle, threatening to obliterate the entire House and all of reality with it. Meanwhile, in Arthur's earthly home, the British military prepare to eradicate the nexus of the plagues that have beset them through the detonation of a micro-nuclear bomb which will almost certainly kill his friend Leaf who is near the blast zone caring for the rescued victims of Lady Friday's hospital.
Is it a page-turning adventure? Certainly. Is it inventive and creative? Absolutely. In fact, it's rather like The Phantom Tollbooth at times, only even moreso, and with more dire consequences and physical dangers. However, readers like me are going to have a difficult time accepting the denouement, which I'll not divulge here except to say that Arthur's ending -- neither ending -- is a particularly happy one. It left me feeling unfulfilled, despite being intrigued by the daringness of the author's not wrapping everything up with a "happily ever after" ribbon. Despite this, I still recommend Lord Sunday and the rest of the Keys to the Kingdom series, as I believe they inspire spirited discussion of the underlying themes of virtue and vice, as well as a unique perspective on the metaphysical and spiritual substructures of the universe.
