Mister Monday by Garth Nix Book Review

 Mister Monday 

(The Keys to the Kingdom #1)

By Garth Nix 

Published Year: 2003

Page Count: 200 pages 

Medium Used: Kindle PW

Genre: Adventure, Action, Young Adult, Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, 2026-read.

Rating : 4.5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😄 

There once was an Architect who created the House and the Secondary realms from Nothing. It is possible to navigate to different realities from the House. After a while, she goes off, leaving behind her Will. The Will document is broken into pieces and one of them is stored away on a distant star. The book starts with this component escaping and continues with a man called Mister Monday and his steward approaching an asthmatic kid, Arthur, who is struggling to catch his breath, alone on his school's playground. This man, Monday, gives him a Minute Key - his property/power -  because he is tricked by something into doing so. After that the adventures of Arthur start. He is a randomly chosen heir to this Monday. This story would have gone in a different way if the kid was someone else. Perhaps there is an unseen order to the universe that makes him the kid present when Monday comes with his steward. I think what makes the kid the right choice is he is a rare combination of ability, strength, logic and also kindness and loyalty. He is forgiving and not selfish when it comes to seizing power - how rare!

Arthur fights and escapes the minions of Monday who come to the school to retrieve the key. Because of their arrival from another realm, they are Nithilings from Nothing, they cause a Sleeping plague. It is as deadly as the 17th century Bubonic Plague in England. Arthur wants to find a cure to this plague and save his people. So he enters a big house(the same one created by the Architect) that is visible only to him in his neighbourhood. In there he meets a fiesty girl, Suzy Blue, who is also chosen randomly. Arthur gets tossed into the cellar of the house till he agrees to return the Key to Monday. There, he meets the Old One whose fate reminds us of Prometheus. Escaping this place, he takes Suzy and they climb the non-existent Improbable Staircase to reach the Monday's Antechamber. On the way, they experience time travel like when they stop at successive landings, they enter/experience a different time from their Earth's history. 

Then they make it to Monday's house which resembles a Roman palace from the outside but totally different inside. It shows how given to sloth Monday is and how unmindful of his responsibilities - whatever they are. Is this the reason behind the masterful scheming to find an heir to him? Entering the castle is a trial for Arthur and Suzy. I don't want to reveal the surprise here but I was grossed out by Arthur's walking through that moat. I mean how could he not feel like giving up on his adventure at this point atleast?? Once they enter, he has to take something away from Monday and utter some phrases to seize his power. But what stunned me is that he is so utterly without ambition. Having accomplished all this, he chooses the life of a normal school kid. He could be living to eternity and the schemer seems to have planned much more for the boy but he only wants a mundane life. I was shocked beyond belief. I would gladly have traded my existence to be a whatever in this the God-like level of creation! 

I didn't really understand the reason behind the need to replace the current Monday. What went wrong with him that they refer to him as - 'not been this way always' - I think this part missed explanation. The writing is good and the pacing is fast. The characters are likeable and even the cunning ones are forgivable. They have only done what they have under orders from above. I liked the integration of and inclusion of time travel, the idea of a imaginary staircase, the punishment dealt to the Old One(again the explanation why is missing - maybe will be explained in later books)!! Do read this - it is not boring, it can be enjoyed even by adults like me, it is a demonstration of some lessons in kindness and friendships that even a kid can teach the eternal, all powerful spirits. He is the master and not a mere puppet in anyone's hands! I loved how words - written or uttered - have the power to make or break stuff.