Drowned Wednesday

Garth Nix (author)

Allen&Unwin, Australia: 2005; 366pp

ISBN: 1741144418

Genres: adventure, fantasy

Issues: friendship, identity

Having just returned from a long and tiring battle in the House, where he has taken the Second Key from Grim Tuesday, Arthur has returned to his home with a broken leg and his asthma as bad as ever. Without the power of either of the Keys, he suffers the same pains and physical weaknesses as other mortals.

Normal is what Arthur would prefer to be - were it not for the powerful and dangerous immortals who are after him. Within ten minutes of waking up in his hospital bed Arthur finds a card under his pillow indicating that he has been invited to dine with Lady Wednesday and that ‘transport has been arranged', which means refusal is not an option. Sure enough, he is soon adrift on his hospital bed in the Border Sea, where he must battle pirates, storms, treachery and somehow discover the third part of the Will in order to reclaim the Third Key.

Somewhat less confusing than the two earlier novels, Drowned Wednesday is, superficially, a more traditional adventure story. Readers who have delighted in Garth Nix's imaginative and occasionally whimsical characters will not be disappointed, however. Most of the pirates or salvagers of the Border Seas are in fact denizens of Wednesday's realm who were forced to change jobs when their mistress became an enormous whale. As a result their sailing skills are limited and their bravery in battle non-existent, which leads to a number of very funny situations. Arthur, too, has grown as a character - he is more determined to control his situation rather than be a victim to it. His decision to take action, rather than wait for it to happen to him, alters the balance of the narrative. As a result the story has a clearer direction and is less inclined to lurch from one emergency or event to another.

Great fun to read.

Note: Drowned Wednesday is the third in the Keys to the Kingdom series and takes up almost immediately after the conclusion to Grim Tuesday. Although a complete story on its own, readers will have a greater understanding of events and characters of the novel if they have read the preceding books in the series.