Lord Sunday

The Keys to the Kingdom #7

By: Garth Nix

Narrated by: Allan Corduner

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

On the seventh day, there was a choice.

The house is falling apart, and when it is destroyed, all existence will be destroyed with it. Arthur Penhaligon and his friends Leaf and Suzy are caught in the chaos, separated by events but drawn together in their fight to survive. They must use every power at their disposal magical or practical to defeat the enemies attacking them from all sides.

For Arthur, the biggest challenge comes from Lord Sunday, the most elusive of the Trustees of the Will. Lord Sundays magic is unlike any Arthur has encountered before and his secrets have the potential to destroy not only Arthur but also the people he holds most dear.

On Monday, Arthur Penhaligon was just an ordinary boy thrust into an extraordinary situation. From Tuesday to Saturday, he emerged as the Rightful Heir to the Architect who created everything within the House. Now, on Sunday, he will face a choice of astonishing proportions the remarkable conclusion to a completely unforeseen adventure.

Listen to the rest of the books in The Keys to the Kingdom series.

©2010 Garth Nix (P)2010 Listening Library

Interesting...

Hmm...I don't know what to say. As for the ending of a pretty cool series goes, this one felt really rushed. It was as if Garth got tired of writing in this universe and just wanted it to be over and done with as soon as possible.
All in all, it was an ok ending and an ok book. I think I just expected more. I mean, when the poop hits the fan, you don't expect things to be quickly cleaned up. You want some wallowing in the muck as things, some casting blame on others, bitter fights, drama, all before things are figured out and cleaned up. Instead, I felt as if he swept it all up under a rug and said "There, I finished it. All is well." as he tries to smile convincingly and hopes nobody notices the smell.

Overall, I'm left underwhelmed, yet satisfied (just barely).

That is all :)

great ending

a wonderful and unique ending to the series. tied everything up nicely with a good twist. nice narration as well.

Reader seemed wooden. Positively hand-carved.

What did you like best about Lord Sunday? What did you like least?

I love Garth Nix's writing in print, but this was the first of his solo books I heard from Audible. The Story was rather good, even if it felt that Nix might have been talking down to his readers at a few points when a child who had gotten so far in the book should have absolutely no trouble understanding. What made this listen bad enough that around the middle it became hard to finish was Allan Corduner's stiff performance. Characters that I've come to love in print faded into the background because his delivery made their thoughts and dialogue indistinguishable from the descriptions of the setting. a character in truly dire peril spoke with no more emotional pathos than the rock on which they crouched in terror.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lord Sunday?

Nix makes up for his tone pandering in the middle of the story with the climax, which leaves even mature readers with a moment of true disbelief, "Did he really just do what I think he did? but how will he end from here?" he walks you back towards the corner, painting away, till you look up realize he's taken a rope ladder into the rafters and left you holding the brush for one long scary moment... after which he firmly takes the brush away again and orders you to sit back while he completes his magic trick, but the moment is a part of the trick as well.

Would you be willing to try another one of Allan Corduner’s performances?

Corduner however, remains tree-like to the end. Not even a blossoming tree, so there would be some good born of the all stiffness, just a bare tree at the end of autumn. sitting there. being dull. waiting for someone more interesting to carve a name in it, or turn it into a wardrobe, or at least for spring to come along.When you see this name, take your credits and flee.

Somewhat rushed? Still good, worth listening to.

Garth Nix is a favorite writer of mine, and I started with his series "The Seventh Tower" and "Abhorson" (with respective themes light and death, onto this series' theme of time) As the finale to the Keys to the Kingdom series, I hoped this book would tie up all the loose ends, and it did, more or less, while still keeping a good flow and plot. I think this last book did a great job tying up a lot of plot points, and was very interesting while doing it. Moreover, the book does not immediately end after the climax, which I like, since I like to know what happens after the "big finish." I would've liked to have seen a little more of that, but I can't fault the author for not wanting to. This book is worth the read or listen.

SNL

a little long but very good to listen to. like the narrator, you should listen to it

Great

This was definitely the best one of them all. I would recommend this for sure.

Fantastic satisfying end

What did you love best about Lord Sunday?

Every single sentence of it!!!! Like honestly I just loved the dialogue, character development, and every aspect of this multidimensional universe Garth Nix has created throughout the entire series. He’s a true master storyteller!

What did you like best about this story?

This is so hard bc honestly I loved every part of it... but definite the ending and the way Garth Nix wrapped everything up so neatly was fantastic. The book’s ending is definitely more memorable bc of its unexpected imperfect way of ending(s) for all the characters involved which made it both bittersweet but all the more special

What about Allan Corduner’s performance did you like?

He was SUPERB for this book series, I was surprised how great of a reader he is seeing as he narrated Inkdeath and I couldn’t stand him narrating that one. (Which is unfair I suppose bc his predesessors for Inkheart, and Inkspell were Lynn Redgrave and Brendan Fraser so it was unfair of me to compare). So imagine my surprise when I recognized Cordrunner’s gravelly voice narrating this first series and I had more than a little reservations about enjoying it if he was reading the entire series... Boy was I SURPRISED about the level of my enjoyment from his narration. Now i’m Hooked and couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect than Allan Cordruner narrating this series, and he is so perfect as Arthur, the Will, and Suzy (to name just his main voices)! He’s absolutely fantastic for this book series!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I have throughout all the books,, they;re slyly funny and sarcastic but equally thought provoking and well developed thoughts on greater questions about the universe, Free will, and good vs. evil. I would say Garth Nix is a child-friendly version of Kurt Vonnegut. His themes in the book are more simplistic but they still share the same type of “what is the purpose of our lives and destiny” type of questions injected so subtly into this series that Vonnegut confronted so forcefully in his books.

Any additional comments?

Originally I had listened to these from overdrive library but when I realized I was checking them out at least 6x a year I realized I just HAD to buy them and own them instead. The Keys To the Kingdom stories are everything you’d wish in a fantasy fiction book: very much loved and memorable characters, clever escapes, witty come backs, perilous adventures, page turning all the way. Not to mention the philosophical questions and prompts it poses to the reader. It’s a series that I try to read/listen through all the way at least 2x a year.

wonderful twists and turns. great ebding.

loved the ebding to this fabulous adventure, can't wait to see if anything happens next.

My favorite book series of all time.

I could listen to this story over and over and never get tired of it. The story is imaginative, characters realistic, and I never expected the ending. It is always a pleasure to go through Keys of the Kingdom again and again.

Great Series

I absolutely love this series! I found the first audiobook at my local library. I was instantly hooked on it It took several months to get the entire series on audio but the investment is well worth. My nephew fell in love with the series too and he wants his own collection too. If you loved Harry Potter you'll fall in love with this series!