This book review was part of a podcast discussion.
Listen to the episode here.
This is the first book in the Keys to the Kingdom series, the first series by Garth Nix I ever read. Rereading this book reminded me why I loved this series: the world. I think I have might have mentioned it in my previous reviews of Nix’s books, but his worlds are incredible. What I realized during this reread was that while the world was amazing, the writing did not bring anything new for me.
I am going to talk a little about the world and its denizens. The House is the epicenter of the universe and it was created along with the rest of the world by the Architect. The Architect left the House and the known world and entrusted her power to seven trustees to execute her Will. Of course they didn’t, and from there comes the plot. Nix’s world was amazing, the natives of the House, Denizens, were the uncanny valley of characters, looking like humans but not always acting like humans. That was one of my favorite parts of the books.
While I enjoyed revisiting the world, the reread reminded me how similar the story was to other stories in this genre. Overall, I see why I loved this series as a kid.
South Carolina
I am new podcaster who has been enjoying the fantasy genre for many, many… many years. I will read most any fantasy book but high and steampunk are my favorite subgenres.
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