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    Superior Saturday
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    Superior Saturday
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    Superior Saturday
    Audiobook6 hours

    Superior Saturday

    Written by Garth Nix

    Narrated by Allan Corduner

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    On the sixth day, there was sorcery.

    Arthur Penhaligan has wrested five of the Keys from their immortal guardians, the Trustees of the Will. But gaining the Sixth Key poses a greater challenge than any he has faced before. Superior Saturday is not just one of the Trustees - she is also the oldest Denizen and the most powerful and knowledgeable sorcerer within the House. She has tens of thousands of sorcerers at her command, and she has been preparing her forces all along for the Will's escape and the activities of the Rightful Heir.

    As Saturday's schemes become evident, Arthur is beset on all sides. The House is being destroyed, and only the power of the Keys can hold back the tide of destruction. Arthur's home city is under attack. His allies are unreliable. He can't even get into the apparently impregnable Upper House . . .  and even if he does, finding the Sixth Part of the Will and gaining the Sixth Key might not be enough to counter Saturday's bid for ultimate power.

    Can Arthur survive?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 12, 2008
    ISBN9780807217467
    Unavailable
    Superior Saturday
    Author

    Garth Nix

    Garth Nix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and has been a full-time writer since 2001 but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s many books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, beginning with Sabriel and continuing to Goldenhand; the sci-fi novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; the Regency romance with magic Newt’s Emerald; and novels for children including The Ragwitch, the Seventh Tower series, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and Frogkisser!, which is now in development as a feature film with Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Garth has written numerous short stories, some of which are collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has also cowritten several children’s book series with Sean Williams, including TroubleTwisters and Have Sword, Will Travel. More than six million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into forty-two languages.

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    Reviews for Superior Saturday

    4/5

    16 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Eeek! Even less resolved than all the rest so far. We don't even really get to see Arthur's claiming of the key, here, and the pace is absolutely frantic. I was wrong, in my last review, about getting to see more of Leaf the more inhuman Arthur becomes. We didn't get to see much of her at all, here. In fact, I'm not sure we got to see much of anything in this book, somehow. I think I'd dock a star for that...

      ...if I wasn't enchanted by the re-emergence of Elephant. If there's anything that would keep someone human, it'd be a childhood toy. I'm pretty sure that's what my conscience would look like, if it were a separate being. I am kind of desperately hoping that that's what Elephant will do in the story. I actually had kind of a lump in my throat when Arthur picked up Elephant and cuddled him hard, even though it was just a tiny moment. (I hugged my own teddy tight in sympathy, and was terribly glad I have never lost her.)

      One other thing I enjoyed especially about this book was Arthur's struggle between the part of him that is a Denizen (or something higher), and the part that is still a mortal. By this point, his mortality is seriously dwindling, but there's still enough of it to seriously fight against that influence.

      I rather hope he loses the fight not to become a Denizen, but wins the fight to keep loving and caring, with the help of Elephant.

      Oh, I was also pleased to see the Old One again, and I rather hope he does get free.
    • 3/5
      Episode six. I particularly enjoyed this one, the crazy tower that Saturday built caught my imagination.
    • 3/5
      Arthur Penhaligan , Rightful Heir of the Architect, has successfully defeated 5 of the immortal Trustees (Monday through Friday). But now he must tackle the two strongest of the Trustees and starting with Superior Saturday, the most powerful Sorceress in the House. Saturday is attempting to destroy the Lower House while reaching for the Incomparable Gardens above the Upper House occupied by Lord Sunday. As Arthur prepares for his next adventure, he realizes that Superior Saturday's actions are threatening his home on Earth and he has to stop time there to prevent a nuclear attack. Every time Arthur uses his magical powers from the Keys he has in his possession, he gets closer and closer to losing his humanity and turning into a Denizen. He struggles with this loss of identity, trying to do what is needed but trying to maintain his personality and humanity as well.While searching for the 6th part of the Will, Arthur makes use of the special talents of the rats who can travel between realms easily, after determining where the Will is, he proceeds on his quest. Arthur must succeed before Saturday destroys the House and therefore the secondary Realms which include Earth.This book was my least favorite of the series in that there was little originality to the story. Garth Nix seems to be patterning the books on the Seven Deadly sins and this book would have Saturday being the sin of Lust. A bit of a stretch with his "yearning" to reach the Incomparable Gardens and Sunday's position of power. It seems that if Saturday was the most powerful Sorceress, we would have had a great deal more action and struggles than what appeared here.Still a fun read and a decent prelude to the finish.
    • 4/5
      Arthur Penhaligan has major problems. Having faced five of the immortal Trustees and collected their parts of the Will of the Architect and their five keys, he now has to figure out how to defeat Superior Saturday, oldest of the denizens and the most powerful sorceress in the House. Saturday's goal, however, is to destroy the Lower House and bring the Upper House within striking distance of Lord Sunday's Incomparable Gardens. Arthur's going to get in her way, and that doesn't bode well for him or anyone aiding him, including Suzy Turquoise Blue and the other Piper's Children. Adding to this, he's had to use the keys to slow down time to delay a nuclear strike at the hospital in his home city. Can Arthur survive the confrontation with Superior Saturday and the nuclear strike? This is a series that needs to be read in order, as the timeline of events is crucial to the development of the more complicated plot and the characters. For strong fantasy readers, grade 7 and up.
    • 3/5
      Well everything seems to be coming along for the Heir to the Will of the Architect. This book to me seems like a filler until we get the final book. Not much happens that we already don't know and the ending is the perfect cliffhanger. Oh, how I love to be left daggling of a cliff. Not. With the advance of the Nothing and the situation in the real world, I wonder how everything is going to be sort out. We will need to keep an eye out for Lord Sunday, but I have a feeling that Superior Saturday is not completely out of Authur's life yet.
    • 5/5
      In the sixth book, Arthur is finally matched up against the Trustee who has been the most trouble for him - Superior Saturday, whose goal all along has been to reach the Incomparable Gardens which are (in her opinion, unfairly) Lord Sunday's domain. Arthur is on Earth returning Lady Friday's sleepers, when he receives a call from his brother that the hospital is going to be nuked. He manages to at least delay the attack, but knows he has to return to the House to have any hope of making things right on his own world.The symbolism hinted in the previous stories comes to the fore in this one. Superior Saturday's attempt at reaching the Incomparable Gardens reminds me of Lucifer in some ways, the gardens themselves very like Eden. Also, while Saturday has been the most trouble for Arthur all along (Dusk coming to the Pit in Grim Tuesday, for example), we see that Arthur also has issues with pride, struggling with the rage that wells up when he feels he is not given his due by a lesser being. I had not previously listened to or read this Keys to the Kingdom book, so being slightly distracted on a few car trips meant that I kind of missed some parts. Even so, it was a good story and (perhaps in part because of my distraction) I would definitely revisit it.
    • 3/5
      An okay read within the series. Unfortunately, Arthur doesn't have much of a chance to battle any of Superior Saturday or her minions.
    • 2/5
      After the wait between Lady Friday and the publication of Superior Saturday, it took a little while to first remember what had happened previously and to get into the mindset of all things Keys to the Kingdom. I have to marvel at Garth Nix's scale of imagination - far surpasses my own, and so I struggled with picturing Staurday's tower of iron cubes and chains. It was engaging, and Arthur's own changes and attitude were interesting to read about but it all sort of smacks of a sandwich with no butter - something missing. Whether it was a lack of any loose ends being tied up (we stil have Arthur's mother, Arthur's transformation, Arthur's future, nuclear bombs, unfinished business with Saturday, and Lord Sunday to be dealt with) or possibly just Saturday not living up to expectations, I'm not sure. The concept of the Will's position is exciting and appears a large challenge at first, as is the prospect of defeating Saturday, and yet both just seem a bit too easy. Superior Saturday herself, the best sorceror apparently, doesn't seem to live up to her name - in fact, Dame Primus seems to have more presence when wielding the Keys and Mister Monday, suffering from sloth, put up more of a fight. An enjoyable read and some small snippets of essential information are revealed, but as to whether the book was worth the wait, I can't really say, as it almost appeared as though they forgot to publish the ending. Cliffhangers are a great tool, but possibly ill-timed considering the wait for Saturday and there just isn't enough suspense created. Sorry Garth, it just felt a bit empty. Here's hoping not too many people agree with me. :)
    • 4/5
      This is the 6th book in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. This was a good book but the ending left me puzzled. I listened to this on audio book and the quality of the audio book was excellent.Arthur and Suzy venture into Superior Saturday's realm to try and retrieve the 6th part of the Will. Arthur is finding it harder and harder to stay human, and is really starting to struggle with the part of himself that is turning into something else. The lower house is being destroyed by Nothing and things are looking bleak on all sides.This was a well written book. I like how Arthur is having to fight with himself as he begins to become something more than (or less than) human. Suzy is by far what makes this book; she has been my favorite character throughout the series. Saturday's part of the house is very interesting and creative. The book is very fast-paced and up until the end I was thoroughly enjoying this book.All of the sudden the book ends. It ends seriously in the middle of a fight scene with a number of horrible things in the middle of happening. I though that maybe the audio book was broken into two parts and I missed downloading the other part. I went to audible.com and checked. Nope I had the whole book. I was convinced that I had lost part of the audio book somewhere, that's how open the ending was. I finally checked people's reviews on Amazon and found that many other people were also dismayed at the ending.If you haven't read this book yet, I would strongly suggest you wait until the next book comes out and read the two books together. This really is almost only half a book!Besides the ending, it was wonderful!
    • 4/5
      I hadn't read anything in quite a few months. I own a small library of books, but none of them seemed appealing enough to break my reading dry spell until I realized I was still a book behind in the Keys to the Kingdom series, and this book turned out to be just what I needed to get myself reading again.The further I get in this series, the more solid the characters are, the more suspenseful the plots. True to that pattern, Superior Saturday is my favorite yet. Perhaps I've just grown comfortable with Nix's delightful imagery, but the quirky characteristics of The House that can sometimes feel over-the-top all seem quite natural at this stage in the story. The often predictable formula of Arther's adventures in the previous books seems to break down as this story takes a few twists, keeping me guessing and engaged. I enjoyed my time in The House and I enjoyed the suspense of this book, but I did not care for the ending, or rather, lack thereof. Books without endings make me feel tricked and cheated, especially when the action is intense and the pages quickly dwindle without any hint of resolution. This was a colorful and exciting read, best of the series so far, and I look forward to the final installation, but I really wanted to throw the book out the window when I realized the action was left hanging until the next book, which has not yet been published. Mr. Nix, that's a dirty trick.
    • 4/5
      Arrgh! Why did I start this series before the last book was published? The ending of each book has been increasingly cliffhanger-ish, but this takes it.Nix's take on office life is amusing, and the threat to the House and the universe looms most convincingly. Leaf is off stage for much of this book, so we don't know much of what's happening in the secondary realms - and Arthur races from one part of the house to another. This volume is even darker again, with various betrayals and Arthur's claim to humanity dwindling by the paragraph. It'll be a hard wait for the last volume.
    • 4/5
      Want to read some fantasy that doesn’t feel like The Lord of the Rings regurgitated? Look no further than Garth Nix’s The Keys to the Kingdom series – now onto its sixth installment and still going strong. Superior Saturday is definitely the fastest book in the series so far; the pace kicks off in the first chapter with a nuclear bomb threat and barely slows down from there! This book has all the qualities that made its prequels so successful, the most important of which are Nix’s signature humour and irresistible originality. Traditional fantasy may be enjoyable to read, but nothing says ‘fun’ like a novel that throws away the tried-and-true Tolkien mould in favour of some of the most bizarre and fantastic ideas ever put to paper. The more fantasy I read, the more I appreciate the delightful distinctiveness of Nix’s work.As the penultimate book in the series, Superior Saturday resolves some of the mysteries left by its prequels, but not all. Readers will discover more about Arthur’s bitter archenemy, but the quick pace and succinct storyline leave little room for much else. The focus is on building the suspense for the upcoming Lord Sunday, so readers be warned: this one ends on a mean cliffhanger!It would be all too easy to say that I ‘can’t wait’ for the next instalment – but after reading Superior Saturday, I hesitate to do so. In some places, there is an unfortunate feel about the writing of being rushed into publication; most likely a side effect of Nix’s impatient fan base. On close examination, the writing contains quite a few niggling minor errors and pieces of description that just don’t seem to gel – flaws that are no doubt present in every novel prior to the thorough assistance of an editor. Sadly, it feels a little like Nix’s editor was not allowed enough time with the manuscript to properly perfect it. Lord Sunday may be scheduled for release in less than a year – but I am more than happy to wait a few extra months if it will mean the difference between a rough novel and a polished one.Minor flaws aside, however, Superior Saturday is a highly enjoyable novel that fans are sure to rip through without a second’s pause. A decidedly superior read.
    • 3/5
      I was quite disappointed in this volume in the series. It will have to be read and there's no reason to think that the final volume won't be better, but this is a low point. The problem with this book is that nothing happens!With each of the first five volumes, Arthur was thrown into a new situation, encountered his enemy and defeated him or her. Some of the stories were weaker (e.g. Mister Monday) and some were stronger (e.g. Grim Tuesday) but each got resolved. With Saturday, however, when the book ends, Arthur has just met Superior Saturday for the first time, he hasn't obtained the sixth key; Leaf is back in the Secondary Realms about to be destroyed from a plan put in place by Saturday; we don't know what's happening with Suzie; Dame Primus has started lying to Arthur; Arthur, himself, is coming under the influence of almost-uncontrollable fits of arrogance induced by his Denizen status...in short, the entire volume is just a build-up to the actual story. I felt cheated and am definitely not happy about waiting another year for Lord Sunday.There's nothing in this particular adventure (that the readers know of) that required him to write half a book. The only explanation I can think of is that Lord Sunday won't prove to be a villain like the other trustees (there have been possible hints along these lines) and Mr. Nix needed to preserve his final bad guy since the structure of the books required seven volumes.Bah, as I said, you have to read it to get to the final volume and, if you've come this far, you might as well. As always, this particular series is not even in the same league as his Abhorsen series—neither the characters nor plots are as deep; the target juvenile audience dumbs down the writing slightly; it's just not as much fun. Still found the series, taken as a whole, amusing and will wait...irritated...for number seven.