Fred Patten Reviews Lady Friday

Lady Friday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book #5)
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN 10: 0-439-70088-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-439-70088-7

Here is another adventure fantasy that is part of a complex series. Readers are advised to begin with Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, and Sir Thursday in order to understand what is going on in Lady Friday.

Arthur Penhaligon is a sickly adolescent who may be the heir to what is essentially the whole universe; but the seven Trustees (think of fallen archangels) are loath to give up the godlike power that they have been wielding in the Architect’s absence. Arthur has been fighting them individually, to stay alive and protect his human family and friends more than to gain his inheritance.

As he defeats each enemy, Arthur gains another portion of the Architect’s Will; yet each gain transforms him slightly more into a Denizen of the House. If Arthur is forced to claim his full Inheritance (defeat all seven Trustees), he will have become more than mortal and can never return to Earth. By this volume, the action has already moved from Arthur’s normal home and school locale into the supernatural realms within the House.

Lady Friday is divided into two parallel stories. Leaf, Arthur’s mortal school chum, is drawn into the House despite Arthur’s hopes to protect her, when Lady Friday decides that the girl may make a valuable hostage. Arthur has the support of the loyal teen friends he has met previously, Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold; but they are now identified as children of the Piper, one of Arthur’s more dangerous adversaries, and possible pawns under his control. Arthur is urged to kill them by all of his other supporters.

The plot and action, full of traps and potential betrayals, are almost incidental to the exotic areas within the House. Leaf explores and tries to escape from Lady Friday’s lair within the huge crater of an extinct volcano, with hundreds of galleries and balconies and walkways surrounding a large central lake.

Arthur and his companions must traverse a snowbound Middle House which is the locale of the Guild of Gilding and Illumination (a castlelike stone fortress), the Guild of Illustration and Augmentation (“and a nastier bunch you’ll never meet, unless you go up to the Top Shelf, where the so-called High Guild of Binding and Restoration laze about. I understand that Lady Friday’s Scriptorium is actually beyond that, on the mountain peak, …”), and the Extremely Grand Canal which flows up the mountainside, with the Paper Pushers (“the Noble and Exalted Association of Waterway Motivators”) who regulate the traffic upon it.

All the novels of The Keys to the Kingdom series are filled with imaginatively bizarre imagery, and Lady Friday adds to the eclectic marvel of the universe-filling House.

Tomorrow's Magic

Tomorrow’s Magic
Author: Pamela F. Service
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978-0-375-84087-6


England.
Sometime in the future.
Nuclear winter.
Mutants.
Magic.
Arthurian legend.
Boarding school.

It’s five centuries after the world has been torn apart by nuclear war. England has fared better than other countries because they had disarmed and destroyed all nuclear weapons and so weren’t a target when all hell broke loose. Still, the nuclear war has affected everywhere in the world. People that aren’t mutants are dark skinned, the sky is brown not blue and ice is everywhere. Trees and nature are almost extinct.

Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna are outcasts in their British boarding school. Heather isn’t wanted by her mother and her new stepfather, she’s plain and she hangs out with animals. Wellington or Welly is fat, nearsighted and a bit of a nerd. He reads about military campaigns and dreams of becoming a strategist since he can’t become a soldier. Needless to say the bullies of the school, in particular one named Nigel pick on them constantly but Heather and Welly are fast friends and find a way to survive.

On one of their adventures they run into trouble and are saved by Earl, a thin, pale boy who was found years ago speaking a strange language and taken in as a charity case. The children welcome Earl into their circle of friendship and try to find out more about him. Why is he so pale? Who were his people? Where did he come from? Why does he have those screaming nightmares?

One day a couple claiming to be Earl’s aunt and uncle come to claim him but he feels something wrong about them, something evil and escapes. Heather and Welly follow him, determined to protect their newfound friend. A battle with the aunt, who turns out to be Morgan Le Fey of Arthurian legend brings Earl’s memory back and his friends are shocked to find he is the one and only Merlin, rescued from his forced entombment by Nimue and Morgan by a chance blast to the cave.

Earl/Merlin and the children set off on a quest to find Avalon and Arthur who Merlin thinks will save this world. What follows is an incredible and beautiful tale in grand style. There are battles, magic, fairies, trolls, teen angst, friendship and loyalty.

Tomorrow’s Magic is also a timely warning about nuclear war, war in general and the importance of saving our world from destruction. The grim and icy future that Pamela Service illustrates so well is entirely possible and scarily real.

Book description from the publisher:
It's 500 years after the nuclear holocaust that devastated the earth's population and left the few survivors dealing with unending winter. At their remote British boarding school, Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna have a lot in common. Both are misfits trying to avoid attention, and both are fascinated by Earl, a tall, calm, older boy with no recollection of his past, but a remarkable knack for showing up when he is needed most.

When a blow to the head brings Earl's memory back, he claims that he is actually Merlin . . . a 2000-year-old wizard.

Originally published in two volumes in the mid-1980s, Pamela F. Service's creative, futuristic spin on the Camelot legend will appeal to Arthurian purists and fantasy lovers alike.

Jane & the Dragon

Jane & the Dragon
Author: Martin Baynton
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763635707
ISBN-13: 978-0763635701

Jane and the Dragon is a charming and heartwarming tale about a little girl in medieval times who dreams of becoming a knight. It’s a pretty unusual, if not downright strange dream for a young girl in Jane’s time.

Nobody gets it. Her mother just wants her to be a lady in waiting, and practice her embroidery stitches.

Her father just laughs at her.

The King doesn’t listen.

The prince pushes her into the mud.

The knights make fun of her.

What’s a girl to do? Give up on her dreams? Change her ways? Not Jane. After the court jester who is the only one to believe in her gives her a shiny suit of armor in just her size, she practices on her own, determined to become a true knight. One day, while all the knights are away, a dragon kidnaps the prince and only Jane is left to save him.

I loved this book and was so happy with Jane’s character. She’s strong-willed, determined and smart – a perfect role model for little girls. I loved that she doesn’t accept her fate but sets out to change it. Jane also happens to be kind and in her interaction with the dragon, really teaches children about turning a bad situation around and making it good.

I think that this book is not only fun and witty, it’s an important book. The book really celebrates cleverness, kindness and following your dreams. I’m so glad that this has now been made into an animated series. I know I’ll encourage any children of my acquaintence to watch it.

About the Author
Martin Baynton has written and illustrated several books for children. His Jane and the Dragon books inspired an animated TV series first developed in Canada and now airing in the U.S. on ABC, iNetwork, and Telemundo. Martin Baynton also writes for the stage, television, film, and radio. Born in the U.K., he lives in New Zealand.