Drowned Wednesday

Last updated
Drowned Wednesday
Drowned Wednesday.jpg
First edition (Australia)
Author Garth Nix
Cover artistSandra Nobes / Hofstede Design (paperback, Allen & Unwin)
LanguageEnglish
Series The Keys to the Kingdom
Genre Fantasy, Young adult novel
Publisher HarperCollins (UK),
Scholastic Press (US)
Allen & Unwin (AUS)
Publication date
1 March 2005
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (paperback, hardcover)
Pages390 (paperback, HarperCollins)
ISBN 0-439-70086-8
OCLC 56058209
LC Class PZ7.N647 Dr 2005
Preceded by Grim Tuesday  
Followed by Sir Thursday  

Drowned Wednesday is the third book in The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. It continues the story of Arthur Pehaligon and his quest to fulfil a mysterious Will in order to reclaim an otherworldly House from seven antagonistic Trustees. Following the events of the previous novel, Arthur must secure the third part of the Will from a fiendish pirate in order to save the Border Sea from Drowned Wednesday's insatiable appetite.

Contents

Plot

Picking up after the events of Grim Tuesday , Arthur discusses Drowned Wednesday's invitation to meet for lunch with Leaf while he is hospitalized. The two are skeptical as to whether Wednesday can be trusted, but then the hospital room is suddenly filled with water and the two find themselves transported to the Border Sea, Wednesday's domain. Leaf and Arthur are separated when Leaf is picked up by the Flying Mantis, a large ship, and Arthur is left behind. Arthur uses the Mariner's medallion to summon help but his call goes unanswered. A buoy marking the pirate Elishar Feverfew's treasure floats toward him, which Arthur opens. His hand is then marked with a bloody red color, the Red Hand, which he later learns is a spell created by Feverfew so that he may identify who has touched his treasure.

Arthur is eventually picked up a scavenging ship called the Moth. On board, Arthur (going by the name of Arth) is introduced to Sunscorch, the First Mate, and to Captain Catapillow. As they travel through the Border Sea, the Moth is attacked by Feverfew's ship, the Shiver. Sunscorch commands Dr. Scamandros, an Upper House Sorcerer and the ship's navigator, to open a transfer portal to elsewhere in the Secondary Realms. Scamandros' spell fails and he accuses Arthur of interfering with his magic. He advocates for throwing Arthur overboard, but Arthur shows them the Mariner's medallion and the crew agrees to keep him. With Arthur's help, the Moth successfully travels through a transfer portal to a safe spot. Arthur asks Scamandros to find out what happened to Leaf and using sorcery, Scamandros reports that Leaf has been conscripted to work on the Flying Mantis but is otherwise safe.

Arthur admits his identity to the crew and Scamandros helps Arthur contact Dame Primus and Wednesday's Dawn, so he may meet with Wednesday. Before Arthur leaves, Scamandros gives Arthur his transfer watch.

Arthur meets with Wednesday, who explains that she regretted her part in defying the Will, especially since doing so afflicted her with gluttony and turned her into a leviathan with an insatiable appetite. She attempted to convince Superior Saturday to allow Wednesday to relinquish her part of the Will but instead, Saturday and the other Trustees (with the exception of the then-slothful Mister Monday) ambushed Wednesday and revoked most of the Third Key's power. As such, Wednesday can only use her Key to maintain a human form but only temporarily. She tells Arthur that she will relinquish the Key once he has reclaimed the third part of the Will, which has been hidden by Feverfew.

Wednesday's Dawn takes Arthur to the Triangle to begin his search for the Will. He meets the Raised Rats, a group of anthropomorphic rats brought to the House by the Piper, and makes a deal with them to take him Feverfew's hideout, which is a worldlet located within Drowned Wednesday's stomach when she is in her leviathan form. On the Raised Rats' ship, Arthur inadvertently summons Scamandros with the transfer watch but Scamandros is grateful. He explains that Feverfew has taken the Moth and Scamandros was briefly poisoned by Nothing in the scuffle. Arthur checks in on Leaf using Scamandros' scrying mirror and learns that Feverfew has captured the Flying Mantis and he has discovered Leaf's connection to Arthur. Feverfew deduces Arthur is looking for the Will and sets about to catch him, led by the Red Hand.

Suzy Turquoise Blue joins Arthur on the Raised Rats' submersible and Scamandros provides Arthur and Suzy with disguises in order to sneak into the worldlet. Although they experience navigational difficulty, they are eventually able to enter Wednesday's stomach and the worldlet therein, which is in the form of an island. There, Arthur and Suzy, disguised as rats, find several of Feverfew's escaped slaves, who have been hiding in a remote cave on the island and formed a religion around a Carp. The exiles take them to the Carp, which is the third part of the Will.

They attempt to take the Will out of the worldlet but Feverfew catches up to them, holding Leaf as prisoner. He proposes a fight between him and Arthur wherein each may try to kill the other with one strike. Arthur goes first and fails, but he successfully dodges Feverfew's attack and severs his head. But because Feverfew is a Denizen, he begins to regenerate. Thinking quickly, Leaf kicks his head into a mud puddle containing Nothing, thus destroying him. Upon Feverfew's death, the worldlet begins to collapse. Via the Moth, Arthur and his friends are able to escape. Lady Wednesday is healed from her gluttony but she dies, having been poisoned by the worldlet, which had opened a void to Nothing.

Dame Primus reunites with Arthur and absorbs the third part of the Will. Arthur, now Duke of the Border Sea, appoints Sunscorch as his Noon and Scamandros as his Dusk and for them to run the Sea while he and Leaf return to the Secondary Realms.

Publication history

Drowned Wednesday published on March 1, 2005, from Scholastic in the United States. [1] It was the first book in the series to receive a debut hardcover edition, accompanied by a simultaneous re-release of the previous books in the series in hardcover format. [2]

Critical reception

Drowned Wednesday received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. School Library Journal called it "[a] must-have for anyone who has the first two entries in this well-crafted, exciting series" and VOYA magazine said, "Nix is endlessly inventive, and his latest book is another thrill ride." [3] Booklist was more mixed, praising the imagination of the series but said that "experiencing it can be at once exhilarating and overwhelming," and noted that new readers could find the book "frustratingly esoteric." [4] Similarly, Fantasy Book Review gave it a 7 out of 10, saying that Drowned Wednesday did not match the previous standard of the previous books in the series, but it would still leave the reader anticipating the sequel. [5] Rebecca Fisher of Fantasy Literature gave it 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "Nix brings fresh ideas to the fantasy genre" but noted that Drowned Wednesday was not as gripping as previous installments. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garth Nix</span> Australian fantasy writer (born 1963)

Garth Richard Nix is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a writer of fantasy. However, it is my real name."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nixie (folklore)</span> Being in Germanic folklore

The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore.

<i>The Ragwitch</i> 1990 novel by Garth Nix

The Ragwitch is a young adult horror/fantasy novel by Garth Nix. The book was first published in 1990 by Pan Macmillan. It was again published in 1995 by Tor Books and first published in Great Britain in 2005 by HarperCollins.

<i>Lirael</i> Novel by Garth Nix

Lirael is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 2001. Named for its central female character, Lirael is the second in his Old Kingdom trilogy, preceded by Sabriel and continued in Abhorsen.

<i>The Keys to the Kingdom</i> Fantasy–adventure book series written by Garth Nix

The Keys to the Kingdom is a fantasy-adventure book series written by Garth Nix, comprising seven books published between 2003 and 2010. The series chronicles the adventures of a boy named Arthur, who becomes involved with a magical world called the 'House'; he is on a quest to take back the House from seven antagonistic 'Trustees'.

<i>Across the Wall</i> (book) Book by Garth Nix

Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Australian writer Garth Nix, which return to the setting of his popular Old Kingdom series. A hardback edition was released in the UK on November 6, 2006.

The Seventh Tower is a series of six books written by Garth Nix, the result of a joint partnership between Scholastic and LucasFilm. The series follows two children from distinctly different societies in a world blocked from the sun by a magical Veil that leaves the world in complete darkness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquagirl</span> DC Comics character

Aquagirl is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, typically depicted as supporting characters of Aquaman originating from the realm of Atlantis. The first two incarnations of the character, Lisa Morel (1959) and Selena (1963), were introduced as one-offs.

<i>The Dark Portal</i>

The Dark Portal is a dark fantasy novel for children by British author Robin Jarvis. The first book in The Deptford Mice trilogy and Jarvis's debut novel, it follows the story of Audrey Brown, a mouse girl who is looking for her missing father. Her search takes her into the sewers of Deptford where, with the help of her friends and family, she must face an army of evil rats and their living god, a mysterious being known as Jupiter.

<i>The Final Reckoning</i> 1990 novel by Robin Jarvis

The Final Reckoning is a dark fantasy novel for children by British author Robin Jarvis. It is the third book in The Deptford Mice trilogy, first published in the United Kingdom in 1990 by Macdonald & Company, London. In 2002, it was published by SeaStar Books in the United States. The book continues the story of the young house mouse Audrey and her friends as they attempt to banish the spirit of the evil cat Jupiter once and for all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Matthews</span> British artist

Rodney Matthews is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction.

<i>Lady Friday</i> Novel by Garth Nix

Lady Friday is the fifth novel by Garth Nix in his The Keys to the Kingdom series.

<i>Mister Monday</i> 2003 book by Garth Nix

Mister Monday is the first novel in the series The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix. It follows Arthur Penhaligon, a twelve-year-old boy who discovers that he is the heir to an otherworldly House and must fulfil a mysterious Will in order to claim it from seven antagonistic Trustees.

<i>Grim Tuesday</i> 2004 book by Garth Nix

Grim Tuesday is the second novel in the series The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix. It continues the story of Arthur Pehaligon and his quest to fulfil a mysterious Will in order to reclaim an otherworldly House from seven antagonistic Trustees. Following the events of the previous novel, Arthur must face off against Grim Tuesday and protect the House and the human world from destruction.

<i>Sir Thursday</i> Novel by Garth Nix

Sir Thursday is a young adult fantasy novel written by Australian author Garth Nix. It is the fourth book in the series The Keys to the Kingdom, and was released in March 2006. Sir Thursday continues from the preceding book, following the adventures of a boy named Arthur as he attempts to claim mastership of the fourth part of a magical world. As with the other books in the series, the theme of 'seven' is prevalent, along with the themes of sin and virtue. The book received generally favourable critical response, but was criticised for a slow pace, among other issues.

<i>Superior Saturday</i> Novel by Garth Nix

Superior Saturday is the sixth novel by Garth Nix in his The Keys to the Kingdom series. It tells part of the story of a boy named Arthur as he tries to gain control of a magical world.

<i>Lord Sunday</i> Novel by Garth Nix

Lord Sunday is the seventh book concluding Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series. It tells the last part of the adventures of a boy named Arthur in his quest to take back a magical world.

<i>The Fall</i> (Nix novel) 2000 book by Garth Nix

The Fall is the first book in Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower series, published in 2000 by Scholastic in partnership with Lucasfilm under the imprint LucasBooks. It tells the story of Tal, a boy who lives in a world with eternal darkness, whose attempt to steal a Sunstone causes him to fall into the unknown world outside of the mysterious castle he grew up in.

<i>Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea</i> 2006 book by Michael Morpurgo

Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea is a book by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 2006 by HarperCollins. It was inspired by the history of English orphans transported to Australia after World War II. The book's title is taken from a line in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

<i>The Republic of Thieves</i> American fantasy novel by Scott Lynch

The Republic of Thieves is a fantasy novel by American writer Scott Lynch, the third book in the Gentleman Bastard Sequence series. It details the continuing adventures of Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen, as well as Sabetha, Locke's previously absent love interest. The book was released on October 8, 2013, in the US and October 10 2013 in the UK & Commonwealth. It is published by Random House and Orion.

References