Mister Monday

In a fantastic realm discovered by an otherwise unadventurous boy, the clock and calendar take on new identities. The young hero encounters an astonishing definition of reality--including ethereal moving staircases, disposable wings, and words that literally come to life--as he struggles to return to the mortal world. Reader Allan Corduner does justice to the impressively wide range of implausible characters yet somehow leaves room for the listener's imagination. His characterizations are subtly crafted, and he doesn't prematurely reveal which strange creatures are friend or foe. The boy's simultaneous terror and bravery are plausible. Corduner's vocal flexibility is the key to this enjoyable audiobook. N.M.C. 2005 YALSA Selection (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 28, 2003
In this first volume in Nix's (Sabriel) Mister Monday series, magic splashes across virtually every page. First, a brief, cryptic prelude tells of "the Will" that has been kept under cosmic lock-and-key by generations of Inspectors and their robotic sentries. Next, readers meet seventh-grader Arthur Penhaligon, an asthmatic adoptee who is struggling to fit in at his new school. Nix quickly thrusts Arthur into the heart of the mystery: while recovering from an asthma attack during gym class, Arthur is given a mysterious Key and Atlas from Mister Monday, an ominous wheelchair-bound man (mentioned in the prelude). The Key resembles the minute hand of a clock, and is actually a powerful talisman, tied to the clock-like device that guards the Will. Before long, Fetchers, strange dog-faced creatures, attempt to recover the key, and unleash a disease upon humans that threatens massive casualties. Arthur sets out to stop the Fetchers at the source, and ends up exploring a cavernous house visible only to him (it's 4,000 stories high, a girl inside tells him). Here the surreal story becomes even more puzzle-like and visually ornate—a sort of amalgam of Alice in Wonderland
and The Phantom Tollbooth. Nix's grand explanation of the house and key is an original re-imagining of a classic sci-fi theme: the origin and purpose of the universe—and the willingness of man to circumvent that purpose for selfish gain. With a likeable unlikely hero, fast-paced plotting and a plethora of mystical oddities (e.g., Mister Monday only has "dominion over everything" on Mondays), this series is sure to garner a host of fans. Ages 8-12.