Being a teacher has some perks: as soon as I heard school had bought Sir Thursday, it was mine! Ahead of a year 9 kid who also wanted it – I know who he is, since we’ve had a couple of Nix conversations – but it’s ok, he’ll get it Monday, since I read the whole thing last night. That may be one of the great things about teen lit: it’s so darn easy to read, it’s instant gratification.

This was, of course, a great book. I loved it. It’s a bit different from the others, in that there is a bit more about stuff that is happening back in the “Secondary Realm” that is our home, thanks to Leaf making it back. I usually get a bit annoyed when books go chapter for chapter with different characters, but again because this was so easy to read, I just flew through it and basically didn’t have time to get annoyed.

It’s a modicum darker than the others, although still on the light and happier end of kids’ fantasy; getting drafted into the Glorious Army of the Architect is no joke, but Arthur (or should I say Ray? No, that would be telling…) deals with it in his usual inimitable manner.

There are some interesting issues raised here – like Arthur not wanting to become a Denizen – that promise to make the next few books quite fascinating. It’s a little Potter-ish, in some ways, because although Arthur has access to magic, he doesn’t necessarily want to use it (although he does use it better than I believe Harry manages to, at least in the books).

Bring on Lady Friday!