As much as I like these kinds of surreal books, I haven't seen too many authors that go this route. Their heart just isn't in it. So I'm very happy to see such a rare, daring feat like Mister Monday in print. The book starts off with a wild prologue that sets up the Keys to the Kingdom series. Words write themselves through the air on some kind of distant star. Very strange. It takes about two chapters or so before the reader adjusts to the insane style. The main character Arthur has just moved to a new school (typical of children's books) and is plagued with asthma. (Currently, main characters in the publishing industry are always made out to be weak underdogs at first. Forget the old-fashioned Conan the Barbarian style. ). Arthur's immediately visited by the sleepy Mister Monday and his butler Sneezer, and is given a key in the shape of a clock hand. Arthur is afterwards harassed and pursued by guys in bowler hats named Fetchers - imaginary fellows that spread a deadly plague, led by a guy with a sword of fire. Arthur doesn't know what to do to stop the plague, so he goes to a weird house only he can see. The book starts getting really fun at this point. We see people with angel wings, dinosaurs, an old guy with drilled out eyes, elevators of light, monsters with backwards faces who have one leg longer than the other, etc. Crazy stuff that'll keep you reading. Arthur finds out the only way he can stop the plague in his world is to defeat Mister Monday, and a ceramic frog guides him along in his journey. Going through the weird house to reach Mister Monday's dayroom isn't easy, but after many trials and some help from a girl named Suzy, Arthur manages to do so. Mister Monday's lazy personality completely changes when his authority is threatened, and after a violent confrontation, Arthur emerges victorious. With Mister Monday defeated, Arthur is able to go back home and cure the Fetcher plague. Then the build up to the second book promptly begins. It's very difficult to write in this "anything goes" style. No style is better at freeing up the imagination, but like everything else there is a price to pay. Usually when a work like this is loaded with imagination, continuity suffers as a result. I like to call this the "Pee-Wee's Playhouse Effect. "  Wonderful stuff constantly happens, but it's all disjointed, chaotic, and confusing. Personally, I don't mind the sacrifice of order a bit, especially in a book for children. My only comments are "Do we really need the Ed and Leaf characters?" and "Why's the guy in Ancient Greece speaking English?"  Ed and Leaf may be useful throughout later books in the series, but the Greek guy seems to have been a boo-boo. Unless there's some place in the book I missed, mentioning that someone on the improbable stair is able to understand all languages. Despite my best efforts to read every word, it is possible for me to skip/forget certain things. The book has a sentence saying evolution is a fact. Of course the entire scientific community agrees, but Christian readers should be aware of this. From what I've heard, the author Garth Nix doesn't believe in any religion, and you can see this reflected in the main character Arthur at one point. I bought Mister Monday for a special price of $2. 99 and it includes an enlighting author interview at the end. I guess Scholastic is making the first book cheap in an attempt to get people into the whole series. I really liked the book a lot, but six more books seems like too much to read when I already have an extensive reading list. I'm glad I'm not into Harry Potter. It's little things like Komodo Dragon decorations coming to life, candle flames that don't flicker, and coins capable of screaming that make this book great. This is as imaginative as writing can get. I love it
My only comments are "Do we really need the Ed and Leaf characters?" and "Why's the guy in Ancient Greece speaking English?"  Ed and Leaf may be useful throughout later books in the series, but the Greek guy seems to have been a boo-boo