Lord Sunday: some questions and reactions

[starlady]

Given that the book has been out for three weeks, I'm curious to see what everyone who read The Keys to the Kingdom thought of the final book.

First I have a general question: Arthur's country reads as pretty much Australia to me, a U.S.-ian, for various reasons; what do Australians and other readers from the English-language market think?

I also think, given that the book is dedicated to Roger Zelazny and Philip Jose Farmer, that I am possibly missing resonances throughout the series by not having read either author. Has anyone here read either author? If you did, are there any similarities, would you say? 

I was going to put spoilers under a cut, but I think I can get by without spoilers (though I imagine comments will have them): basically, I liked the ending. I thought it was a good way to resolve the various dilemmas and did a decent amount of justice to all the plot threads Nix had running. I was highly disappointed in the ending to Superior Saturday, but Lord Sunday was much more satisfying.

So, what did everyone else think? 

Also, I have a more extended review here at my journal.

Also, I ♥ Suzy Blue. I think I need that on a bumper sticker or something.

Comments

[lyras]

I'm not Australian, but I've lived here for five years, and yeah, I just assumed it was Australia. I can't even remember if it's stated anywhere, but the setting struck me as very generally Aussie.

I would also like to know whether I'm missing anything by not having read Philip Jose Farmer and Roger Zelazny!

I think these books got better as they went along. I don't like them anywhere near as much as the Old Kingdom trilogy, but I liked the fact that each was darker than the last. Lord Sunday still didn't reach the gravitas that kept me so riveted in the Old Kingdom books, but like you, I liked the ending. Although in a way, the ending was so very dark compared to the rest of the storytelling, it did feel slightly tacked on. I was so relieved at the last couple of pages, though! Phew, he got most of it back.

[starlady]

I always assumed it was Australia too, and then I realized that I was just assuming that. So it's good to hear from someone who lives there that it struck them as Australia, too. (Though I don't think the name is ever said, which is probably deliberate.)

I feel like I probably am missing something by not having read Farmer and Zelazny. Someone on my personal journal recommended To Your Scattered Bodies Go and Lord of Light, respectively.

I liked Monday and Tuesday unreserverdly, and then Wednesday was clearly a book that had had problems. Thursday and Friday were pretty good (I think Thursday might be the best of the lot, in some ways), but oh, Saturday, how I was frustrated at that book; I wanted it to be twice as long. I wanted Sunday to be longer too, or at least I thought that in the beginning, but then when I finished I liked the book just as it was.