The Key - Softcover

Marianne Curley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747573344 ISBN 13: 9780747573340

Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books, 2005

Synopsis

The Order of Chaos begins its final and devastating assault on the Named in a desperate bid to annihilate them and gain absolute control of all the realms. The Named are in trouble. Not only must they find the precious lost key to unlock their ancient treasury of weapons, but there is a traitor in their midst. Suspicion is making them weaker, as the prophecy predicted, and they desperately need new hope. Praise for her previous books: 'Old Magic is a confident debut that announces the arrival of a bright, lively new voice' TES 'Marianne Curley's second novel, The Named, succeeds in combining the contemporary with the historical in this lively, eventful adventure' The Bookseller

About this title

About the Author

Marianne Curley's debut novel Old Magic established her place as an exciting and original voice in the world of children's literature and has sold in 11 countries. Marianne lives in New South Wales, Australia.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–This conclusion to the trilogy opens with a meteor shower brought on by the wrath of the evil immortal Lathenia. Various meetings, quests, skirmishes, arguments, and love tiffs lead up to a final battle. The protagonists are the Named–teens and their mentors who are the champions of the forces of good. They spend most of the book wrangling with one another over who is allowed to love whom and who might be a traitor while very little time is spent honing the ill-defined powers that they have all recently received. Among all of the mystical journeying there is only one obvious example of time travel–two of the teens save Captain Cook's expedition that will discover Australia. The titular key opens a secret cache of weapons that are supposedly linked to the powers of each of the Named, but it isn't ever clear what that connection is. The armies of darkness aren't all that frightening and the battle feels more haphazard than climactic. Other than brief references, the book relies entirely on familiarity with the earlier volumes for understanding the causes of action and all other background. The characters never really develop and the dialogue borders on being overwrought. The constant action may appeal to fans of the earlier volumes. For everyone else, recommend the works of Garth Nix instead.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747573344
• ISBN 13: 9780747573340
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416