Lord Sunday

Infobox Book |
name = Lord Sunday
title_orig =
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image_caption =
author = Garth Nix
cover_artist =
country = Australian
language = English
series = Keys to the Kingdom
genre = Young adult novel
publisher =
release_date = Expected mid-2009
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pages =
isbn =
preceded_by = Superior Saturday
followed_by =

"Lord Sunday" will be the title of the seventh book, as yet unreleased, in Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series. The title was confirmed in earlier volumes in the series; in addition, the titles of the books in the series are taken from the ruler of an aspect of the fantasy world within, who is normally the main antagonist; and since there are seven antagonists, with each having their own book, it is presumed there will be seven books, the last titled "Lord Sunday".

The Character

Lord Sunday is the eldest son of the The Old One and the The Architect, his brothers the Mariner and the Piper being the second and third children respectively. He wields the Seventh Key, and rules The Incomparable Gardens. He has ultimate authority in the House. However, he tends to leave the charge of the day-to-day affairs to his deputy, Superior Saturday who has been corrupt and destructive of the house.

One of the Seven Trustees, Lord Sunday defied the Seventh Part of the Will of his mother and, along with five other Trustees, keeping his demesne and Key for himself rather than yielding it to a human heir.

Though little is known about Sunday, it is known that he opposes the Old One, a Promethean figure who inspired creativity; when the Piper attempted to release the Old One from the binding laid upon him by the Architect Herself, Lord Sunday cast the Piper into the Void of Nothing, nearly destroying him; however it is revealed in "Superior Saturday" that Saturday is the one who threw the Piper into the Void. Lord Sunday is also likely to be the most powerful and important being in the House since the Architect's disappearance. It is also mentioned that each Key only has full power on its own day and in its own realm, the only exception being Sunday's which is "paramount", further confirming Sunday's superiority, however Arthur is initially told it only applies in the Secondary Realms.

Each of the Trustees are afflicted with a deadly sin. Six of the seven have been portrayed, leaving only pride for Lord Sunday. Saturday is envious of Sunday's realm and key, of which Proud Lord Sunday infrequently shows her glimpses.

The Incomparable Gardens

It is revealed in Superior Saturday that if all the realms of the House were to be destroyed by Nothing, a corrosive force from outside the universe which is released in earlier novels, the Incomparable Gardens will still remain and also keep the universe around them from collapsing, therefore making The Incomparable Gardens the most important part of the House. The Incomparable Gardens are defended by a variety of insectoid nithlings, mostly giant worms, beetles and creatures of the earth element. The Drasil Trees, which are situated in the four corners of the Upper House, are also defended by beetle shaped nithlings. Past attempts to invade were detered by these creatures, and Superior Saturday's attempts to build a tower tall enough to reach Sunday failed due to the tree growing. She released a large amount of Nothing, which damaged its roots and slowed its growth, allowing her to build close to the floor of the incomparable gardens.

Superior Saturday was extremely envious of Sunday and even attempted to take over his reign of the Incomparable Gardens using her force of sorcerers, Artful Loungers and Sorcerous Supernumeraries to invade the gardens by pounding through it by her rocket-like transport, and the success of this will presumably be discussed in this novel. The Incomparable Gardens is the true epicentre of the universe, which is why whoever rules it is most powerful of the House. This is the last part of the House Arthur must claim, although it is only held by Sunday illegally. In "Superior Saturday" Arthur sees a garden with giant beetles and crochet loops and he is told in "Sir Thursday" that "a Denizen of the Incomparable Gardens would be easy to spot" suggesting that the inhabitants will be quite distinctive from the rest of the house.