Nightpeople-The Darklands trilogy

title: Nightpeople
Author: Anthony Eaton
Published: 2005 Queensland Press

Saria is the last of her kind, the final child of the Darklands, a quarantined expanse of outback desert, contaminated hundreds of years earlier by the remote and mysterious Nightpeople. In a dying world, she is the last ray of hope.

Spirited away at her birth before the Nightpeople could remove her from the genetic pool, Saria, now in her early teens, is summoned to appear before the Council of Dreamers. There she discovers the story of her past, and the nightmare truth of her people's future, and as history draws the Darklanders towards an inevitable fate, Saria determines to take the only course available to her, whatever the cost.

Nightpeople, the first book of the Darklands trilogy, explores a society turned in on itself and a future which readers will find both alien and disturbingly familiar.

I love the sound of this book, fantasy and Aussie books and two of my favourite things so i thought that i was set to love this book. i met Anthony Eaton last term and the way he described it the idea sound fantastic as you'd think from the blurb pinched from his website. i was very excited when i got it for holiday reading from the library.

the book begins really well, you really want to know what's going to happen to this baby saved from the 'nightpeople', and the 2nd chapter was good as well. Eaton has you wanting to know what's going to happen and what makes Saria special, but the story seemed to fizzle out after the first 2 chapters, for me at least. i kept reading but it seemed like nothing was really happening. i tried on many occasions to finish is, but i just didn't get through it. it went back to the library unfinished. I'd like to try it again some time, because i love the idea of an Australian set fantasy and the premise was brilliant, but the writing let t down. not enough happened, or enough was given away to keep me hanging on. it seemed to drag.

this said, i plan to try some of his other novels, because he was just lovely and hilarious.

Mr Monday

title: mister Monday-book 1/7 keys to the kingdom series
Aurthur: Garth Nix
first published in Australia 2003 by Allen and Unwin
pages: 328
****/5
Mr Monday is the first of seven books, 6 of which have been written. this is an adventure, mild fantasy type book about Arthur Penhaligon young orphan of loving adopted parents. on his first day at a new school Arthur briefly meets Mr Monday and is forced to save the other world from certain doom. he with the power of the key has to untangle the secrets and defeat the guardians, Mr Monday, grim Tuesday, drowned Wednesday, sir Thursday, lady Friday, superior Saturday and Lord Sunday who are suppose to guard, protect and help make prosper their regions of this world. arthur's world is relying on him to stop the devastation of the magic world spreading to his while managing his life at home. how long can he keep it from his parent?
i loved this series especially the first book. their is two series websites, one Australia and one British. the english versions have different covers.