The Key

Publishers Weekly

The Key by Marianne Curley is the final book of the Guardians of Time Trilogy, which began with The Named (about which PW wrote, "Readers will likely be swept up by the ever-growing complications"). Now the Lathenia and the Order of Chaos are getting ready for their final campaign against the Earth, and the Named must find a key hidden in Atlantis in order to stop them. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

The final installment of the "Guardians of Time" trilogy finds the Order of Chaos—headed by arch villains Marduke and Lathenia—and the Named—a group of teens endowed with extraordinary powers—locked in mortal combat. The Named's mission to save the earth by finding the key to a treasury of weapons before the ancient prophecy is fulfilled is complicated when they learn there is a traitor among them. The action, and there is plenty of it, includes time travel back to Atlantis at the moment of its sinking, battles with large rats and the walking dead, shape-shifting, and magic spells. The plot moves forward rapidly and is very engrossing but at times the dense descriptions slow it down. The alternating narrative voice between Matt and Rochelle is sometimes confusing. While it is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this one, it would be helpful in order to understand character relationships and motivations. Fans will eagerly pick this up and for the newcomer who likes plenty of drama with a hint of romance, this will fill the bill. Unfortunately, many will find the ending rather abrupt and be sorely disappointed. 2005, Bloomsbury, Ages 12 to 15.
—Beverley Fahey

School Library Journal

Gr 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 2005 Reed Business Information.