When popular horror writer Gordon Edgely died, the relative who misses him the most is his twelve-year-old niece Stephanie...
but even she never expected to inherit the vast majority of his estate. Soon, it becomes apparent that she inherited more than
his house and future royalties: she also inherited enemies she knew nothing about - and an ally she never expected, when she's
saved by the living, walking skeleton named Skulduggery Pleasant. A detective by trade, Pleasant was a close friend of her
eccentric uncle, whose books were inspired by the hidden world of adepts and sorcerers and other magical beasts and beings
amongst humanity. One of those sorcerers apparently got it into his head that Gordon knew something about a long-lost artifact,
a scepter with ties to elder gods long cast out of this world, and that sorcerer is convinced that he left the key to finding
that scepter with his heir. Though Stephanie knows of no such key, her denial won't stop the man's monstrous servants from
torturing her and killing her very, very dead - unless she and Skulduggery Pleasant can unravel the mystery themselves and beat
the villain Serpine to the scepter.
Review
I've heard of this series now and again, and I see it go through the library shipping center on a reasonably regular basis,
but for some reason it never made it onto the reading list until now. Whatever I was expecting, what I found was a highly
enjoyable, often witty magical adventure with a strong heroine and one of the most fun characters - the titular Skulduggery
Pleasant - I've read since Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus the djinn.
The tale starts not unlike several other middle grade fantasy/adventure stories, with a relative's death and an unexpected
inheritance, followed by the revelation of a magical "world". Unlike many of those stories, Stephanie actually has a supportive
family, if one unaware of the existence of magic; to them, Uncle Gordon was just considered eccentric, possibly a touch
delusional, and kept strange, potentially dangerous company. But family isn't going to help the girl survive henchmen who can be
lit on fire and barely get singed... and Stephanie, who has always been encouraged to find her own path in life (for all that
Mom and Dad couldn't possibly have anticipated this particular path), realizes early on that she doesn't want them to help her
in this anyway. This is her path, her adventure, her destiny, and if she can't manage it without them
then she doesn't deserve it at all. The magical world's dangers are apparent even before she realizes it's magic going on, but
something about it calls to her despite the risks. For his part, Skulduggery Pleasant sees enough potential in her that his
attempts to sideline her in the dangerous investigation are minimal; if she isn't put off by being chased through the night by a
monstrous killer, there's not much that'll turn her aside, though he is never anything but honest with her about what's ahead
and the risks of mingling with magicians.
The hidden world of mages has less in common with Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic and more with adult urban fantasies, or
Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch: magicians are an insular community, eccentric but also potentially dangerous, and nothing
is bubble-wrapped or blunted for the sake of newbies of any age. Stephanie gets a trial by fire (literally, at times) as she
steps into this world, where it's often hard to tell friend from foe (and the same person can be both in different circumstances)
and where the stakes are life and death, not just for her but for the world at large if Serpine gets his hands on the scepter.
There are shades of/nods to Lovecraft around the edges, with ancient races and "Faceless Ones" who once ruled in chaos and
darkness. Through it all, Skulduggery Pleasant is a steadfast, clever-tongued presence, though one with his own agenda. Despite
her age and inexperience, Stephanie makes a solid partner for him, and generally doesn't do stupid things for the sake of being
stupid (or for the sake of plot).
The story moves quickly from the start, with a significant bruise and body count by the time it reaches the climax. Part of me
almost wonders if Skulduggery Pleasant was originally intended to be the Harry Dresden-like star of his own grown-up fantasy
series; I'm almost certain he could've carried one. Still, he works very good here, and Stephanie steps up to her role and future
rather than stooping down to it, if that makes any sense; again, there were times I almost wondered if her age was rolled back a
bit, maybe for marketing purposes. In any event, I greatly enjoyed this story and am looking forward to continuing the series.
A year ago, Stephanie Edgely was a normal twelve-year-old Dublin girl. That was before her eccentric horror writer uncle
passed away and left her his entire estate... and before Stephanie learned the truth behind his twisted stories of hidden
mages and magical creatures skulking in the shadows. It was also before she encountered one of her uncle's strangest
friends, the living skeleton detective Skulduggery Pleasant, and before she discovered her own heritage as a descendant
of ancient mages. Now, as Valkyrie Cain, she spends most of her time training with Skulduggery and others in the magical
community, leaving a magically-animated mirror reflection to cover for her absence with her family and her school. But if
she thought she'd dealt with the worst the magical world had to offer when she took on the sorcerer who murdered her uncle,
she thought wrong.
After eighty years in a secret prison, Baron Vengeous has been freed by compatriots on the outside. He was among the most
zealous in his devotion to the lost Faceless Ones, the dark godlike entities that once ruled the world, and now that he's
free he resumes his efforts to call them back and usher in a new and terrible reign. As Skulduggery scrambles to stop him,
facing possible traitors in the Dublin Sanctuary (the governing body of the magical community), Valkyrie finds herself a
direct target of the baron and his terrifying mercenaries.
Review
I unexpectedly enjoyed the first book in this series, and am happy to report that the second one maintains the high
standards set there. It kicks right into the story, with just a little bit of recapping early on to help jog readers'
memories (likely not enough for someone coming into it cold), building on foundations laid before and ratcheting up the
stakes. Stephanie/Valkyrie is no neophyte this time around, though she's still quite early into her unconventional
apprenticeship. She is also still a minor, and at thirteen years old she finally starts to truly grasp just how dangerous
the path she's chosen is, and what she stands to sacrifice by embracing it over a normal childhood; her mirror self fills
in her memories of family and school when they swap places, but it's not the same as living it herself, and she's already
starting to feel the bonds fraying, like she's the outsider viewing her life through a pane of glass. But it's not like
she can turn her back on magic now that she's discovered it, or on the community that already has her marked as a
person/threat to watch... especially not when Baron Vengeous and his assistants, the vampire Dusk and the American
mercenary Sanguine (who favors a straight razor as a weapon, and can move through solid objects and even the ground
itself like so much liquid), take the danger directly to her doorstep.
The first book wasn't exactly bloodless, but this one ramps up the violence and horror vibes, even as touches of humor
and witty dialog add needed levity. Skulduggery Pleasant remains a great character, and despite her youth Valkyrie
makes an excellent partner for his antics, growing into her role as his assistant/apprentice, though neither of them are
flawless or incapable of failure. Several elements are introduced here that foreshadow developments in future volumes
(or so I suspect), and while much is wrapped up there are many loose ends that all but demand a sequel or two (at least).
This remains a clever, exciting series, full of twists and turns, and I'm already looking forward to the third book.
Two years ago, Stephanie was an ordinary twelve-year-old Dublin girl living an ordinary life. That was before her
favorite uncle was murdered and she found herself pulled into the hidden society of magic wielders... before she
discovered her own magical heritage as a descendant of ancients who once helped free the world from the Faceless
Ones, godlike entities of unspeakable malice. Now, having taken the name Valkyrie Cain, she spends most of her time
as the apprentice/partner to the living skeleton Skulduggery Pleasant. It's a dangerous life, but she wouldn't have
it any other way.
Six months after she and Skulduggery were summarily expelled from the Dublin Sanctuary of magic practitioners, they
continue their now-technically-extralegal investigations. A string of murders has left most of Dublin's teleporters
- people with the rare ability to instantaneously jump to different locations, sometimes miles away - dead, baffling
Sanctuary officials. A longshot lead ties the recent killings to a strike fifty years ago, and puts Skulduggery and
Valkyrie on the trail of the Diablerie, a cohort of dark mages who seek the return of the Faceless Ones via the
remnants of the horrible Grotesquerie. While pluck and luck have worked in Valkyrie's favor in the past, it may not
be enough to see her through this newest threat.
Review
This series continues to impress me, melding magic, humor, a dash of horror, and a plot full of twists and turns
and betrayals and surprises. Starting about half a year after the eventful climax of the previous installment,
Valkyrie is even more immersed in the magical world than ever, to the concern of most everyone except herself and
Skulduggery. Sometimes she does feel a twinge of guilt or loss, as her mirror self - left behind at home to cover
for her increasingly-frequent absences - goes to school and makes friends and even experiences "her" first kiss,
as several people warn her that not only is she missing an invaluable span of her life but that Skulduggery isn't
always such a good and trustworthy guy, but she just digs in all the harder. Magic is her heritage, after all, and
she and Skulduggery have proven they can be a formidable team... and now that Sanctuary officials are bungling
things, it's more important than ever that she keep going. But this time, she might have jumped in over her head.
She's faced dangerous foes before, but the Diablerie and their unseen master are a new order of magnitude, and
while others have talked about bringing the Faceless Ones back to this world that they once ruled, these mages
might actually pull it off. Friends and foes from previous installments turn up again, sometimes in unexpected
places or roles, while new faces are introduced, including an immature teen teleporter and the petty new Sanctuary
investigator who seems more interested in following strict protocols (and pursuing a personal grudge against
Skulduggery, who is both terribly unorthodox and an undeniably superior detective) than actually tracking down
criminals in the magical community. As in previous installments, the action kicks off early and rarely slackens
the pace, ratcheting up to a climax even more intense than the previous volume's great battle - and a
near-cliffhanger that almost demands I track down the fourth volume as soon as possible. Three books in, and
it's still a very enjoyable series that retains some great humor, even as it edges deeper into horror-proper
territory, growing up with Valkyrie Cain.
After cultists succeeded in opening a portal to the realm of the Faceless Ones, malevolent godlike entities
that once ruled the Earth and have long wished to return to their former home (which would not bode well for
pretty much anything currently inhabiting the planet), the living skeleton Skulduggery Pleasant, his apprentice
Valkyrie Cain, and a handful of allies managed to drive the monstrous, madness-inducing beings back where they
belonged... only Skulduggery was dragged through before the portal could be closed. That was nearly a year ago,
and while most everyone in Dublin's magical community considers him gone (or as good as gone; if he hasn't
succumbed, he's likely been driven insane by the Faceless Ones), Valkyrie will not rest until she gets her
friend and teacher back, even accepting the tutelage of a necromancer to learn tricks that no elemental can
teach her. At last, she stands on the cusp of victory - which, of course, means something is about to go
terribly wrong, because that's when things always go terribly wrong.
Two hundred years ago, the sorcerer Dreylan Scarab was imprisoned for assassination, but confinement has not
reformed him. Instead, the first thing he does on his release is organize the Revengers' Club, consisting of
people with a bone to pick with the Dublin Sanctuary. A pack of villains like this isn't going to cooperate for
long, but they only need to work together long enough to bring down the Sanctuary... and take down their mutual
enemies, Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. As if that weren't bad enough, every seer in the area has
started getting visions of a new, darker danger on the horizon: a potentially world-ending mage known only as
Darquesse - and, if the seers are right, that woman will not only slaughter Valkyrie's family, but her and
Skulduggery too.
Review
Taking up about a year after the previous volume ended, the reader finds a Valkyrie Cain who has only grown
more powerful and more determined without Skulduggery around, willingly dabbling in necromancy despite how that
force is viewed by most magic users and finding an unexpected talent there. If she had any misgivings about
spending so much time among magicians in earlier adventures, those were sucked through the portal after
Skulduggery; she's spending even more time out of the house in her laser-focused pursuit of a way to re-open
the portal and rescue the living skeleton, relying more and more on the mirror image decoy to cover for her
with family even though it's been glitchy. Not even her parents announcing that she's about to become a big
sister is enough to get her to stay home and invest more time in her mundane life, not when she has a mission
(and when the magical world continues to draw her like a magnet; she can try blaming her however-long-ago
ancestor, the last of the Ancients, for the attraction, but at this point it's nearly an addiction). Even her
closest friends are concerned for her, but she won't hear a word of caution. It goes without saying that she
succeeds (just as it also goes without saying that success is hard-won by the skin of her teeth), but that's
only the start of bigger problems as the Revengers' Club and their campaign of, well, revenge sweeps through
the magical community of Dublin. The returned Skulduggery is not the same as he was, but then neither is
Valkyrie the same girl he left behind, far more of a partner than an assistant or apprentice. They still make
a formidable team, each using their new powers and resilience to great effect as the stakes inevitably ratchet
higher with every chapter.
Baddies from previous books return as Revengers' Club members, naturally... and, as before, the Sanctuary
magicians are not exactly pure as the driven snow in their histories and intentions; there's a very good reason
so many people hold such hard feelings towards them, and the attacks are in no small part composed of
metaphoric chickens coming home to roost. Corruption in power has been a theme since the start, and here it
comes to a head for the Dublin Sanctuary in quite catastrophic ways. Add that to the visions that put
Skulduggery, Valkyrie, and the other Dublin mages at the heart of the possible end of the world in a few years
(as close as they can guesstimate; Valkyrie looks a few years older, at least), and things can only go from bad
to worse.
As before, there's still humor threading through several moments and interactions, but the horror elements are
only growing stronger as Valkyrie grows up. At around 15 now, the girl and the series are wading into Young
Adult territory with both feet; indeed, she's getting involved in her first fledgling romance with a side
character, even though her greater destiny and probable doom constantly lurks over her shoulder. Everyone she
loves, and even people she dislikes, go through the wringer here on the way to a tense climax that creates
lasting ramifications for all concerned and altering the trajectory of the series.
If this entry has a slightly lower rating than previous outings of Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain,
it's a very near thing, and partly due to it feeling a little rushed and overwhelming at times, standing at a
pivot point in the larger arc (at least, that's what I assume, given events). It's shorter than the others, and
could've used a slight bit more breathing space between All The Things happening and all the characters that
come together. The ending twist is also a touch telegraphed. Still, this remains a highly entertaining and
exciting series, one where the main characters aren't bubble-wrapped and actually experience consequences from
their mistakes - and even their victories. I'm looking forward to reading (or listening) on.
