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.
Since becoming skeleton detective Skulduggery Pleasant's apprentice and partner, Stephanie - now Valkyrie
Cain - has kept very few secrets from him... but this time, she has a very good reason. Ever since realizing
that she herself is the ill-omened Darquesse, destined (or so the psychics insist) to destroy the world, she
has been searching on her own for a way to change the future. Surely she would never do such terrible things
on her own, so someone must gain control of her true name. Thus, she hatches a dangerous plan to seal that
name so that nobody can turn it against her - only realizing how far in over her head she has wandered when
it's too late.
As she's coping with that, the fallout of the destruction of Dublin's Sanctuary, the ruling body of
Ireland's hidden magical community, continues to resonate through the country. Tracking down the perpetrator
brings them no closer to figuring out who was behind it; the attack was too big and well orchestrated to be
the work of one rogue mage. Now a foreign assassin known as the Tesseract is methodically and ruthlessly
cleaning up loose ends before any of those threads lead back to the real culprit... culprits who may well
already be infiltrating the new Council of Elders as Dublin's sorcerers regroup. When dark Remnants -
malevolent shadow spirits that infest the living like parasites - are unleashed by the secretive
necromancers, Dublin's magical community may finally be destroyed for good - and, against all of Valkyrie's
will and sacrifices and efforts to the contrary, Darquesse may arise.
Review
After a slightly rushed fourth installment, the series returns to form here, beginning a new and darker
journey for Valkyrie, Skulduggery, and their associates... one that will change everything going forward,
making enemies of friends and leaving more than one dead.
After learning of her foreseen destiny as Darquesse, Valkyrie tries her hand at solo problem solving,
erroneously believing that her previous adventures, not to mention the initiative that drove her to do the
near-impossible and rescue Skulduggery from the dimension of the banished Faceless Ones, mean she's up to
tackling any magical problem that comes her way. (She also, naturally, is not sure what her other magical
companions would do if they learned the truth, given how ruthless sorcerers can be when facing threats
less extreme than this.) The bargain she strikes to seal her name takes the series well and truly into
horror territory, showing just how far she's come from the relatively innocent girl who never suspected
the truth about magic. She's also 16 now, and dating, which marks another transition as the series leaves
behind any lingering traces of middle grade territory (which were already ghostly thin in the previous
installment) to enter young adult territory. Her boyfriend Fletcher may technically be a couple years
older, but he's still rather boyish and awkward in relationships... and the outcast vampire Caelan makes
no secret of his own growing attraction/obsession, which Valkyrie does not intentionally encourage even
as she can't help but be a bit intrigued despite herself. Fortunately, she has friends to help keep her
grounded, though given the secrets she's hiding she spends less time around them than she probably should
at this stage in her magical training and overall life circumstances. (The fact that she'll soon have a
baby sibling yet she's still over-reliant on her mirror reflection stand-in - which has become unusually
outspoken for what's supposed to be an unthinking construct - shows just how much she's disappearing
into the magical world and the loner role of "Valkyrie Cain", leaving the ordinary life of "Stephanie"
behind, for all that she keeps insisting that she's excited to be a big sister and misses ordinary
family time.) Without spoilers, the Valkyrie at the end of the book is a much different young woman
than the one at the start, having done a lot of growing up and endured some very hard knocks and harsh
lessons along the way... but, then, the entire Dublin magical community is not the same by the end,
either.
As for the main arc, after the necromancers inadvertently trigger the release of the captured Remnants,
things take a very, very dark and dangerous turn. They fixate on Darquesse as their future leader and
messiah, someone who will give them the world of death and chaos they've always craved, and they're more
than willing to destroy Dublin to get it, spreading like a dark plague through magical and mortal worlds
alike. Skulduggery and company have their work cut out for them as they race to keep ahead of the
danger... then race to try to find and reactivate the magical Soul-Catcher device that was used to trap
them the last time they were unleashed, assuming the mechanism is still functional after so many decades
of neglect. Through the influence of the Remnants, friends become foes in the blink of an eye; with the
exception of Skulduggery, who is already dead, nobody can be trusted. This makes for some strange
bedfellows by the time the climax rolls around, and some very interesting developments.
As in previous installments, there's little down time and no shortage of surprises, as well as
sprinklings of humor throughout. Also as in previous segments, the end does not undo nearly all the
damage wrought during the story, leaving things very different than where they began. I'm looking
forward to seeing where things go from here.
Adedayo thought he'd been cursed when objects started flying off shelves around him. It wasn't
until his Nigerian grandmother came to stay with his family in Dublin that he learned about the
hidden community of sorcerers and adepts and other bearers of magic, a family trait that skipped
his mother but apparently manifested in him. Unfortunately, she spoke little English and he knew
almost no Yoruban, and she passed away before teaching him more than a few small tricks - but she
left him a strange wooden box and a cryptic phrase he struggles to understand. Inside the box are
three powerful gods, trapped since the wars against the Faceless Ones... and when Adedayo
inadvertently unleashes them, something terrible is bound to happen.
Fortunately, the next day at school, he meets a peculiar new girl: Valkyrie Cain, another mage. Along
with her partner Skulduggery Pleasant - a literal walking skeleton - she has come to track down the
so-called Apocalypse Kings before they can enact their eons-old plan. They have reason to believe that
the gods are currently hiding somewhere in his school... but their efforts to blend in as they search
are hardly seamless. The two investigators may need a little help with this job, but what can an
untrained sorcerer who can barely summon a spark do against a trio of vengeance-minded deities?
Review
This novella feels like an oddball in the series, and it is, written later as a (near) standalone
project for World Book Day. This may explain why it feels a little neither-here-nor-there; it
ostensibly takes place after the fifth book (which I just read via audiobook earlier this very
week), but Valkyrie and Skulduggery don't quite "feel" like the characters I just left. Of course,
this is written from an outsider's perspective - not just outside the core duo, but outside the
Dublin magical community - but even given Adedayo's ignorance of the quite terrible and pivotal
horrors that just elapsed in Dublin's magical community (though one might think he would've noticed
the citywide lockdown, even if he didn't know the truth), this story just doesn't seem to fit where
the chronology claims it fits.
Disregarding some wobbly continuity with the larger whole, the story has a more or less similar
aesthetic, humor melding with horror. Some deliberate tweaks of school story cliches add to the
humor, such as when the obligatory "meet the cliques" lunchroom talk reveals that nobody's really
that shallow as to identify themselves solely by one aspect of their personalities. Adedayo himself
is technically 15, but reads a bit younger, possibly because he's such a neophyte to magic and also
because he's still very confused and unsettled about his own life, not sure what he even wants to
do now, let alone in the future; he's in debate club because he was told he needs an
extracurricular for future college applications, but he hates arguing and always loses. When
Valkyrie arrives after the gods escape, he's relieved that there's someone older and more
experienced to take charge. Granted, she's only a year older, but she acts almost adult in her
confidence, not too surprising given what she's been through. Skulduggery, meanwhile, tries to go
undercover as a schoolteacher, complicated by the fact that it's been ages - almost literally -
since he had to interact with "mortals", and he's not even used to wearing a (false)
flesh-and-blood face. When things inevitably go wrong, Adedayo ends up being the one who has to
step up. Things wrap up pretty well by the end.
I came close to shaving a half-star for that "this doesn't quite fit" sense, which made me feel a
bit more like I was reading rather good but noncanon fanfic than an official series entry, but
wound up giving it the benefit of the doubt.
When the girl Stephanie Edgley - known among the hidden magical community of Dublin as Valkyrie
Cain - turned from Elemental magic to Necromancy to help her rescue her mentor and friend Skulduggery
Pleasant from an evil dimension of monstrous elder gods, she discovered an unexpected affinity for
the dark arts... and inspired hopes in her tutor, Solomon Wreath, that she might become the prophesied
Death Bringer. In the most secret and sacred lore of the Necromancers, the Death Bringer is a mage so
powerful they can initiate the Passage, which will remake the eternal cycle of life and death and
bring a new, harmonious order to the world - whether the world wants it or not. But now Melancholia
St. Clair, student of the scheming Necromancer Vandameer Craven, instead appears to have fulfilled
that promise. While that lets Valkyrie off the hook of a destiny she did not want, it sets her and
Skulduggery once more at odds with the Necromancers as the cult's wildest, darkest dream appears on
the verge of coming true, bringing the potential for yet another apocalyptic event. Can the girl and
the living skeleton save the world yet again - and will their partnership survive what they discover
along the way?
Review
Six books in, and the Skulduggery Pleasant series continues to engage and entertain in a
fast-paced, twist-filled installment, with characters who grow and change (not always for the better;
magic and world-saving both require sacrifices and secrets that come back to bite people at the worst
possible times) and great dialog.
As things begin, Valkyrie is enjoying some family time as "Stephanie" while attending her baby sister
Alison's christening. Much as she loves the little girl and her parents, though, inevitably the
magical world always comes first - especially when that world has painted a target on her back,
though it's quite clear by now that, even if she didn't have active enemies, she'd still default to
Valkyrie over Stephanie given half a chance. The mundane world is just too dull for her... as is,
unfortunately, her good-guy boyfriend, the teleporter Fletcher. Even knowing the potential depths of
her inner dark self - Darquesse, whom more than one seer predicts will destroy the world someday -
she can't help craving the excitement and danger of magic. This flaw shapes much of her journey
through the book, leading to various unintended consequences for herself and those around her...
especially when combined with a bombshell secret from Skulduggery's past. As the threat of the Death
Bringer and other challenges arise, Valkyrie and Skulduggery once more find their bond and their
powers tested to the utmost and sometimes bested. The action is intense, the violence increasingly
brutal (especially violence dealt out by Valkyrie herself; this is not at all the same innocent kid
from the first volume, for all that she clearly still has a lot more growing and learning to do),
the stakes ratcheting ever-higher on both personal and world-shaping levels, and by the end nothing
is left unchanged. Along the way, various series elements get more development, such as the
increasing (and somewhat disturbing) independence of Valkyrie's Reflection double, the
down-but-not-out remnants of the cult of the Faceless Ones, the continuing exploits of the would-be
"killer supreme" and "zombie king" Vaurien Scapegrace and his useless toady Thrasher, and more.
Valkyrie also must cope with both her first breakup with her first boyfriend and the ongoing and
increasingly-disturbed attentions of the vampire Caelen, who insists they are "destined" for each
other. (Her complaints about Caelen's broody, goth brand of "love" nearly had me snickering out loud
at work - as did several other witty exchanges. Landy excels at sharp banter that manages not to
overstay its welcome in any given scene.) A running subplot about a journalist stumbling onto the
truth about the hidden magical community establishes a threat for future installments, which I hope
to get to soon.
My only minor complaints are a hint of "series sprawl" - so many characters and subplots that it can
take a bit to catch up mentally on who and where and what everyone is and how they fit in - and the
final battle feeling just slightly overlong, but those hardly count against the rest of the story,
which remains as satisfying as ever.
Since ancient times, the world's magic users have relied on secrecy to survive among the mundane
mortal population - not always by choice, but by necessity, as the ordinary humans outnumber them so
significantly. This was why the Sanctuaries were founded, why there are rules about public displays
of power, why Valkyrie Cain has to use her own animated mirror reflection to hide her secret life
from her mortal family... and why the Irish magical community is thrown into chaos when random people
start spontaneously manifesting strange abilities, everything from delusions of flight to the deadly
powers deployed by four disaffected teenagers out for vengeance and thrills.
Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie discover a link to a long-imprisoned sorcerer who once had a dream
of discovering the source of all magic and sharing it to create a utopian world. Even from captivity,
the man may be about to unleash his "gift" on the whole world, not caring about the devastation it
would cause. As they investigate, they also have to dodge an international delegation intent on
taking over the Irish Sanctuary, as well as a few old enemies and a host of new ones - not to mention
occasional trips to a hellish alternate dimension where the long-ago war among the mages went very,
very differently.
Review
This series continues to impress, with high stakes, great characters, sharp dialog, and real
growth. Picking up about a year after the previous installment, the Irish Sanctuary is still
struggling to prove to the rest of the magical world that it can handle its own affairs after
numerous high-profile incidents. A bunch of mortals suddenly displaying random, uncontrollable magic
powers in full public view is just what nobody needs, especially when some of those mortals quickly
embrace the deadlier aspects of their new powers. Teen girl Kitana is the quintessential popular
girl, a spoiled bully who rules her small circle of friends with a potent mixture of gaslighting
and amoral thrill-seeking... the very last person who should ever be handed godlike abilities. What
she and her companions lack in experience or planning, they make up for in sheer instinct and
ruthlessness, making the team a very different sort of opponent than the ones Skulduggery and
Valkyrie are used to squaring off against and one that bests them more than once. Meanwhile,
ongoing series threads develop new twists and turns, keeping the larger arcs from stagnating even
as the main story keeps the characters jumping (and diving for cover). An encounter with a
dimensional shifter offers a new perspective on the story and the characters, as Valkyrie visits an
alternate world where the old mage war went very differently... a world where she may find a weapon
that was lost on our Earth but which would come in very handy fighting the newly-created near-gods.
The fact that she'd even consider a solo heist against a maniacal sorcerer-king who rules with an
iron fist shows how much Skulduggery's independence and recklessness has rubbed off on her. As
I've come to expect from the series, it all builds to an explosive finale, followed by a strong
hook that all but demands one queue up the next installment right away. There were one or two
characters whose stories fell by the wayside, and a little threat of overload with the many threads
it juggles, but I'm still loving this series.
After narrowly defeating the latest threat to the world in the form of Argeddion and his mad
plan to grant nearly limitless magic to the entire mortal population of Earth, the Irish
Sanctuary had hoped to finally be free from the scrutiny of the Supreme Council of other magical
sanctuaries, who see the recent chaos in their part of the world as a threat to the entire
magical community. Unfortunately, they thought wrong. Saboteurs are caught trying to destroy the
Accelerator, the machine used to artificially boost sorcerous powers - saboteurs with ties to
the Supreme Council itself, an apparent bid for a complete takeover of the Irish mages by
outsiders who have long coveted the land as a natural cradle of magic. Even as they grapple with
this threat, someone has been stirring up the warlocks and the witches against mortals.
Skulduggery and Valkyrie are sent to investigate the warlock problem - a dangerous mission,
especially with the cold, dark voice in Valkyrie's head, the nigh-unstoppable Darquesse who is
prophesied to destroy the world, growing more insistent every day...
Review
This series just keeps on ticking and does not stop... In another astounding installment
packed with twists, turns, action, wonder, danger, and humor, Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery
Pleasant once more stand between the world and utter destruction - but, as the cast and the
threats have grown, they are not alone. Other players have equally pivotal roles, both in
dealing with the impending threat of a warlock invasion and in the Sanctuary war that's about
to kick off in a big way. Everyone has grown and changed through the series - even "Stephanie",
the malfunctioning reflection used by Valkyrie to cover for her many absences from her mundane
mortal life and family, which has become self-aware enough to covet the girl's existence and
take drastic measures to be with them... and self-aware enough to defend her family, even when
the threat is Valkyrie herself. Other returning characters include the one-time would-be
"zombie king" Scapegrace and his inept minion Thrasher, who again risk being one-note comic
relief characters but who also undergo some transformations of their own, and the dogged
mortal reporter Kenny who first stumbled across evidence of the existence of magic a few
books back and refuses to let go of the story of a lifetime, even when it plunges him into
the middle of an all-out mage war. By the end, the cast has undergone some notable
alterations (skirting spoilers with that vague phrase) and the story has been set on a new
trajectory. I expect I won't be waiting another month to space out this series like I have
been; I have to know what happens next...
(In tangentially related developments, I'll be undergoing my own notable alteration in the
coming months regarding employment, which will likely leave me with less audiobook time as
so much of my listening happens at work; I don't know if I'll have a chance to clear the
whole series by the time that takes effect or not, but I'll be doing my level best to try.
2025 just has to destroy everything remotely decent and stable in my existence,
apparently.)
A hardened posse of war veterans hunts a fugitive dark mage across the American Western
frontier... a childhood dare involving a "haunted" house has dire consequences decades
later... a man haunted by visions of a peculiar machine may be the conduit for a
world-ending event... a string of seemingly random deaths is linked by a cursed pen...
These and more tales explore the world and characters surrounding Dublin's infamous
skeleton detective Skulduggery Pleasant and his friend and apprentice Valkyrie Cain.
This collection includes the previously-reviewed story Apocalypse Kings.
Review
This collection of 22 stories is billed as 8.5 in the series, but some elements of the
later tales constitute spoilers for coming events; I suspect it would fit better elsewhere
in the timeline. (There are also a few that were apparently written for special events
based on group participation or guest-submitted character ideas. They played out fine in
Landy's tales, though my first thought was that he was flirting with the "evidently written
entirely by the fans" territory that some authors venture into, and there are a few people
in that particular pool that one would do better not to be around... but I digress.) Some
slot into the main timeline, while others are essentially standalone side adventures, but
all work quite well and maintain Landy's particular blend of humor, wonder, intrigue,
horror, and tragedy.
Starting with a tale set in 1800's South Dakota and ending with events taking place after
(what I presume occurs in) Book 9 (or maybe later; I'm currently only up through Book 8 in
the main arc), the stories are presented roughly in chronological order. Several of them
only involve the lead duo of Skulduggery and Valkyrie as side characters. A few could've
been complete standalones with minor reshaping, particularly "Get Thee Behind Me, Bubba
Moon", which features mortal kids inadvertently stumbling into a dark magical secret left
behind by a cultist when a traditional neighborhood rite-of-passage dare goes awry; even
the tone almost felt more like a standalone, more serious and introspective as the main
character finds himself dealing with impossible events. Landy demonstrates his writing
range across these tales, some being shorter and sillier (but never embarrassingly goofy),
some being longer and much darker. Often, the tales involve tragedy in some form or
another, a loss of innocence if nothing else (and it's often more than just that),
reflecting how even fleeting contact with the magical world always comes with a cost, a
cost often much, much greater than even willing parties anticipate. The world of
Skulduggery Pleasant is not a whimsical wonderland but a shadowed realm of sharp edges
and sharper teeth with roots firmly in the horror genre, even if the earlier entries
lampshade those roots and there's never a shortage of humorous quips. Nobody is safe,
not even innocent bystanders, and good hearts and good intentions are no guarantee of a
happy ending... or even a survivable ending. The tales varied a bit but were generally
strong.
For some time, the Irish teen Valkyrie Cain has known that she might be responsible
for the end of the world. Somewhere in her own mind resides Darquesse, an unimaginably
powerful and unimaginably amoral sorceress, predicted to destroy Earth and everything
on it... and, no matter how she and her friend and mentor Skulduggery Pleasant try,
the clairvoyants' premonitions remain the same. After the war between the Sanctuaries
and the attack of the warlocks, the worst has come to pass, and Valkyrie's dark self
has taken full control of her body and her powers.
Stephanie was once nothing but an unthinking reflection, a simulacrum used to cover
for Valkyrie's increasingly-frequent absences from her mundane home and mundane family,
but somewhere along the way it developed a glitch, becoming an independent being
determined to take over the ordinary life that Valkyrie seemed so willing to toss away
in pursuit of the more exciting world of magic. But it - she - has enough of
Valkyrie's personality and training to not be able to turn her back on a world in need
of saving, even helping defend the magical city of Roarhaven from Darquesse's attack.
She may have no soul or powers of her own (save a god-killing weapon bonded to her
through blood), but she's determined to do what she can to help Skulduggery and the
others fight back, even if it means killing the original Valkyrie Cain.
The final showdown is coming...
Review
The ninth installment of the Skulduggery Pleasant series wraps up the
Darquesse storyline in characteristically explosive fashion, ratcheting up the
already-high stakes with nearly every chapter while running a parallel story whose
connection isn't clear until later on. With Valkyrie out of the picture, subsumed
into her subconscious by Darquesse, the reflection Stephanie must step up to heroism,
even as Skulduggery and others remain a little unsure how to react to her (especially
given the actions she took to gain her independence; like Valkyrie, Stephanie is
willing to go to extreme measures to get what she wants). Even she doubts herself at
times, lacking Valkyrie's magic and deep-rooted recklessness; unlike the original
girl, the reflection has no desire to be a hero or live an exciting life, more than
happy to be the ordinary Irish girl with her ordinary family who looks forward to an
ordinary life. Unfortunately, to get to that ordinary future (and to ensure said
future is even going to exist), she has to navigate the hazards of the magical world
and a threat that even Valkyrie failed to defeat. Meanwhile, Darquesse plots her
rise and revenge, gathering some powerful allies (or rather tools of convenience, as
the dark sorceress hardly considers other beings, even sorcerers, as anything like
her peers)... some of whom begin to have their doubts. Twists and turns aplenty
await, as well as numerous betrayals and other surprises, not to mention the return
of several familiar faces. Several times I encountered what I was sure was going to
be the finale, because there was no way Landy could kick things even higher, only to
realize the book wasn't even half over and there was still a long, wild stretch of
the roller coaster ahead. Not everyone makes it to the end, and there are many
sacrifices on the way to a conclusion that marks a major transition in the greater
series. I'm still enjoying this series immensely, and look forward to what comes
next.
Five years ago, the impossibly powerful sorceress Darquesse devastated the magical city of
Roarhaven before ascending to near-godhood and leaving this dimension behind... and Valkyrie
Cain, who was once part of Darquesse, was left a shell of her former self. She still has magic,
but of a wild and erratic sort never before seen by Sanctuary scholars, a magic she herself
barely understands and controls. Not that she really wants to control magic anymore. She spent
five years hiding out in rural America until assassins tracked her down, drawing her back to
Ireland and the company of her one-time partner, Skulduggery Pleasant. A shadow organization
known as the Anti-Sanctuary has been working for centuries to trigger war with the mortals;
now, they're seemingly on the verge of success, potentially resurrecting a powerful new
leader from the days of the war against Mevolent. The world needs saving again, and when the
world needs saving Skulduggery and Valkyrie are expected to step up to the task - but can the
traumatized young woman remember how to be a hero in time to stop disaster?
Review
Apparently, the series originally ended after the previous installment, but Landy realized
he had more stories to tell. However, even though Valkyrie has aged out of the Young Adult
protagonist category, this book still pitches itself as being in that category, justified by
the introduction of a "next generation" would-be hero: fourteen-year-old Omen Darkly, the
overlooked brother of a prophesied "Chosen One", attending Roarhaven's first boarding school
for young sorcerers, Corrival, in a not-so-subtle jab at a certain famous wizard-based series.
This gives Resurrection a slight split personality, as on the one hand it wants to
continue growing up and growing darker with Valkyrie as she struggles with PTSD and her wild
magic, while on the other it's trying to be a light reset/reboot with younger characters who
can't help but be bowled over by Skulduggery's sheer force of personality and the weight of
series history. The two more or less work together, but at times can't help conflicting, and
this (plus a matter of one subplot and bad timing) help explain the slight drop in the
rating.
In the beginning, Valkyrie has returned to Ireland and her late uncle's estate, along with the
dog Xena, but is still far from recovered, and far from eager to jump back in the world-saving
game. She has trouble even visiting her family after six months in the country, still guilty
over what she had to do to her kid sister Alice in order to secure the scepter of the ancients
and still traumatized by the danger she put them all in. She also can't exactly stroll down the
streets of Roarhaven without being the object of stares and hatred, as many still blame her for
Darquesse's rampage (though there are a few who still worship the ascended sorceress - almost
one subplot too many, here, as very little ultimately comes of that in this volume). Roarhaven
itself is not the town it used to be, as China Sorrows has used her new power and influence to
amass even more power and influence, even granting legitimacy to a "reformed" Church of the
Faceless Ones and diminishing the role of the council and others who might stand in her way.
Skulduggery, now an independent Arbiter working with Sanctuaries worldwide, could very much use
his partner and friend Valkyrie Cain again as he seeks a missing undercover agent who tried to
infiltrate the Anti-Sanctuary, but the Valkyrie he needs is not the one he has, and she may
never be that person again... though that doesn't mean she's entirely helpless, even as she
grapples with her traumas and growing list of enemies.
Necessity makes them reach out for more allies beyond China's reach, which leads them to
Corrival and Omen. The boy used to try to live up to the example set by his brother Auger (a
Harry Potter-like savior, if one who grew up in the magical community knowing full well that he
was intended to be the hero, whose extracurricular exploits are glimpsed and hinted at but not
explored in depth), but eventually gave up trying when even his own parents dismiss him as the
"also-ran". Being contacted by no less a celebrity than Skulduggery Pleasant gives him hope that
maybe, just maybe, he can be someone, maybe he can have his own adventures and be his own
person, giving him the courage to step up and try even when the skeleton detective himself tells
him he can go back to his safe and unseen existence. He is not a second Valkyrie, being his own
character, though he's so much tied into the clearly-riffing-on-Harry-Potter Augur that he
sometimes feels slightly out of step with the greater series universe.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Sanctuary mages progress their dark plot, which involves the literal
resurrection of a former powerful mage - helped by a sorcerer with the power to turn anyone
they touch into a temporary psychopath under his control, which leads to some serious
complications and dark moments when he gets his hands on Skulduggery Pleasant (another
development that forces Valkyrie to stand up and resume her reluctant heroine mantle, as her
friend and partner becomes an enemy). As is typical for the series, the action just keeps
coming, interspersed with some sharp dialog and humor and some dark twists. I just couldn't help
wondering throughout what the series would've become had it been allowed to shake off the last
ties to its young adult category.
One of the subplots, as mentioned, also helped contribute to the drop in the rating. It involves
a mortal American president who was clearly inspired by the one currently occupying the nation's
highest office (whose first regime coincided with its writing and release), using clandestine
sorcerous connections to gain power and turn the nation into his own personal evil empire. The
fact that the same occupant has returned, with more power than ever, destroying institutions and
ideals that used to actually mean something to the very people gleefully and gloatingly kicking
them down... As I mentioned before, timing made it very hard for me to even listen to a
fictitious version of said occupant, facing the very real and not-fictional long-term damage and
terror unleashed... I want to continue the series at some point, but now, today of all days, as
a major portion of that cruelty is codified into law and literal actual
not-in-an-Onion-satire-article merchandising is being sold glorifying a concentration camp on
American soil... I just can't. (And if this is too topical and political for a book review, well,
I'm livin' this nightmare and it's my blog, and I don't experience literature in a vacuum so my
reality can't help bleeding into my reading.)
