Friday 17 October 2014

Book Review - Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant
Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #1
Genres: Fantasy | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 30th September 2007
Publishers: HarperCollins
No. Pages: 368
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant. Sure, he may lose his head now and again (in fact, he won his current skull in a poker match), but he is much more than he appears to be - which is good, considering that he is, basically, a skeleton. Skulduggery may be long dead, but he is also a mage who dodged the grave so that he could save the world from an ancient evil. But to defeat it, he'll need the help of a new partner: a not so innocent twelve-year-old girl named Stephanie. That's right, they're the heroes.

Stephanie and Skulduggery are quickly caught up in a battle to stop evil forces from acquiring her recently deceased uncle's most prized possession -the Sceptre of the Ancients. The Ancients were the good guys, an extinct race of uber-magicians from the early days of the earth, and the scepter is their most dangerous weapon, one capable of killing anyone and destroying anything. Back in the day, they used it to banish the bad guys, the evil Faceless Ones. Unfortunately, in the way of bad guys everywhere, the Faceless Ones are staging a comeback and no one besides our two heroes believes in the Faceless Ones, or even that the Sceptre is real.

So Stephanie and Skulduggery set off to find the Sceptre, fend off the minions of the bad guys, beat down vampires and the undead, prove the existence of the Ancients and the Faceless Ones, all while trading snappy, snippy banter worthy of the best screwball comedies.

The first time I came across Skulduggery Pleasant I was pregnant and at a friends house searching for something to do while my other half and said friend watched football. I hadn't brought a book and the only one around that interested me had a picture of a skeleton on the front, naturally I was intrigued. However it wasn't until this year that I came across it again, in the form of Amanda raving about it. I decided to give it a go because of just how much she loved it, but at the same time I was a little put of because I was scared I wouldn't like the series that was so loved by one of my favourite bloggers. I am excited to say that though I may not have liked the first book as much as Amanda, I found myself hooked very early on.

This book is so wonderfully unique and is packed full of adventure, but for me the biggest focal point was the blossoming friendship between Skulduggery and Stephanie . The first time they meet is at the will reading of Stephanie's uncle Gordon. Skulduggery was a friend of uncle Gordon for a long time, helping him do research for some of his best selling fantasy books, and after meeting his niece he seems to connect instantly with her and even goes on to save her life. After an attack at her uncles house, Stephanie finds out that not only is everything her uncle wrote about based on something real, but her new found friend is a skeleton held together by magic. However before she can get used to everything, Skully heads out on a new adventure and case, one that like it or lump it he's got a new sidekick for.

As far as the characters go we have the very witty and smart Skulduggery. Through out the book he makes no secret that he's unhappy at first to have a apprentice. But he's fiercely loyal and protects the people close to him to no ends. Then we have Stephanie, a 12 year old girl that has her world flipped upside down and still manages to come away pretty damn level headed, and we cant forget the wonderful Tanith Low, she's a brilliant fighter with a warm side to her and in my opinion a very underrated and underestimated character.

While reading this book I found myself  with a constant smile and a feeling of being content. It was just such a fun reading that was beyond funny with untold amount of sarcasm and deadpan humor, it really has everything you can ask for in a great book, from adventure to friendship. I've always been a big fan of series, and the more books the better. So where many would be put off by the number of books in the series, for me it's just something to look forward to. For such a great first book, I for one can't wait to continue with the story and given that there wasn't that much wrong with this one, I have very high hopes for the rest :). (Thank you for the recommendation Amanda :P)

2 comments:

  1. Yayayayayayayayay! (Can you guess I'm very very happy about this review?!) I'm SO glad you liked this, I mean, I gave the first one four too and the series always stayed within 4 stars which is fantastic. Friendships, yes all the way and the whole fantasy aspect, it was just so fun and enjoyable. Man, I wish I could relive this series again, but I can relive it through you instead, yay! :D

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  2. YAY! I am so happy you loved this as well :) :) :) I have recently borrowed the whole series thanks to Amanda's love of the series. You have made me more confident about starting the series. I really hope I end up loving it too, I don't want to be the odd one out.

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