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oakamoore's review against another edition
1.5
This entire novel is one long poorly thought out ad-lib. Its plot is a collection of frayed threads, half of which are completely irrelevant to the novel's resolution.
Throughout the series (this book being no exception), Landy has been constantly stacking unfinished, half-realised ideas on top of each other, resulting in a jenga tower of inconsistencies.
A flimsy prolouge is used to set up the story's main conflict, which is all but rendered meaningless, due to the multiple unresolved trump cards that the main characters can employ against seemingly unassailable threats.
The dialogue and characters feel flat, and the magic system is amorphous at best - oftentimes Landy will just say something without explaining why it works, and when he does explain things, the explainations are wholly insubstantial.
As an aside; being able to subdue god-level entities by artificially inducing a seizure is the most low effort, inane resolution to any book I've ever read.
Throughout the series (this book being no exception), Landy has been constantly stacking unfinished, half-realised ideas on top of each other, resulting in a jenga tower of inconsistencies.
A flimsy prolouge is used to set up the story's main conflict, which is all but rendered meaningless, due to the multiple unresolved trump cards that the main characters can employ against seemingly unassailable threats.
The dialogue and characters feel flat, and the magic system is amorphous at best - oftentimes Landy will just say something without explaining why it works, and when he does explain things, the explainations are wholly insubstantial.
As an aside; being able to subdue god-level entities by artificially inducing a seizure is the most low effort, inane resolution to any book I've ever read.
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
5.0
Derek Landy continues to out-do himself. I am so in love with these books. (Big hearts in my eyes) I never want these books to end...please keep saving the world forever Skulduggery, thanks!
thanat0s1017's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
delish_pretzel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
theglossreview's review against another edition
5.0
It’s a riot! Twisty and awesome multi-dimensional madness.
skittyrreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
THIS WAS FUCKING NUTS OH MY GOD???? The politics of the Sanctuaries being a real threat here was so good, Argeddion and the "Summer of Light" was fantastic as a plot, Kitana, Doran and Sean were really intense as villains. Loved how much its highlighted that Skulduggery and Valkyrie are too close to be able to kill each other. Carol getting some time makes the epilogue so painful. Also the dimension shifting??? The stuff with Darquesse???????????? STEPHANIE????? My God.
eleanorlow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
netflix_and_lil's review against another edition
4.0
After a pause, I made my return to the world I so desperately want to run a D&D campaign of - right in time for shit to go off the rails.
This was always a 'filler' book to lead into number eight, but despite its ridiculous length, I still had a great time as usual. It's not S tier by any means but it's got INTENSELY hate-able villains, cool new characters, expansion on the politics of the world and hey, just call this Doctor Strange because now we've got the MULTIVERSE BABY.
What I did find was that Skulduggery, despite being in the title, fell to the wayside a little in this one. It's fine, this is Valkyrie's story, but I was surprised by how little his presence impacted the plot. And of course I'm still missing the love of my life, Tanith, but we've got 7.5 next and her name's on the title. And with an ending of this calibre. I'm all hyped up like my preteen self to jump into number 8. LET THE WATERWORKS BEGIN.
This was always a 'filler' book to lead into number eight, but despite its ridiculous length, I still had a great time as usual. It's not S tier by any means but it's got INTENSELY hate-able villains, cool new characters, expansion on the politics of the world and hey, just call this Doctor Strange because now we've got the MULTIVERSE BABY.
What I did find was that Skulduggery, despite being in the title, fell to the wayside a little in this one. It's fine, this is Valkyrie's story, but I was surprised by how little his presence impacted the plot. And of course I'm still missing the love of my life, Tanith, but we've got 7.5 next and her name's on the title. And with an ending of this calibre. I'm all hyped up like my preteen self to jump into number 8. LET THE WATERWORKS BEGIN.