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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
In this week's Patron's Choice episode, we encounter yet another undead detective skeleton in Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. This was requested by our patron Of The Void (The Taco-Eating Unicorn). He was hoping that this book would be pleasant (heh) for us, or at least less painful than some of our other fare. Although that may have only been partially true, we still thank you for your patronage, Mr. Taco-Eating Unicorn!
Very different! Suggested to me by a current student, I've never read anything like this before. Quite a fantasy, with unexpected twists and turns, and dry humor (because it's from Ireland?). If you like magic, fantasy, and dead beings walking and talking, you'll like this book! Looks to be the first in a series.
This was required reading as part of my young adult literature class. I was told that it was terribly funny and about a skeleton, but not much else.
I wasn’t really impressed.
Scepter of the Ancients follows twelve year-old Stephanie Edgley. When her beloved, although strange uncle Gordon dies, she becomes accidentally acquainted with a walking, talking skeleton detective named Skulduggery Pleasant. He is also a magic-user. Turns out that this whole world of magic has existed under her feet her entire life, and Stephanie has been completely unaware of it. In a quest to learn more about her uncle’s death, she and Skulduggery set out to find the mysterious scepter of the ancients.
Maybe it’s just because I finished a different fantasy young adult novel that basically blew my mind with its awesomeness (The Last Dragonslayer), but I was just not super impressed with this one. I will say that it’s funny at times. It’s largely written in dialog, and the magic world was entertaining. It has this whole bit about how a person has three names (their “real” name, their given name, and their chosen name) that I really liked. And the characterization was relatively well-done: every character is distinctive. I just wasn’t wowed. The action seemed a bit over-dramatic. There’s only so many times that a character can appear “just in the nick of time” before I start to roll my eyes. Also, there are some gaping plot holes that really bother me. The fight scenes in particular just seemed sloppy.
I don’t think I would recommend it. Maybe to a ten-year-old girl obsessed with action and fantasy. It’s not that it’s bad; it’s just that there are better than books than this one, in my opinion.
Warnings:
Drugs: None. Not even alcohol. Although pubs are mentioned a few times.
Sex: None.
Language: There is one or two “Damn”s
Violence: Fantasy violence, death, some blood, two torture scenes (none of these are particularly graphic in nature, but they are there.)
I wasn’t really impressed.
Scepter of the Ancients follows twelve year-old Stephanie Edgley. When her beloved, although strange uncle Gordon dies, she becomes accidentally acquainted with a walking, talking skeleton detective named Skulduggery Pleasant. He is also a magic-user. Turns out that this whole world of magic has existed under her feet her entire life, and Stephanie has been completely unaware of it. In a quest to learn more about her uncle’s death, she and Skulduggery set out to find the mysterious scepter of the ancients.
Maybe it’s just because I finished a different fantasy young adult novel that basically blew my mind with its awesomeness (The Last Dragonslayer), but I was just not super impressed with this one. I will say that it’s funny at times. It’s largely written in dialog, and the magic world was entertaining. It has this whole bit about how a person has three names (their “real” name, their given name, and their chosen name) that I really liked. And the characterization was relatively well-done: every character is distinctive. I just wasn’t wowed. The action seemed a bit over-dramatic. There’s only so many times that a character can appear “just in the nick of time” before I start to roll my eyes. Also, there are some gaping plot holes that really bother me.
Spoiler
Skulduggery blasts a front door off its hinges, never fixes it, and then they just return to the house a few days later and nothing happened? Seriously, that place would have gotten robbed or weather-damaged: someone should have noticed. Then, in the last scene, Stephanie just sits there while Skulduggery and Serpine fight? I mean, I know that her leg is injured and all, but she can’t do something?I don’t think I would recommend it. Maybe to a ten-year-old girl obsessed with action and fantasy. It’s not that it’s bad; it’s just that there are better than books than this one, in my opinion.
Warnings:
Drugs: None. Not even alcohol. Although pubs are mentioned a few times.
Sex: None.
Language: There is one or two “Damn”s
Violence: Fantasy violence, death, some blood, two torture scenes (none of these are particularly graphic in nature, but they are there.)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot spoilers marked later in review.
I haven't read this series in a long long time, but as they were my favourites growing up I feel like I can still say enough about them without reading them again. I will return to them one day and probably cry all the way through at the raw unaddressed nostalgia, but for now I'm just going to write from memory.
I do want to mention (and I don't know where else to put it so I'll say it here) that these books kinda killed reading for me as I became obsessed with them once I started. Every year from book three onwards I'd pick up the latest one from Waterstones on release day like a maniac. Once the final book came out (book nine at the time) I stopped reading for a decade. Nothing else could touch this series for me. Their greatness actively made everything else I'd read seem worse and so I put books down for good. I shouldn't have, but I was a silly donut of a child what can I say?
Anyway, the book itself. Where it all started. I remember the opening line "Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone-not least himself." That simple opener got me hooked right away and from those first few words I never put the books down. Once I realised how funny and likeable each of the characters were it was all over for me. Skulduggery the witty skeleton detective became my hero and there was nothing that could shake my investment.
This first book is simple, but it does a great job of introducing the main characters of this world. It set up what kind of fantasy series this was going to be, quite grounded, with real places and people living normal lives. There's no dragons or wands here, our main characters drive around in a bently for example, but there is a couple of different magic systems. The elementals are effectively benders from Avatar, but they, like Aang, can learn all of the elements. They function a little differently here of course, but that's the basic idea behind them. We learn that Earth magic should only be used as a last resort. Then there's the Adepts which can specialise in a wide variety of different abilities. We see Tanith run upside down along a ceiling for example, but there's a lot of options which allows for interesting and dangerous abilities on top of the elemental system.
We are introduced to this world through our other main character Stephanie's eyes. She is the niece of the deceased Gordon Edgley mentioned in that opening line and that's how she gets involved with Skulduggery Pleasant. Through her we learn that magic exists and we meet Skulduggery's few friends and many many enemies. It's established that Skulduggery has a bit of a mysterious past and he's working now in his dead form to 'keep himself busy'. This makes him an interesting ally as while it's obvious from the get go that he can be trusted, (and even if he can't he's hilarious so who cares) there's still plenty of mystery as to how he even exists in his current form. He is the most fantasy part of the whole book and introduces Stephanie to the other lesser fantasy elements. Despite her only being twelve years old he treats her with respect and maturity as his equal and it's just super cute all around. I loved that these stories felt so grounded in our world for the most part though, as it made it feel possible on some level, like these characters were out there somewhere, just cruising around solving mysteries.
Author Derek Landy has a way of knowing when to get silly and when to get serious and the balance here is perfect to me. While other fantasy books would constantly take themselves more seriously than I think they should've (I'm looking at you Harry Potter) there are plenty of warm witty jokes between these characters that just completely endear me to them. Then once we have built a connection to them the plot will twist dramatically and someone will die or the world will almost collapse in on itself. Some of this stuff, at least beyond this first book gets pretty serious. The threat level gets high and so those moments of levity are a welcome tone setter that keeps things fun and light hearted overall.
Plot outline and a few events spoiled from here:
The plot of this one see's Skulduggery and Stephanie trying to catch a guy called Serpine. He's got a history of not being a good dude and is reportedly looking for a magical artifact known as the sceptre of the ancients. This sceptre (believed to be a myth) has the potential to bring back the Faceless Ones a race of evil gods who wish to make humanity their meat puppets. Serpine used to worship these beings and while everyone else thinks he's reformed and regretful of his life choices Skulduggery has his suspicions. First our characters have to find out if this magic stick is actually real and then if it is, prove Serpine is after it. What follows is a wild chase around Ireland as Stephanie tries to find her footing in this world, avoiding death at every turn and hoping it all works out in the end.
We have a stealth mission around an art gallery with vampire security guards, (you'll learn quickly that vampires in this world aren't sexy at all. Think demonic beasts and you'll be on the right track), a canary yellow car with bright green seats that our characters are forced to use, (disgusting colour combo) and plenty of horrible deaths to keep us on the edge of our seats.
If you want a entertaining adventure series with the perfect balance of fun and threat I don't think you can get much better. This first book starts off simple, but it's a great easy read and things continue to get more complex as the series unfolds. All I can say now is good luck and if you haven't read it yet I hope you have fun.
I haven't read this series in a long long time, but as they were my favourites growing up I feel like I can still say enough about them without reading them again. I will return to them one day and probably cry all the way through at the raw unaddressed nostalgia, but for now I'm just going to write from memory.
I do want to mention (and I don't know where else to put it so I'll say it here) that these books kinda killed reading for me as I became obsessed with them once I started. Every year from book three onwards I'd pick up the latest one from Waterstones on release day like a maniac. Once the final book came out (book nine at the time) I stopped reading for a decade. Nothing else could touch this series for me. Their greatness actively made everything else I'd read seem worse and so I put books down for good. I shouldn't have, but I was a silly donut of a child what can I say?
Anyway, the book itself. Where it all started. I remember the opening line "Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone-not least himself." That simple opener got me hooked right away and from those first few words I never put the books down. Once I realised how funny and likeable each of the characters were it was all over for me. Skulduggery the witty skeleton detective became my hero and there was nothing that could shake my investment.
This first book is simple, but it does a great job of introducing the main characters of this world. It set up what kind of fantasy series this was going to be, quite grounded, with real places and people living normal lives. There's no dragons or wands here, our main characters drive around in a bently for example, but there is a couple of different magic systems. The elementals are effectively benders from Avatar, but they, like Aang, can learn all of the elements. They function a little differently here of course, but that's the basic idea behind them. We learn that Earth magic should only be used as a last resort. Then there's the Adepts which can specialise in a wide variety of different abilities. We see Tanith run upside down along a ceiling for example, but there's a lot of options which allows for interesting and dangerous abilities on top of the elemental system.
We are introduced to this world through our other main character Stephanie's eyes. She is the niece of the deceased Gordon Edgley mentioned in that opening line and that's how she gets involved with Skulduggery Pleasant. Through her we learn that magic exists and we meet Skulduggery's few friends and many many enemies. It's established that Skulduggery has a bit of a mysterious past and he's working now in his dead form to 'keep himself busy'. This makes him an interesting ally as while it's obvious from the get go that he can be trusted, (and even if he can't he's hilarious so who cares) there's still plenty of mystery as to how he even exists in his current form. He is the most fantasy part of the whole book and introduces Stephanie to the other lesser fantasy elements. Despite her only being twelve years old he treats her with respect and maturity as his equal and it's just super cute all around. I loved that these stories felt so grounded in our world for the most part though, as it made it feel possible on some level, like these characters were out there somewhere, just cruising around solving mysteries.
Author Derek Landy has a way of knowing when to get silly and when to get serious and the balance here is perfect to me. While other fantasy books would constantly take themselves more seriously than I think they should've (I'm looking at you Harry Potter) there are plenty of warm witty jokes between these characters that just completely endear me to them. Then once we have built a connection to them the plot will twist dramatically and someone will die or the world will almost collapse in on itself. Some of this stuff, at least beyond this first book gets pretty serious. The threat level gets high and so those moments of levity are a welcome tone setter that keeps things fun and light hearted overall.
Plot outline and a few events spoiled from here:
The plot of this one see's Skulduggery and Stephanie trying to catch a guy called Serpine. He's got a history of not being a good dude and is reportedly looking for a magical artifact known as the sceptre of the ancients. This sceptre (believed to be a myth) has the potential to bring back the Faceless Ones a race of evil gods who wish to make humanity their meat puppets. Serpine used to worship these beings and while everyone else thinks he's reformed and regretful of his life choices Skulduggery has his suspicions. First our characters have to find out if this magic stick is actually real and then if it is, prove Serpine is after it. What follows is a wild chase around Ireland as Stephanie tries to find her footing in this world, avoiding death at every turn and hoping it all works out in the end.
We have a stealth mission around an art gallery with vampire security guards, (you'll learn quickly that vampires in this world aren't sexy at all. Think demonic beasts and you'll be on the right track), a canary yellow car with bright green seats that our characters are forced to use, (disgusting colour combo) and plenty of horrible deaths to keep us on the edge of our seats.
If you want a entertaining adventure series with the perfect balance of fun and threat I don't think you can get much better. This first book starts off simple, but it's a great easy read and things continue to get more complex as the series unfolds. All I can say now is good luck and if you haven't read it yet I hope you have fun.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was SO much fun. Smart, action-packed and fast-moving adventure of magic in the modern world, with lots of funny back-and-forth smart-mouthing between the characters. I am definitely reading the rest of this series!
I just wasn't in the mood for this one. Pretty well written and intriguing. Might pick it up later on.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Stephanie had a special bond with her Uncle Gordon. It's at the reading of his will that she meets his friend Skullduggery Pleasant and learns that Gordon left his house to her. The real question (emphasis on quest) is whether that is all Stephanie has inherited from Gordon... Be sure to bring your sense of humor to this party: a story filled with monsters and magic, a battle between good and evil where it isn't always easy to tell the good guys from the bad.