Skulduggery Pleasant
Encyclopedia
Skulduggery Pleasant is the debut novel
of Irish playwright Derek Landy
, published in 2007. It is the first of the Skulduggery Pleasant novels
. The novel crosses the horror, comedy, mystery, romance and fantasy genres.
The story follows the titular character Skulduggery Pleasant, an undead sorcerer and detective, with his partner Stephanie Edgley who calls herself Valkyrie Cain (valk-i-ri cane), and numerous magic-wielding allies as they try to prevent Nefarian Serpine from unleashing a weapon of terrible power on the world. The book was retitled Sceptre Of The Ancients for the 2009 paperback release in the US and Canada.
It won the coveted Red House Children's Book Award
and the Hampshire Book Award
in 2007.
The second book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire, third book, Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
, fourth book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days
fifth book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
, and sixth book Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer
are currently available. Harper Collins Audio also publishes the unabridged CD sets of the books read by Rupert Degas
.
Upon slowly realizing that her uncle was murdered, Stephanie, wanting to escape her previously boring and tedious life, helps Skulduggery investigate his mysterious death. Skulduggery and Stephanie gradually uncover a greater plot for world domination. Stephanie's uncle discovered an ancient weapon used by the first sorcerers, the Ancients, to defeat their tyrannical gods, the Faceless Ones. He sealed this deadly weapon, the Scepter of the Ancients, in a maze beneath the house Stephanie inherited. The "key" is in fact the old, insignificant-looking brooch left by her uncle to his other brother's wife, Beryl.
Stephanie and Skulduggery, aided by Skulduggery's best friend, an immensely strong tailor named Ghastly Bespoke, and English professional swordswoman Tanith Low (tae-nith low), attempt to prevent the main antagonist, Nefarian Serpine (Ne-varian ser-pine), from obtaining the Sceptre (sep-ter). Serpine once served under the evil wizard Mevolent who waged a secret war on the wizard community, trying to take over the world. Skulduggery opposed Mevolent in this war several hundred years ago, when he was still alive. He became ensnared in a trap by Serpine, his wife and child murdered before his eyes and himself killed after several days' torture. His hate for Serpine allowed him to return from the grave as a skeleton and complete the war.
Now working as a detective and with Stephanie's help, Skulduggery defeats Serpine, destroying him with the Sceptre to protect Stephanie, breaking the Scepter's power in the process. At the conclusion of the novel, Skulduggery offers to take Stephanie on as his assistant and student in sorcery; Stephanie has discovered through the course of the novel's events that her family are descendants of the Ancients and she herself has magic abilities.
There are many similarities to H. P. Lovecraft
in the story. The Faceless Ones are likely inspired by the Great Old Ones of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
and Lovecraft actually gets a mention by Skulduggery saying that his stories were inspired by myths about the Faceless Ones. Serpine also uses Lovecraft's name as an alias.
Though possessing no immediately obvious special abilities, other than fundamental running, swimming and fighting instincts which help her out of trouble at the outset of the novel, Stephanie later learns she is a descendant of the original sorcerers. She begins to develop her magic skills, manipulating air in a climatic battle scene and managing to create fire at the end of the novel. Skulduggery offers to help her master her magical abilities, so that she can assist him in adventures to come. Her main strengths, however, are her intelligence, her sheer strength of will and determination. She is also a very quick learner of magic, being able to master the basics of Necromancy.
Stephanie is revealed to be the Darquesse, a powerful sorceress who is even seen to have murdered her family. Stephanie is briefly transformed into the Darquesse when she is possessed by a Remnant.
According to the novel's magical premise, knowing someone's name gives you power over them. China Sorrows knows Stephanie's name, and uses this knowledge to prevent Stephanie from rescuing Skulduggery. Stephanie takes on the name Valkyrie Cain. Taking this name seals her given name away, keeping others from controlling her and breaking China's hold on her, allowing her to save Skulduggery. Although known as Valkyrie by other characters from this point onwards, Landy continues to refer to her in the third-person as Stephanie, and Skulduggery chooses to call her by Valkyrie. However, for the rest of the series, she is known as Valkyrie.
She got her name from the Norse warrior women
who guard Valhalla
(she first heard this name after listening to "Ride of the Valkyries" with her dad) and she got her last name from the word cain. (Skulduggery Pleasant introduced the word to her, claiming that she had a "penchant for raising cain", meaning that she makes trouble).
and originally lived in London. Tanith Low's job is to apprehend or otherwise kill criminals and evil creatures who threaten national security.
She befriends Valkyrie in Book 1. During a conversation with Valkyrie, Tanith expresses a desire for a little sister and she and Valkyrie develop an affectionate sisterly relationship. Valkyrie refers to Tanith as being like a sister to her in the fourth book. Tanith is also known to have an elder brother whom she states she "loves to death." Despite her softer, warmer side, Tanith can be very ruthless, sending two Cleavers to their death in order to distract some Hollow Men to rescue Skulduggery from Serpine. She is also an excellent fighter. She takes on Serpine's White Cleaver in combat at the end of the book, and nearly wins, but the White Cleaver throws his scythe through her back and she nearly dies.
She assists Skulduggery in defeating the Torment in the second book. She is an Adept who can run on walls, strengthen doors and unlock locks by touching them. Her appearance is one of beauty as she is described as appearing in her early twenties with golden hair. Her actual age is around eighty. In Playing With Fire Springheeled Jack thinks to himself And such a pretty face. Jack hadn't seen a pretty face in many a year. and Valkyrie has remarked that Tanith acts like a four year old despite her physical or actual age. In Book 2 she comments that Valkyrie should spend more time with people her age. While fighting the Grotesquery halfway through the book she was poisoned by it and the others had to go to the Sanctuary to get the antidote for her.
In Book 3, she is asked to protect Peregrine, but fails and is injured in the hand by Murder Rose and Gruesome Krav in the process. In the end of the book, she loses in a fight against Murder Rose again, resulting in more injuries.
In Book 4, Tanith assists Valkyrie in finding Skulduggery’s skull. She is arrested by the Sanctuary when she tries to assist in stealing Skulduggery’s skull from the Sanctuary. She is later freed, and is kidnapped by the Revengers Club and tortured by a possessed Grouse.
In Book 5, Mortal Coil, Tanith develops some feelings towards Ghastly Bespoke after he asks her out on a date. Later on, Tanith is taken over, or possessed by a remnant, and loses her true self and control of her body. At the end of the book she and Billy-Ray Sanguine are together.
As Valkyrie puts it "Tanith was gone now. She was lost." Though Valkyrie hopes that they will be able to track down Tanith and remove the remnant, she doubts it.
Serpine is highly intelligent and a skilled manipulator who seduced Sagacious Tome into joining him. He is a fanatic who is believed by many (Skulduggery included) to be insane, although the Faceless Ones (as proved in Book 2 Playing with Fire and Book 3 The Faceless Ones) are actually real.
The greatest weapon in Serpine's arsenal is his right hand which some dark power has stripped of all its flesh and possesses the ability to put individuals in great pain, eventually killing them when pointed at them.
Serpine bears many similarities to Sauron
of The Lord of the Rings
by J. R. R. Tolkien
: a dark sorcerer who was once a servant of an even greater evil but is now the greatest villain in the world and who seeks a potent magical device to aid him in his quest for domination of the world (in Serpine's case the Sceptre, in Sauron's case the One Ring
). In this, Mevolent could be seen to resemble Morgoth
and Sagacious Tome could be seen to resemble Saruman
.
, the Bolton Children's Book Award
and the Staffordshire Young Teen Fiction Award. The book was also recommended for confident readers (9+) by the Richard & Judy Children's Book Club in 2007. It also won the Portsmouth Book Awards in 2008, having been selected by school children in Portsmouth
. Also, in 2009, it won the Kernow Youth and Grampian Book Awards by a majority vote. In 2010, Skulduggery Pleasant was awarded the title of Irish Book of the Decade, after being up against some of the world's best sellers.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
of Irish playwright Derek Landy
Derek Landy
Derek Landy is an Irish author and screenwriter, famous for the Skulduggery Pleasant series of children's books.thumb|Derek Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011...
, published in 2007. It is the first of the Skulduggery Pleasant novels
Skulduggery Pleasant (series)
Skulduggery Pleasant is a series of fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. The books chronicle the adventures of the skeleton detective, Skulduggery Pleasant and a teenage girl, Stephanie Edgley along with other friends...
. The novel crosses the horror, comedy, mystery, romance and fantasy genres.
The story follows the titular character Skulduggery Pleasant, an undead sorcerer and detective, with his partner Stephanie Edgley who calls herself Valkyrie Cain (valk-i-ri cane), and numerous magic-wielding allies as they try to prevent Nefarian Serpine from unleashing a weapon of terrible power on the world. The book was retitled Sceptre Of The Ancients for the 2009 paperback release in the US and Canada.
It won the coveted Red House Children's Book Award
Red House Children's Book Award
The Red House Children's Book Award is a series of literary prizes for works of children's literature published during the previous year. The prize was known as the Children's Book Award from its inauguration in 1981...
and the Hampshire Book Award
Hampshire Book Award
The Hampshire Book Award is an annual award given to works of children's literature published in paperback during the previous year. The award is run by Hampshire County Council's School Library Service.-List of prize winners:...
in 2007.
The second book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire, third book, Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones is the third novel in the Skulduggery Pleasant novels written by Derek Landy....
, fourth book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days
Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days
Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days is the fourth novel in the Skulduggery Pleasant novels written by Derek Landy.The story continues after the events of the third book and follows Valkyrie Cain as she rescues Skulduggery Pleasant from the Faceless ones in another dimension, and then working with him...
fifth book, Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil is the fifth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, released on the 1st of September 2010. After some discussion, the final title was confirmed to be "Mortal Coil"...
, and sixth book Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer
Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer is the sixth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. It was released on September 1, 2011. The book focuses more on the Necromancers and the Death Bringer. The sixth book will have a paperback released in April 2012, which will include a new short story...
are currently available. Harper Collins Audio also publishes the unabridged CD sets of the books read by Rupert Degas
Rupert Degas
Rupert Joel Degas is an English actor and voice artist.- Early life:Degas was born in London, the son of screenwriter Brian Degas and television presenter Maggie Clews, whose marriage ended in divorce when he was eight...
.
Plot summary
Stephanie Edgley's novelist uncle dies, leaving her his vast mansion and the royalties from his best-selling books. At the reading of the will, a strange man called Skulduggery Pleasant in a tan overcoat, a hat, sunglasses and a scarf is present, who is left a piece of advice, along with Fergus and Beryl, Stephanie's none-too-liked aunt and uncle. Stephanie's aunt and uncle are given something as well: a seemingly useless brooch, a boat, and a car, which they both do not want. Spending a night alone in the mansion, Stephanie is attacked by a strange man, demanding she gives him a "key". As the man attacks Stephanie, the mysterious man in the tan overcoat from Gordon's funeral arrives and saves her, throwing a fireball and then shooting the attacker. Skulduggery's disguise of a hat, wig and sunglasses fall off to reveal that he is an undead sorcerer, made up of only his skeleton held together by magic.Upon slowly realizing that her uncle was murdered, Stephanie, wanting to escape her previously boring and tedious life, helps Skulduggery investigate his mysterious death. Skulduggery and Stephanie gradually uncover a greater plot for world domination. Stephanie's uncle discovered an ancient weapon used by the first sorcerers, the Ancients, to defeat their tyrannical gods, the Faceless Ones. He sealed this deadly weapon, the Scepter of the Ancients, in a maze beneath the house Stephanie inherited. The "key" is in fact the old, insignificant-looking brooch left by her uncle to his other brother's wife, Beryl.
Stephanie and Skulduggery, aided by Skulduggery's best friend, an immensely strong tailor named Ghastly Bespoke, and English professional swordswoman Tanith Low (tae-nith low), attempt to prevent the main antagonist, Nefarian Serpine (Ne-varian ser-pine), from obtaining the Sceptre (sep-ter). Serpine once served under the evil wizard Mevolent who waged a secret war on the wizard community, trying to take over the world. Skulduggery opposed Mevolent in this war several hundred years ago, when he was still alive. He became ensnared in a trap by Serpine, his wife and child murdered before his eyes and himself killed after several days' torture. His hate for Serpine allowed him to return from the grave as a skeleton and complete the war.
Now working as a detective and with Stephanie's help, Skulduggery defeats Serpine, destroying him with the Sceptre to protect Stephanie, breaking the Scepter's power in the process. At the conclusion of the novel, Skulduggery offers to take Stephanie on as his assistant and student in sorcery; Stephanie has discovered through the course of the novel's events that her family are descendants of the Ancients and she herself has magic abilities.
There are many similarities to H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
in the story. The Faceless Ones are likely inspired by the Great Old Ones of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
and Lovecraft actually gets a mention by Skulduggery saying that his stories were inspired by myths about the Faceless Ones. Serpine also uses Lovecraft's name as an alias.
Skulduggery Pleasant
Skulduggery fought on the good side under the wizard Meritorious during the secret war as one of the generals but was caught in a deadly trap by Nefarian Serpine under Mevolent's command. He killed Skulduggery's wife and child in front of him. Furious, Skulduggery grabbed a dagger to kill Serpine with, but Serpine had planned this. The dagger was poisoned and killed Skulduggery. After Skulduggery's death, his body was impaled on a spike and burned as an example to Mevolent's other enemies. Though as a result of a necromancer experiment, Skulduggery did not move on after his death but stayed and watched the war progress; to his horror, the tide turned and Mevolent gained advantage. In the book, Skulduggery's past life name (given name) has not been revealed, though author Derek Landy says it was "Skulduggery Pleasant" before he died. Skulduggery accepts the sacrifice of individuals as part of war, but he is highly reluctant to allow this to happen to Stephanie. He protects her diligently throughout the novel. He has many loyal friends.Stephanie Edgley (Valkyrie Cain)
Stephanie is a 12-year-old girl living in the quiet Irish sea-side town of Haggard. She is the niece of Gordon Edgley, a recently deceased horror novelist, whose novels she discovers were not completely fictional. She first meets Skulduggery at Gordon's funeral; Gordon was a friend of Skulduggery's. Skulduggery tells Stephanie how Gordon once described her as "strong-willed, intelligent, sharp-tongued, doesn't suffer fools gladly", traits Gordon himself possessed. Stephanie proves herself to have all these qualities in spades, clashing wits with Skulduggery and annoying him to no end. She refuses to be left behind by Skulduggery when they first meet, despite his advice that she keep out of danger. He later comes to respect her abilities, recognizing them when she herself does not. Stephanie despised her boring, ordinary life; she did not have anything in common with her peers and though not disruptive at school, has a healthy disregard for authority. She takes great enjoyment in Skulduggery's more criminal escapades, such as breaking into a museum vault. She constantly proves herself to be every bit the equal of the adults, though some people under-estimate her - her pet peeve is being called "child" or "baby".Though possessing no immediately obvious special abilities, other than fundamental running, swimming and fighting instincts which help her out of trouble at the outset of the novel, Stephanie later learns she is a descendant of the original sorcerers. She begins to develop her magic skills, manipulating air in a climatic battle scene and managing to create fire at the end of the novel. Skulduggery offers to help her master her magical abilities, so that she can assist him in adventures to come. Her main strengths, however, are her intelligence, her sheer strength of will and determination. She is also a very quick learner of magic, being able to master the basics of Necromancy.
Stephanie is revealed to be the Darquesse, a powerful sorceress who is even seen to have murdered her family. Stephanie is briefly transformed into the Darquesse when she is possessed by a Remnant.
According to the novel's magical premise, knowing someone's name gives you power over them. China Sorrows knows Stephanie's name, and uses this knowledge to prevent Stephanie from rescuing Skulduggery. Stephanie takes on the name Valkyrie Cain. Taking this name seals her given name away, keeping others from controlling her and breaking China's hold on her, allowing her to save Skulduggery. Although known as Valkyrie by other characters from this point onwards, Landy continues to refer to her in the third-person as Stephanie, and Skulduggery chooses to call her by Valkyrie. However, for the rest of the series, she is known as Valkyrie.
She got her name from the Norse warrior women
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
who guard Valhalla
Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
(she first heard this name after listening to "Ride of the Valkyries" with her dad) and she got her last name from the word cain. (Skulduggery Pleasant introduced the word to her, claiming that she had a "penchant for raising cain", meaning that she makes trouble).
Tanith Low
Tanith Low is a master swordswoman who is first introduced while battling a troll on London Bridge in the first book. Tanith does not work for the Elders (who are the leaders of the magical population of Europe) because she has a natural distrust of all authority. Instead she merely, as Springheeled Jack says in 'Playing With Fire', "deals out what she calls justice". She is EnglishEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and originally lived in London. Tanith Low's job is to apprehend or otherwise kill criminals and evil creatures who threaten national security.
She befriends Valkyrie in Book 1. During a conversation with Valkyrie, Tanith expresses a desire for a little sister and she and Valkyrie develop an affectionate sisterly relationship. Valkyrie refers to Tanith as being like a sister to her in the fourth book. Tanith is also known to have an elder brother whom she states she "loves to death." Despite her softer, warmer side, Tanith can be very ruthless, sending two Cleavers to their death in order to distract some Hollow Men to rescue Skulduggery from Serpine. She is also an excellent fighter. She takes on Serpine's White Cleaver in combat at the end of the book, and nearly wins, but the White Cleaver throws his scythe through her back and she nearly dies.
She assists Skulduggery in defeating the Torment in the second book. She is an Adept who can run on walls, strengthen doors and unlock locks by touching them. Her appearance is one of beauty as she is described as appearing in her early twenties with golden hair. Her actual age is around eighty. In Playing With Fire Springheeled Jack thinks to himself And such a pretty face. Jack hadn't seen a pretty face in many a year. and Valkyrie has remarked that Tanith acts like a four year old despite her physical or actual age. In Book 2 she comments that Valkyrie should spend more time with people her age. While fighting the Grotesquery halfway through the book she was poisoned by it and the others had to go to the Sanctuary to get the antidote for her.
In Book 3, she is asked to protect Peregrine, but fails and is injured in the hand by Murder Rose and Gruesome Krav in the process. In the end of the book, she loses in a fight against Murder Rose again, resulting in more injuries.
In Book 4, Tanith assists Valkyrie in finding Skulduggery’s skull. She is arrested by the Sanctuary when she tries to assist in stealing Skulduggery’s skull from the Sanctuary. She is later freed, and is kidnapped by the Revengers Club and tortured by a possessed Grouse.
In Book 5, Mortal Coil, Tanith develops some feelings towards Ghastly Bespoke after he asks her out on a date. Later on, Tanith is taken over, or possessed by a remnant, and loses her true self and control of her body. At the end of the book she and Billy-Ray Sanguine are together.
As Valkyrie puts it "Tanith was gone now. She was lost." Though Valkyrie hopes that they will be able to track down Tanith and remove the remnant, she doubts it.
Nefarian Serpine
The arch-villain Serpine is an evil sorcerer who once served under Mevolent. He possesses magical powers that rival orpine and he eventually does by using the Sceptre to destroy the Great Book of Names, preventing the return of the Faceless Ones, enraging Serpine who attempts to kill Stephanie but Skulduggery stops him and avenges the death of his family by vaporizing Serpine with the Sceptre.Serpine is highly intelligent and a skilled manipulator who seduced Sagacious Tome into joining him. He is a fanatic who is believed by many (Skulduggery included) to be insane, although the Faceless Ones (as proved in Book 2 Playing with Fire and Book 3 The Faceless Ones) are actually real.
The greatest weapon in Serpine's arsenal is his right hand which some dark power has stripped of all its flesh and possesses the ability to put individuals in great pain, eventually killing them when pointed at them.
Serpine bears many similarities to Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
: a dark sorcerer who was once a servant of an even greater evil but is now the greatest villain in the world and who seeks a potent magical device to aid him in his quest for domination of the world (in Serpine's case the Sceptre, in Sauron's case the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
). In this, Mevolent could be seen to resemble Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
and Sagacious Tome could be seen to resemble Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
.
Minor characters
For minor characters see the List of minor characters in Skulduggery Pleasant.Reviews
Skulduggery Pleasant has opened to largely positive reviews by critics.- Phillip Ardagh (The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
):
- It's exciting, pacy, nicely handled and it's fun. There's nothing worthy about it, and it's all the better for that. And, I might add, it's self-contained. Landy may well revisit these characters - I sincerely hope he does - but it's a pleasingly rounded tale, which is refreshing in these days of endless open-ended books of never-ending series.
- Nathan Nicholls (Whitby GazetteWhitby GazetteThe Whitby Gazette is an English provincial newspaper published in Whitby, North Yorkshire.It was founded 6 January 1854 by Ralph Horne, a local printer, bookseller, stationer, bookbinder, paperhanger and shipowner, who was also a member of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society...
):
- Nathan Nicholls (Whitby Gazette
- There is no expense spared by Landy in this book and I would have to say that everyone who could be bothered to read it, would definitely be drawn into it and certainly enjoy it. (…) Something for everyone and everything for someone, Skulduggery Pleasant is easily my book of the year so far. Read it!
- Christina Hardyment (The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
):
- Christina Hardyment (The Independent
- Landy is an established horror writer, and the combats between Skulduggery, Serpine and his legions of Hollow Men and vampires rival the climaxes of the Potter films for hair-raising effects; it isn't often that writing makes you feel as if you are watching a film.
- The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
:
- The Times
- Derek Landy's debut, Skulduggery Pleasant (…) has a distinctly HorowitzianAnthony HorowitzAnthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...
humour and verve to it, being a detective story featuring a wizard's skeleton as hero. When Stephanie's uncle dies, she discovers his horror stories weren't fiction, and that evil forces are after her for a mysterious key. Wisecracking madly, the duo must survive each other as well as Hell. At the end of it, readers of 12+ may well be regretting their consumption of chocolate eggs.
Awards
Skulduggery Pleasant won the Red House Children's Book AwardRed House Children's Book Award
The Red House Children's Book Award is a series of literary prizes for works of children's literature published during the previous year. The prize was known as the Children's Book Award from its inauguration in 1981...
, the Bolton Children's Book Award
Bolton Children's Book Award
The Bolton Children's Book Award is an annual award given to works of children's literature published in paperback during the previous year. The award is sponsored by Bolton Literacy Trust, The University of Bolton and Page Nation.-List of Prize Winners:...
and the Staffordshire Young Teen Fiction Award. The book was also recommended for confident readers (9+) by the Richard & Judy Children's Book Club in 2007. It also won the Portsmouth Book Awards in 2008, having been selected by school children in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
. Also, in 2009, it won the Kernow Youth and Grampian Book Awards by a majority vote. In 2010, Skulduggery Pleasant was awarded the title of Irish Book of the Decade, after being up against some of the world's best sellers.