Playing with Fire
Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 2
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4.6 • 70 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Skulduggery and Valkyrie are facing a new enemy: Baron Vengeous, who is determined to bring back the terrifying Faceless Ones and is crafting an army of evil to help him. Added to that, Vengeous is about to enlist a new ally (if he can raise it from the dead): the horrible Grotesquery, a very unlikable monster of legend.
Once Vengeous is on the loose, dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. Now pretty much everybody is out to kill Valkyrie, and the daring detective duo faces its biggest challenge yet.
But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home?
Look for Scepter of the Ancients
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stephanie Edgley's uncle, a bestselling novelist, dies and leaves her his fortune. But the money doesn't interest her nearly as much as the odd, overdressed figure who appears at the funeral. He turns out to be the eponymous hero, the skeleton of a man, back from the dead to avenge his family's murder at the "red right hand" of Nefarian Serpine. Turns out, Stephanie has also inherited the family gene for sorcery, and she teams with Skulduggery to defeat the villain. Violent clashes with various cretins ensue. Some supporting characters, such as the magic world's "Elders," blend together, and Serpine's motivation is of the vague "I will rule the world!" variety. But plucky Stephanie and her dapper, urbane mentor make up for this slight lack of definition and clarity. Skulduggery is as caustic and witty as Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus, but a man (er, skeleton) of fewer words. First novelist Landy, a Dublin playwright, excels at dialogue; the repartee between the two leads recalls Hepburn and Tracy in its ongoing, affectionate contest of verbal one-upmanship. (When Stephanie complains about Skulduggery's high-falutin' vocabulary, he retorts, "You should read more," to which she replies, "I read enough. I should get out more.") Landy sets the tale on the Irish coast and reaches into Celtic lore for a cameo from the son of Finn McCool, but there's nothing old-fashioned about the way this story unspools. The book may be hefty but it moves at warp speed. An utterly charming debut, perfect for the Potter crowd. Ages 8-12.
Customer Reviews
Very good book
I love this series I think everyone should read it
Omg this book is a must read
If you have a kid who's looking for a good adventure book with humor then look no further!!! I love this book I'm 17 years old and JUST finished the 3rd book I'm going back to reread the other but omg these books are so funny and just good reads for everyone. Skulduggery is my favorite character and omg the adventures him and Valkyrie go through are unbelievable!!!
Good book
I have read all seven books and the seventh book is great but this one is good too