Skulduggery Pleasant
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4.6 • 64 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
She’s twelve. He’s dead. But together they’re going to save the world. Hopefully.
The iconic first book in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series.
Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction.
Pursued by evil forces, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead sorcerer…
Reviews
“A high-intensity tale….Readers, particularly Artemis Fowl fans, will be skipping meals and sleep to get to the end.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Utterly charming…perfect for the Potter crowd.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Rich fantasy that is as engaging in its creative protagonists and villains as it is in the lightning-paced plot and sharp humor.”
— BCCB
“Landy keeps the action brisk, his characters slightly macabre, and uses humor to take the edge off.”
— ALA Booklist
“Skulduggery Pleasant serves up a thoroughly satisfying blend of humor, magic and adventure. Once you’ve met Stephanie and Skulduggery, you’ll be clamoring for a sequel.”
— Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series
About the author
Derek Landy lives near Dublin. Before writing his children's story about a sharply-dressed skeleton detective, he wrote the screenplays for a zombie movie and a murderous horror film. "I think my career-guidance teacher is spinning in her grave," he says, "or she would be if she were dead."
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
10/10 would highly recommend
I read this book in sixth grade and it was the best book I had ever read.
Great read
I loved it. Funny, action packed and clever! Cant wait to read the next!