4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skeleton Vs. Monster Frankenstein, August 11, 2008
He's back. The wise-guy Skulduggery Pleasant is ready to save the world with his young partner Valkyrie Cain, once called Stephanie Edgely. While she learns the tricks of the magic trade, a new villain, Baron Vengeous, has escaped from jail and plans to awaken the Grotesquery, a creature combining the parts of various monsters that will open the way for the ultimate evil, the Faceless Ones. If he successes, the world is doomed. So, of course it is up to a living skeleton and a thirteen-year old girl to stop him and the beast he hopes to unleash using magic, revolvers, and smart aleck remarks. You have to feel sorry for them, Vengeous and the Grotesquery that is.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a comic book movie in a novel, December 23, 2010
This review is from: Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 2) (Paperback)
[I would apply this review to both the first two books in the series, but I wrote it just after reading the second (Playing With Fire).]
How could a book seem so badly written and yet be this hard to put down? It's not as badly written as it seems although a lot of aspects of the story are not believable at all. Even fantasy has to be believable in a way, and this isn't. Some people are going to really like this style of story. Some people will think it's terrible. As I writer, I appreciate both sides and say it's both. It's terrible and yet it's just the kind of style and story that's likable in way that you like in some movies, but seems a little out of place as a novel.
It reads like one of those comic book movies like Batman and Spiderman or even more like X-Men and Dick Tracy with multiple direct references to H.P. Lovecraft and half a touch of Harry Potter in certain places. It has very little depth (probably less than any of the movies and books I mentioned), and a lot of action -about half of which is pretty much pointless. The plot has a lot of the kind of cheesy bits you expect in those kind of movies.
Another major thing which makes me think of X-men is that although the characters are presented as mages or sorcerers, most of the time they seem a lot more like X-men-esque mutants with certain special power(s). And something about the way the characters, especially the bad guys, are described and the way they interact reminds me of Dick Tracy.
It seems like this story could've been a much better fit as a comic book and/or a movie or cartoon in which case I probably would never have read/watched it -and would not have suffered much loss for that. Then again, if you think you might really like what I'm describing, you'll probably like these books. I give it a 3.5 / 5 instead of a 3 because it was a fun read, but I likely won't bother reading further in the series. And again, I give it a 3.5 for me, but I have a feeling certain types of people will like this kind of book a lot more than I do.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Readers will be eagerly awaiting the next book in this increasingly entertaining series, June 21, 2010
This review is from: Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 2) (Paperback)
The cover of Derek Landy's inaugural SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT novel shows the eponymous skeleton in his trademark hat and sunglasses next to the legend, "And he's the good guy." Good doesn't even begin to describe the fun to be found between the covers of that book and, fortunately for readers, the second installment in the series, SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT: PLAYING WITH FIRE, takes the fun to a whole new level.
Well into her apprenticeship with Skulduggery, Valkyrie Cain --- the girl formerly known as Stephanie Edgley --- is fighting alongside her sardonic teacher. As the story unfolds, the pair defeats a homicidal villain known as Scapegrace, who sees his intended killing spree as a form of art. But the victory is short-lived as a new, far more powerful adversary appears on the scene.
Baron Vengeous, a terrible baddie from Skulduggery's past, escapes from prison. (In a clever nod to This is Spinal Tap, Skulduggery notes that on the villain scale of one to ten, Vengeous "turns it all the way up to eleven.") The Baron, much like Serpine from the first book, is on a mission to revive the Faceless Ones from the dead. His plan involves summoning a beast known as the Grotesquery, a Frankenstein-like hodgepodge of body bits. With the Grostequery and the magical armor of the powerful necromancer Lord Vile, nothing can stand in the Baron's way. Except, perhaps, the fire-flinging Valkyrie and her dead mentor.
In their quest to stop the Baron, the pair encounter Springheeled Jack, a creature who strikes fear into the hearts of Londoners at night and an infected assassin called Billy-Ray Sanguine. The lightning-fast story offers plenty of twists and a touch of paranoia as Valkyrie and Skulduggery come to understand that there's far more to this plot than they originally imagined.
Fans of Landy's initial outing will be very pleased with the second book, which, I'm happy to say, is even funnier than the first. Landy has a talent for the snappy banter between Valkyrie and Skulduggery, perfectly framing their relationship as both friends and teacher/student. Valkyrie is settling in to her role as a descendent of the Ancients who can control elements. It's fun to watch her grow more confident in her abilities but, at the same time, acknowledge that she still relies on Skulduggery's knowledge and assistance. Although the story moves along briskly, Landy manages to breathe life into all his characters and allow them to grow as events unfold.
Realizing that there was a higher force controlling the Baron, the book ends on a pleasantly ominous note: "Bad things are coming for us, Valkyrie." Bad things for Valkyrie and Pleasant perhaps, but only great things for readers, who will be eagerly awaiting the next book in this increasingly entertaining series.
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