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Summary and Reviews of Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant

by Derek Landy
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (19):
  • First Published:
  • Apr 3, 2007, 400 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2008, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: Ace Detective, Snappy Dresser, Razor–tongued Wit, Crackerjack Sorcerer, and, Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton! It is up to him and Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old, to save the world.....

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant

Ace Detective
Snappy Dresser
Razor–tongued Wit
Crackerjack Sorcerer
and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton


—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.

These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.

The end of the world?

Over his dead body.

Chapter One
Stephanie

Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone—not least himself. One moment he was in his study, seven words into the twenty-fifth sentence of the final chapter of his new book, And the Darkness Rained upon Them, and the next he was dead. A tragic loss, his mind echoed numbly as he slipped away.

The funeral was attended by family and acquaintances but not many friends. Gordon hadn't been a well-liked figure in the publishing world, for although the books he wrote—tales of horror and magic and wonder—regularly reared their heads in the bestseller lists, he had the disquieting habit of insulting people without realizing it, then laughing at their shock. It was at Gordon's funeral, however, that Stephanie Edgley first caught sight of the gentleman in the tan overcoat.

He was standing under the shade of a large tree, away from the crowd, the coat buttoned up all the way despite the warmth of the afternoon. A scarf was ...

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

From the moment Skulduggery appears the action heats up and drives the reader relentlessly through the book. While comparisons with Harry Potter seem inevitable, this book has more in common with the Artemis Fowl novels - lots of action, snappy dialog and magic...continued

Full Review (282 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Media Reviews

Locus
Fun and quirky [with] lots of humor.

The Guardian - Philip Ardagh
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.

Kirkus Reviews
A high-intensity tale shot through with spectacular magic battles, savage mayhem, cool outfits, monsters, hidden doors, over-the-top names, narrow escapes, evil schemes and behavior heroic, ambiguous and really, really bad.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. An utterly charming debut.

Reader Reviews

Alexander Jeffs

GOOD BOOK
GOOD BOOK 10/10
Skulduggery Pleasant Lover

The Best Book(s)
I really enjoyed this book and I do recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a little bit of much grossness. It is rated 15 but I started reading it at my 10th!! The adventures are x-trèmely exciting, captivating & fun! I really hope that you ...   Read More
Jinx Heywire

Skulduggery Pleasant book review
This thrilling first novel in a much wider series sets the reader off on a trail of laughs, mysteries and suspense. When I first read this I was slightly skeptical, because even though many of my friends had loved the series, all I saw was a funny ...   Read More
Gimhan Perera

one of the best books ever to be read
Once you start reading it, you can't get your eyes off the book until you finish it. I suggest you to read it because I have the personal experience of how good the book is actually. I can't suggest a similar book because there is nothing similar ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



Derek Landy lives near Dublin, Ireland; the setting for Skulduggery Pleasant, which is his first book. After working on a farm and deciding that life was not for him, he started writing for horror movies, two of which were produced by the Irish Film Board: Dead Bodies (2003), and Boy Eats Girl (2005).

Coming Soon: The second in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, Playing With Fire (May 2008).

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Read-Alikes

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