Friday 14 August 2009

YOUNG ADULT REVIEW: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy


BOOK BLURB:

"So you won't keep anything from me again?" He put his hand to his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die." "Okay then. Though you don't actually have a heart," she said. "I know." "And technically, you've already died." "I know that too." "Just so we're clear." 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 intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source -- the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard. When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture! Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.


REVIEW:

If you want a supernatural detective novel and something that’s different from the majority out there, you’ll soon find Skulduggery as a name that keeps cropping up. Building a name amongst the younger readers out there he will soon become a firm favourite of the adult reader as the tale moves at its own pace. Whilst the descriptiveness of the novel isn’t, what does work extremely well is the way in which the protagonists interact amongst themselves, demonstrating the most noble traits of mankind. Add to the mix classic detective film noir of the fifties with a modern urban fantasy then you’ve got a real treat ahead especially when you find a villain worthy of facing Voldermort on an even keel.

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