Skulduggery Pleasant

Starred review from February 5, 2007
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.

timeking - This book is good Stephanie is a normal kid with not-so-nice cousins and a loving uncle. Her uncle is a writer. But when her uncle die she meets skulduggery pleasant and her life changes: She finds out that her ancestors were God killers and she is magical - and so was skulduggery pleasent since he was a skeleton - and so were others Soon she found out he is a detective and became one with him. But of course there's enemys: a man ( I Can't remember how to spell his name) wants the sceptre - a weapon her ancestors used to kill the gods ( the god's names are the faceless one) to take over the leader - the grand Mage so it is a race for the scepter... Who will get the frist? What will happen to the septer? You have to find out... This book is part of a series by D. Landy And landy is a 10/ 10 author His terrifying moments give you nightmares And his sarcastic jokes will make you laugh This book is like a study book ( in a good way) it is for long reading times One of the greatest detective series 100 percent