Skulduggery Pleasant: A small matter of impending catastrophe by Derek Landy

This is another tale of bizarre and ridiculous adventure involving Skulduggery Pleasant, the skeletal super-charged problem solver in the world of impossibility. With his faithful side-kick Valkyrie Cain they have regularly ‘saved the world’ and in this mystery-detective-adventure they become homicide investigators and responsible for unraveling a future that could be apocalyptic. And all of this is liberally coated with a thick layer of sarcasm. 

This is the kind of ridiculous adventure that only fans of Skulduggery Pleasant could love. It entangles the skeletal wonder worker and his assistant into a series of deaths (including one with a beheading) that take place within the Department of Prophecies. The result is exceptionally eccentric and twisted and there are characters that are chronically lacking in intelligence or fortitude. Sidebar conversations are often dripping with a viscous sarcasm that takes attention from any plot progress but adds a humorous quality to the story dealing with prophetic, magical or evil intentions. I am not sure that this will immediately appeal to those with a gentle nature or a preference for realism in fiction, but readers aged 11-14, who have previously discovered the unconventional realm of Skulduggery Pleasant and who are impressed by the sarcastic tone scattered through the book, will pick up this latest Derek Landy offering with a measure of pleasure. Skulduggery is not my favourite ‘hero’ and I do not particularly love the weirdness of this plot or the ‘evil’ characters that drop in to create a twist or two, but there are moments of lightness that overcome my reticence.

Themes: Murder mystery, Prophecy, Adventure, Sarcasm, Blindness.

Carolyn Hull