Fantasy

Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant

  • Downloads：5910
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-31 05:52:32
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Derek Landy
  • ISBN：0007241623
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Lisa Wang ，

Decent YA supernatural read。 Had some funny moments but the plot itself was mediocre。 Will read the next one in the series to see if it gets any better。 Listened to on audio （which was fantastic）。

Mathew ，

I had a copy of this book on my shelf from when it first came out and even had children in the class read it but I'd never read it until I saw a student had enjoyed it。 What was I thinking？！？ Absolutely brimming with wry humour and plenty of action it was absolutely fantastic and I look forward to reading more in the series。 Silly but not too silly， and adventurous without losing plot or sense of character， Skulduggery was a super read。 I think any in-depth review around the plot would reveal to I had a copy of this book on my shelf from when it first came out and even had children in the class read it but I'd never read it until I saw a student had enjoyed it。 What was I thinking？！？ Absolutely brimming with wry humour and plenty of action it was absolutely fantastic and I look forward to reading more in the series。 Silly but not too silly， and adventurous without losing plot or sense of character， Skulduggery was a super read。 I think any in-depth review around the plot would reveal too much so let's just say that Stephanie's rich， novelist uncle dies only to leave all his fortune to his favourite niece。 At the reading of the will， a strange character called Skulduggery Pleasant appears to pay his respects and soon both he and Stephanie's lives are thrown together as is the fate of the entire world。 Stephanie soon finds that her uncle lived a life of magic and mystery and Skulduggery was one of the doors into this world。 There's something different about Skulduggery - he's a skeleton， he a sorcerer and he's very dead。。。he also has a penchant for risk and trouble and plenty of dangerous enemies who would like to see him and his associates dead。 I wouldn't say it's a class novel but it is a great independent read for children who have a good sense of humour and like adventure too。 。。。more

Adam ，

Loved it， had Harry Potter Vibes。。 late harry potter when he knows how to do cool spells。。

Remi Salzmann ，

Meh。 I didn’t like it。 None of it really kept me reading at any point， like none of it made me wonder what was going to happen next， so it took me a month to read。 Also another grievance I have with this book is that they keep mentioning Stephanie is 12。 A couple problems with this- in the beginning of the book they mentioned how pretty and beautiful Stephanie was， like she was tall and slender- That’s pretty creepy in my book like no one should make those comments describing a TWELVE YEAR OLD。 Meh。 I didn’t like it。 None of it really kept me reading at any point， like none of it made me wonder what was going to happen next， so it took me a month to read。 Also another grievance I have with this book is that they keep mentioning Stephanie is 12。 A couple problems with this- in the beginning of the book they mentioned how pretty and beautiful Stephanie was， like she was tall and slender- That’s pretty creepy in my book like no one should make those comments describing a TWELVE YEAR OLD。 A second problem I have with herr age is that the back of the book （it’s also mentioned in the book） is that STEPHANIE IS STARTING HIGH SCHOOL。 WTF。 She’d be starting middle school ？ LAlso the book is insanely predicable， and the main characters are flat and one dimensional。 Stephanie isn’t realistic at all， like she’s twelve and in this new world， and she’s afraid of nothing。 Make it make sense。 And everyone treats her like an adult， which they definitely should not because she’s TWELVENext- the settings were sooo underdeveloped which I hatedFinally， the action sequences were predicable and boring 。。。more

Nick Kyrgios ，

Incredible。 Easy read。 Hella entertaining

Riana ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Twelve-year old Stephanie inherits a mansion from her author uncle。 As if this is not strange enough already， she meets a pale bony friend of her uncle who suspects that his death can not be ascribed to natural causes。 This was quite a fun read， with a lot more action - and gruesomeness - that I excpeted。 There are a lot of fight scenes and plenty of magic， weapons and undead。 At times the humour seemed a tad put on， but overall I enjoyed the dry sarcasm and the back-and-forth between Stephanie Twelve-year old Stephanie inherits a mansion from her author uncle。 As if this is not strange enough already， she meets a pale bony friend of her uncle who suspects that his death can not be ascribed to natural causes。 This was quite a fun read， with a lot more action - and gruesomeness - that I excpeted。 There are a lot of fight scenes and plenty of magic， weapons and undead。 At times the humour seemed a tad put on， but overall I enjoyed the dry sarcasm and the back-and-forth between Stephanie and Skulduggery。 Unlike Ghastly， the plot was not rock solid， but it was thrilling enough to keep me reading。 As for Stephanie's chosen name: I expecting "Cain，" but I was disappointed at "Valkyrie。" I was honestly expecting her to adopt "Raisin Cain。"If I get my hand on the sequel， I would probably read it， even if it is only to find out what happened to Ghastly， and what Stephanie does with her gigantic house！ 。。。more

Tay ，

An amazing book with beautiful characters and a creative magic system 10/10 :）

AmeliaJane ，

This series is INCREDIBLE。 I recommend it to literally everyone。It has the perfect combination of elite witty humour， brutal violence （a must-have）， awesome queer characters as you progress further into the series， and more than a little bit of magic。 Favourite quotes:"Being a detective isn't all about torture and murder and monsters。 Sometimes it gets truly unpleasant。。。 the fate of the world may depend on whether or not you can bring yourself to visit your relatives。""I place you under arrest This series is INCREDIBLE。 I recommend it to literally everyone。It has the perfect combination of elite witty humour， brutal violence （a must-have）， awesome queer characters as you progress further into the series， and more than a little bit of magic。 Favourite quotes:"Being a detective isn't all about torture and murder and monsters。 Sometimes it gets truly unpleasant。。。 the fate of the world may depend on whether or not you can bring yourself to visit your relatives。""I place you under arrest for murder， conspiracy to commit murder and， I don't know， possibly littering。""I love you all， even those I don't particularly like。 That's you， Beryl。""Oh， I was only joking about that。 I don't really think you murdered someone。 Unless you did， in which case I reserve the right to say I knew it all along。"And then there's five hundred more because this series is downright hilarious。 It may seem cheesy at first， but as you really get into it， it becomes apparent that these books are extremely dark， yet somehow lighthearted at the same time。 It addresses many world issues， even if they aren't in a context you usually know。 The main character， Stephanie Edgley， is an en pointe example of the badass， punch you in the face， bloody awesome characters we need more of！ And then there's Skulduggery， the person who is full of ego， wit and impeccable style in just about every situation possible。 The bond these two form can be felt outside the confines of the book， and Derek Landy writes all the characters so well that you end up in tears multiple times throughout the series。 And most importantly: he's not afraid to kill off as many characters as he can WITHOUT finding a way to have them resurrected。 However， the aspect I love the most is how there is never a truly happy ending to any of the books， and there is never a purely good character。 This cannot be more like real life on Earth; there cannot be love without pain。 I shall leave you with these parting words:THE SPARROW FLIES SOUTH FOR WINTER （you'll only get it if you've read it） 。。。more

Honor ，

✨nostalgia✨

Paulo ，

Is this a good book worth reading？A living skeleton isn't enough for you， is it？ What does it take to impress young people these days？Between Harry Potter and The Call of Cthulhu， this is a fun book。As you can expect， having a walking， talking， skeleton as a detective， wielding magic， to fight paper zombies and prevent the End of the World is bound to be fun。 And it is！"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 Is this a good book worth reading？A living skeleton isn't enough for you， is it？ What does it take to impress young people these days？Between Harry Potter and The Call of Cthulhu， this is a fun book。As you can expect， having a walking， talking， skeleton as a detective， wielding magic， to fight paper zombies and prevent the End of the World is bound to be fun。 And it is！"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。"For me， rating a book depends on several things:Why am I reading this or that particular book; What's my motivation？The timing I choose to pick it。 Why now？What are my expectations about it？ What I'm hoping to achieve？How did the book affected me when I have finished it？When I start Skulduggery， on a friend's advice， I knew it was， primarily a book for young adolescents; The market the author was targetting was 12/14 years olds， I suppose。 But like all good writers， especially in the Era of the Marketing of Auto-Promotion， Derek Landy knew that to achieve commercial success the book should attract adults too。 And how Derek Landy managed to mix a simple plot， accessible to the young， with an adult mostly sarcastic sense of humour， leaving suspended in the background a huge deadly treat hanging behind the entire narrative like the darkest stormy cloud it is， in my opinion brilliant。In every chapter， you have the feeling that the storm is about to explode like an inflating balloon， but then you come up to something like，“What would killing the Elders result in？""Panic？ Fear？ Three empty parking spaces in the Sanctuary？”And the balloon was deflated to restart filling few pages ahead。So， to answer my questions:Why did I read this book？ I needed something to clear my head and breath a little easier。Why now？ Between half East of Eden and the first 35 pages of Dawn of Day， I needed a pauseWhat were my expectations？ To be entertained by a light funny pleasant reading。How did the book affect me？ It fulfils all the expectations so I want to read the rest of the series。This is what I call a "peanut book": You eat the peanuts， get thirsty， drink water （or whatever） and eat more peanuts。 When you have finished the peanuts you forget them and go for something more nourishing， but you are pleased。 。。。more

MotherOfSnakes ，

Ah， skulduggery pleasant。 A man。。 well I should say skeleton， who missed nothing but one thing of his life as a human， and that was his hair。 This very much reminds me of the tv series 'Supernatural' but with a skeleton as Dean and Stephanie as a female version of Sam 😂 I wished I knew about Skulduggery pleasant when I was younger， I would of loved growing up with this series。 But I am grateful that I was able to find it now。 I love the bickering between Skulduggery pleasant and Stephanie and th Ah， skulduggery pleasant。 A man。。 well I should say skeleton， who missed nothing but one thing of his life as a human， and that was his hair。 This very much reminds me of the tv series 'Supernatural' but with a skeleton as Dean and Stephanie as a female version of Sam 😂 I wished I knew about Skulduggery pleasant when I was younger， I would of loved growing up with this series。 But I am grateful that I was able to find it now。 I love the bickering between Skulduggery pleasant and Stephanie and the crazy adventures they go on solving mysteries。 My favourite part in the book: "For a guy who has no internal organs， you've got quite the ego""And for a girl who can't stand up without falling over， you're quite the critic""My leg will be fine""And my ego will flourish， what a pair we are" And what a pair they are indeed。4。5 stars！ 。。。more

Emily ，

Very funny。 Would read this over and over again if I could。

Rebecca ，

this book is really fun！ despite this book being a kids book， I still really enjoy this book as a adult。 this one is the best book in the series。 I love reading the same sections over and over（ the section where we we first meet Skullduggery， the section where we see him creeping in the background at Gordon Edgely's Funeral， the section where he fights the intruder and we find out he's a Skeleton and The section where they are reading Gordon Edgely's Will ） but past those sections I still enjoy this book is really fun！ despite this book being a kids book， I still really enjoy this book as a adult。 this one is the best book in the series。 I love reading the same sections over and over（ the section where we we first meet Skullduggery， the section where we see him creeping in the background at Gordon Edgely's Funeral， the section where he fights the intruder and we find out he's a Skeleton and The section where they are reading Gordon Edgely's Will ） but past those sections I still enjoy this book a lot。 🥰 Skullduggery is my favorite Character （ mainly because he is a handsomely dressed magic skeleton。😂 ） 。。。more

Charlie ，

My childhood is complete and the fact that there 50 million of these is even better

Flinn ，

One of the best books I have ever read

Stephanie Duke ，

Granted there are many plot holes that come with this YA， the comedic elements and vivid writing style make it enjoyable for any age。

Olivia Helen Brennand ，

Skulduggery and Valkyrie’s relationship was the highlight of this first book， and the build-up to the second is intense！

Juliet ，

Can't remember if I managed to finish it。 Might reread later。 Can't remember if I managed to finish it。 Might reread later。 。。。more

Beverly ，

I liked the story and the interesting characters。 The plot was fairly fast-paced and featured a lot of action， including fighting with swords and cleavers。 The narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job creating different voices for all the characters， and bringing them to life。

Lisa Simmons ，

3。7 starsMy favorite part of the story is the dry humorous tone， perhaps an indicator of a British author。 This humor shows up nicely in banter between Stephanie and Skullduggery。 The repeated action adventure face offs came to bore me a bit， but that reveals my reading preferences。

Sean Guy ，

A fantastic beginning to a truly perfect darkly comic fantasy for teens。

Lydia ，

it was a fun read I liked how it was placed in Ireland

Kelly ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 ** 4。25 STARS **CharactersStephanie Edgley presents herself as a sincere and logical main character。 Even during times of uncertainty， she composes herself rather quickly to do what is right。 I will admit that her character is a bit dull at times but when accompanied by Skulduggery Pleasant， she is quick-witted and entertaining。 During the novel， she is advised to choose a new name and adopts the ‘third name’ Valkyrie Cain。 I found the relationship between her and her cousins family notably amus ** 4。25 STARS **CharactersStephanie Edgley presents herself as a sincere and logical main character。 Even during times of uncertainty， she composes herself rather quickly to do what is right。 I will admit that her character is a bit dull at times but when accompanied by Skulduggery Pleasant， she is quick-witted and entertaining。 During the novel， she is advised to choose a new name and adopts the ‘third name’ Valkyrie Cain。 I found the relationship between her and her cousins family notably amusing。 There is nothing else I would consider adding to her character profile。Needless to say， Skulduggery Pleasant was my favourite character。 His frank attitude won me over and I laughed while reading any conversation he partook in。 At first， I didn’t enjoy the idea of him being a skeleton but it somehow fit with his personality， don’t ask me how。 I sympathized with him when reading about how Nefarian Serpine killed his wife and child。 I would truly love to know more about his life as a human， taking place hundreds of years before this book is set。 His perseverance amazed me and he is a character I truly admire。 PlotThis story is set in Dublin， in a time where sorcerers are hidden from nonmagical beings。 Gordon Edgley， a writer of horror fiction and Stephanie’s uncle， is murdered by Serpine， a follower of Mevolent and a believer of the Faceless Ones。 Stephanie and Skulduggery must work together in order to stop Serpine from obtaining the Sceptre， a magical object that is extremely dangerous in the wrong hands。 Stephanie is introduced to a world containing vampires， trolls and monsters， and there are many twists and turns along the way。 This is the only book I’ve read in a long time to include the perfect amount of world building， character development and narrative structure。 It contributes to a book that almost feels alive and real to the reader。 Additionally， I found there to be an ideal balance between humor and horror。 My most loved moment in ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’ is the part where Skulduggery casts a spell on the mirror in Stephanie’s wardrobe that allows a body double of her to emerge。 The possibilities for this detail are endless and I thoroughly enjoyed this idea from Derek Landy。 I would also like to include a brief review of the audiobook， voiced by Derek Landy himself。 It was faultless and only added to the experience of being swept into the necromantic world he expertly crafted。 Something funny I noticed was that every character sounded like a character from Harry Potter。 Unusual…Interestingly， the quote below is from a character I once hated， China Sorrows。 She is a character I desperately want to learn more about。 “There are casualties in every conflict。” 。。。more

Elena ，

This book took me out of my reading funk I've since my last read （it was BAD）。This was packed with adventure， magic and just plain fun。Full RTC This book took me out of my reading funk I've since my last read （it was BAD）。This was packed with adventure， magic and just plain fun。Full RTC 。。。more

Madden ，

A simple， fun read， with interesting magic and indulgently amusing dialog。 For a younger audience， but enjoyable nonetheless。

Isabella ，

I really love this series。 I'm on book seven out of thirteen， and if you like Rick Riordan or Jonathan Stroud's books， you will love this series。 I really love this series。 I'm on book seven out of thirteen， and if you like Rick Riordan or Jonathan Stroud's books， you will love this series。 。。。more

Artemis ，

Theres a skeleton detective， who wouldn't like the book？ Filled with wit and humour it's a complete page turner！ Theres a skeleton detective， who wouldn't like the book？ Filled with wit and humour it's a complete page turner！ 。。。more

Elysian ，

3。5 stars？It's fun and more important: It's something new。 Also idc who you are: If you need some wholesome fun and great jokes that make you chuckle and savage comebacks - this is it。PlotI LOVE the world。 It feels so fresh and inventive。 SO far away form the repetitive and lame YA fantasy worlds。 THIS one has a lot of imagination and I DIG it。 From the culture to artifacts to the actual magic it feels so new and interesting。Personally， a lot of the fighting scenes felt underdeveloped。 The pacin 3。5 stars？It's fun and more important: It's something new。 Also idc who you are: If you need some wholesome fun and great jokes that make you chuckle and savage comebacks - this is it。PlotI LOVE the world。 It feels so fresh and inventive。 SO far away form the repetitive and lame YA fantasy worlds。 THIS one has a lot of imagination and I DIG it。 From the culture to artifacts to the actual magic it feels so new and interesting。Personally， a lot of the fighting scenes felt underdeveloped。 The pacing is SO fast as soon as something important is happening it is gone。 I wished the author would have taken his time explaining everything properly and left time for character's decisions to BREATH。 The over aching plot of this book was A LOT and would have preferred two 300 page books doing the job than just one。CharactersSkulduggery and Steph are AMAZING and I LOVE them to bits。 They are SO good。 I love myself a great mentor/ student duo with a great dynamic and endless banter。 （Followed by a few lovable side characters like Tanith and China）On the other side， I could not find myself to care for a large portion of the cast。 So many characters get introduced， they have no time to catch their breath， settle a bit。 They have one or two nice interactions with the MC's and then I am supposed to care about their fate and arc？ Nope。 （Especially talking about the villain here， who I did not deem to be that scary over all） 。。。more

Daniel Schulte ，

This was a really， really fun book。 I should probably give it 3-stars instead of four because it did have some pretty big plot holes and the characters didn't really develop that much。 Honestly， it wasn't that great of a book。 However， it did have some really great lines in it that made me laugh enough that I had to rewind them to listen to them again。 It's a fun， stupid， and funny read。 I doubt I'll pick up anymore in the series， but I certainly enjoyed this first one。Oh， I should mention that This was a really， really fun book。 I should probably give it 3-stars instead of four because it did have some pretty big plot holes and the characters didn't really develop that much。 Honestly， it wasn't that great of a book。 However， it did have some really great lines in it that made me laugh enough that I had to rewind them to listen to them again。 It's a fun， stupid， and funny read。 I doubt I'll pick up anymore in the series， but I certainly enjoyed this first one。Oh， I should mention that I listened to the audiobook， which made this book literally a million times more enjoyable。 The narrator is amazing and does great voices for each of the characters。 I think if I had just read a physical copy of this book， I wouldn't have been very impressed。 The narrator however made it a magical experience， though。 Definitely listen to the audiobook。 。。。more

Amy ，

This is one of my all time favourite

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Skulduggery Pleasant

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Skulduggery Pleasant&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Skulduggery Pleasant&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0