Scepter of the Ancients

I began Skulduggery Pleasant one night, after my power had gone out during a particularly rough storm, which was a fitting enviroment for the novel, I felt. I read it aloud to my mother, and together we entered the world of Stephanie Edgley and didn't look back. Stephanie Edgley is your average twelve-year old girl who attends school, listens to music, and feels like she doesn't quite belong in her quiet and normal life. Oh, and her best friend is a talking fire-conjuring skeleton named Skulduggery Pleasant. Derek Landy's debut novel Skulduggery Pleasant begins with a frenetic pace and doesn't let up for the length of the book. A worthy contender with the likes of Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket's works, it's the tale of a hidden family secret, a stolen sceptre, powerful magic, and darkness unseen. The dialogue is fast and witty, and written very tongue in cheek. Landy's style reminds me of a Christopher Moore for the younger set. After the death of an author uncle, known for his tales of magic and darkness, Stephanie enters into his secret life led (reluctantly) by Skulduggery Pleasant. Landy's character of Stephanie Edgely is a welcome addition to the children's literature world. She's headstrong yet determined, and the dialogue is completely accurate for a girl of her age. She's a real child, still navigating the careful world between childhood fantasy and adult realizations. Also notable is Skulduggery Pleasant. More than just a skeleton, he's a complex character with a rich and carefully-crafted history. But Skulduggery is only one great part of the novel. The rest of the world is just as enchanting, with a tailor who crafts clothes unique to the wearer and nearly invincible, vampires, and tricky trolls, not to mention a peculiar Canary Car. The novel captivates the reader from start to finish and is the promising start to a seven book series.

As the Harry Potter series comes to a close, no doubt book publishers will be casting about looking for the next big thing. Like searching for the next Michael Jordan or the next Muhammed Ali, the quest may not achieve its ultimate goal, but many worthy contenders. Skulduggery Pleasant certainly qualifies. I "read" it on tape with my 11-year old son on a long road trip together. We were both fully engrossed from early on in the book. The story is mystery/adventure/fantasy spun out with humor and skill sufficient to engage readers from 9 to 9-squared. The comparisons to the Harry Potter series are obvious: A friendless but good 12-year old filled with ennui about her existence (the gender difference of the hero plays no role in this book---could have been a boy without changing a word) suddenly discovers a magical world hiding in plain sight in the everyday world -- a world where she instantly feels she belongs at last. She makes friends there, is thrust into harrowing adventures that threaten the entire order of that world as well as the everyday world, and she discovers her own magical (and, ultimately, special) powers as she bravely participates in the fight for good in the magical world. Like the Potter series,the magical world here is fully-developed and ripe with clever details that rival creations like the sorting hat and the talking portraits of Hogwarts. Indeed, the writing is actually a little more satisfying than in the Potter books, and much funnier, as there is a hard-boiled detective at the core of the story who tosses off one liners with a Sam Spade deadpan. Unlike the Harry Potter series, however, everyone, except the girl, is an adult, and even she is only nominally 12: everything about her character is much more like 18 or 19. The friendships and teen concerns that are both an integral part of the popularity of the Potter series are absent here. Nonetheless, a terrific story from start to finish, with sequels and a movie still to follow. You will want to be among the first to have read it. I'm glad I was.

Okay, adventure junkies, have I the book for you. Derek Landy's "Skulduggery Pleasant" brings the adventure, the magic, and the page-turning thrills every child over the age of ten desires. Twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley had a normal life in Haggard, Ireland, until her uncle passed away: "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." Frankly, I was hooked from this paragraph alone. At the reading of Gordon's will, Stephanie learns she is her Uncle's heir and she meets a curious thin man named Skulduggery Pleasant. Turns out there's a good reason Skulduggery is thin--he's a skeleton. A skeleton who can also do magic. When Stephanie is attacked on her first night in her Uncle's home, Skulduggery comes to her rescue and they're thrown together in a fight for The Scepter of the Ancients--a magical object Gordon Edgley owned and one that can destroy anything in its path. Reading this basic plot description might lead you to think that "Skulduggery Pleasant" is like many a fantasy tale you've read before. But Landy has brought some new touches to the genre. First of all, the warring magicians are not evenly divided into camps of good and evil. There are a fair number of diplomats in the mix as well--magicians who don't see their role as taking either side. This, Stephanie must learn, doesn't mean they are evil, just that you can't call on them for support in a crisis. Secondly, Stephanie and Skulduggery make a great team. Stephanie is an intelligent, snarky girl, and Skulduggery is more amused, than annoyed by her. Take this piece of banter as an example: "'Is this the same as the way into the Sanctuary?' she asked 'Are you looking for a secret passageway?' 'You watch too many haunted-house movies,' he said. 'But are you looking for a secret passageway?' 'Yes,' he admitted. 'But that's just a coincidence.'" Landy's talent as a screen writer shows--"Skulduggery Pleasant" features one great action scene after another. Despite the danger and darkness of Stephanie's new magical world, "Skulduggery Pleasant" remains a bright Gothic read due to Skulduggery's winsome personality and Stephanie's sense of humor and bravery. Highly, highly recommended for readers ages ten and up.

It all started when Gordon Edgley died. Well, it actually started much earlier than that. I mean, if you want to be picky it "all" started at the dawn of time. Or is that just when time started? Never mind. The point is, for Stephanie Edgley it all started when her uncle Gordon died. Gordon wasn't much of a family man; in fact, Stephanie was probably the one closest to him. Even saying that, though, is a bit of a stretch. It would probably be better to say that he tolerated her presence better and more often than he did the rest of his family. Which still doesn't completely explain why he left his house, his fortune, and his book royalties to her. Actually, there's a lot of unexplained things about Gordon, even more so now that he's gone. Like the strange man at the funeral. The one wrapped so tightly in a scarf, sunglasses, and an overcoat that you can't even glimpse an inch of his skin. That was the first time Stephanie had ever encountered Skulduggery Pleasant. The next time they were in the same room was for the reading of Gordon's will. The one where he left most of his things to his twelve-year-old niece. Much to the dismay of Stephanie's aunt and uncle, who got a boat (Uncle Fergus gets seasick), a car ("We already have a car!"), and a brooch ("It doesn't even have any jewels on it."). Stephanie's parents, incidentally, got the villa in France. Skulduggery Pleasant received the strangest gift of all, which is some very cryptic advice. With which he was completely content. This was not to be the last encounter between Stephanie and Skulduggery. Having spent most of a day exploring part of Stephanie's new house, she and her mother get in the car to go home and find that the car won't start. The mechanic that comes to fix it has to tow it back to his shop. Stephanie convinces her mother that she can stay at the house alone while the car is being fixed. But, the storm that started while they were waiting for the mechanic grows worse as time passes. It is eventually determined that the car won't be fixed until tomorrow, and the road to the house is flooded. Stephanie is stuck for the night. Though it takes some convincing for her mom to leave her there. Freedom and solitude: Stephanie couldn't be happier! Which lasts all of a few minutes. Someone is trying to break into the house, and somehow Stephanie doesn't believe him when he says he won't hurt her if she just lets him in to get what he wants. Skulduggery Pleasant to the rescue! And what a strange rescuer he is. In the struggle with the intruder, Skulduggery's hat and scarf fall off to reveal only a skeleton! Stephanie is so shocked by this that she mostly forgets what he's done. Now she has a million questions: Who and what is Skulduggery? How did he know her uncle? Why was he at the house? How is it that he can throw fire? Can he teach her? And how does he stay upright when there's no skin and muscle to hold him together? Stephanie is stunned, but

I picked up this book at the book store yesterday knowing nothing about it, and have not been able to put it down since. It is a young reader book (which I didn't realize at the time) but I would highly recommend this book to anyone. My daughter cannot wait for me to finish so she can read it next! The characters are excellent and work well together. The story is seamless and Mr. Landy manages to keep the story not only interesting, but very funny. I am loving every minute of it and cannot wait until the next one!