The plot revolves around a teenage girl named Stephanie Edgely (later known as Valkyrie Cain) whose uncle had died from an unusual source. She later ends up meeting with a good yet mysterious friend of her uncle's named Skulduggery Pleasant who is actually a witty and cunning skeleton of a dead sorcerer and detective. These two characters end up forming a friendship and sticking by each other by solving cases and saving the world throughout the series as evil forces pursue them.
I've really enjoyed this series so far. The main reason I came upon this book was because I was looking for another mystery book after reading a Sherlock Holmes novel. However this series is more to the fantasy and action genre than to mystery which to my surprise is still a great combination of genres. When I saw first saw the front cover, it caught my eye immediately, a skeleton sorcerer with a suit and a top hat, so cool!
There are many reasons why I enjoy this series and one of them is because the characters can be so likable. The background story of each of the main characters can be so interesting and mysterious because it's placed in a fantasy world of magic and sorcery. I get questions running through my head like "How did Skulduggery revive from the dead?" or "Where's his real head?" As well as the character's background stories I also like their attitudes and personas. For example, Skulduggery is strong, mysterious, heroic and witty, I like it when he says his little comedic phrases, it gives a little light hearted feeling to the book. I also like Stephanie's character because she is an ordinary teenage girl who progresses and becomes strong and fearless as the story goes on.
The story is very enjoyable as well. As the story goes on, more new and interesting characters are introduced. There are lots of twists that stir up the plot to make you want to carry on reading more and more.
I do sometimes get a bit confused while reading because every time I've finished reading one of the books it takes me a while to start reading the next one in the series so I forget some things. When that happens I read it again like I did with the fourth book and I find reading several chapters a day is better than a couple.
Overall I think this is an amazing series to read. Even though its a teen fiction, I'm pretty sure some adults would enjoy it as much as I have. I'll be sure to read the whole series probably more than once. Thanks to Derek Landy for writing this incredible fantasy novel.
