Last Stand of Dead Men
The Skulduggery Pleasant series, Book 8
Derek Landy
HarperCollins
Fiction, YA Adventure/Fantasy/Horror/Humor/Mystery
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: After narrowly defeating the latest threat to the world in the form of Argeddion and his mad plan to grant nearly limitless magic to the entire mortal population of Earth, the Irish Sanctuary had hoped to finally be free from the scrutiny of the Supreme Council of other magical sanctuaries, who see the recent chaos in their part of the world as a threat to the entire magical community. Unfortunately, they thought wrong. Saboteurs are caught trying to destroy the Accelerator, the machine used to artificially boost sorcerous powers - saboteurs with ties to the Supreme Council itself, an apparent bid for a complete takeover of the Irish mages by outsiders who have long coveted the land as a natural cradle of magic. Even as they grapple with this threat, someone has been stirring up the warlocks and the witches against mortals. Skulduggery and Valkyrie are sent to investigate the warlock problem - a dangerous mission, especially with the cold, dark voice in Valkyrie's head, the nigh-unstoppable Darquesse who is prophesied to destroy the world, growing more insistent every day...
REVIEW: This series just keeps on ticking and does not stop... In another astounding installment packed with twists, turns, action, wonder, danger, and humor, Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant once more stand between the world and utter destruction - but, as the cast and the threats have grown, they are not alone. Other players have equally pivotal roles, both in dealing with the impending threat of a warlock invasion and in the Sanctuary war that's about to kick off in a big way. Everyone has grown and changed through the series - even "Stephanie", the malfunctioning reflection used by Valkyrie to cover for her many absences from her mundane mortal life and family, which has become self-aware enough to covet the girl's existence and take drastic measures to be with them... and self-aware enough to defend her family, even when the threat is Valkyrie herself. Other returning characters include the one-time would-be "zombie king" Scapegrace and his inept minion Thrasher, who again risk being one-note comic relief characters but who also undergo some transformations of their own, and the dogged mortal reporter Kenny who first stumbled across evidence of the existence of magic a few books back and refuses to let go of the story of a lifetime, even when it plunges him into the middle of an all-out mage war. By the end, the cast has undergone some notable alterations (skirting spoilers with that vague phrase) and the story has been set on a new trajectory. I expect I won't be waiting another month to space out this series like I have been; I have to know what happens next...
(In tangentially related developments, I'll be undergoing my own notable alteration in the coming months regarding employment, which will likely leave me with less audiobook time as so much of my listening happens at work; I don't know if I'll have a chance to clear the whole series by the time that takes effect or not, but I'll be doing my level best to try. 2025 just has to destroy everything remotely decent and stable in my existence, apparently.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom (Leah R. Cutter) - My Review
Playing With Fire (Derek Landy) - My Review
The Thickety (J. A. White) - My Review
No comments:
Post a Comment