The Dying of the Light
The Skulduggery Pleasant series, Book 9
Derek Landy
HarperCollins
Fiction, YA Adventure/Fantasy/Horror/Humor/Mystery
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: For some time, the Irish teen Valkyrie Cain has known that she might be responsible for the end of the world. Somewhere in her own mind resides Darquesse, an unimaginably powerful and unimaginably amoral sorceress, predicted to destroy Earth and everything on it... and, no matter how she and her friend and mentor Skulduggery Pleasant try, the clairvoyants' premonitions remain the same. After the war between the Sanctuaries and the attack of the warlocks, the worst has come to pass, and Valkyrie's dark self has taken full control of her body and her powers.
Stephanie was once nothing but an unthinking reflection, a simulacrum used to cover for Valkyrie's increasingly-frequent absences from her mundane home and mundane family, but somewhere along the way it developed a glitch, becoming an independent being determined to take over the ordinary life that Valkyrie seemed so willing to toss away in pursuit of the more exciting world of magic. But it - she - has enough of Valkyrie's personality and training to not be able to turn her back on a world in need of saving, even helping defend the magical city of Roarhaven from Darquesse's attack. She may have no soul or powers of her own (save a god-killing weapon bonded to her through blood), but she's determined to do what she can to help Skulduggery and the others fight back, even if it means killing the original Valkyrie Cain.
The final showdown is coming...
REVIEW: The ninth installment of the Skulduggery Pleasant series wraps up the Darquesse storyline in characteristically explosive fashion, ratcheting up the already-high stakes with nearly every chapter while running a parallel story whose connection isn't clear until later on. With Valkyrie out of the picture, subsumed into her subconscious by Darquesse, the reflection Stephanie must step up to heroism, even as Skulduggery and others remain a little unsure how to react to her (especially given the actions she took to gain her independence; like Valkyrie, Stephanie is willing to go to extreme measures to get what she wants). Even she doubts herself at times, lacking Valkyrie's magic and deep-rooted recklessness; unlike the original girl, the reflection has no desire to be a hero or live an exciting life, more than happy to be the ordinary Irish girl with her ordinary family who looks forward to an ordinary life. Unfortunately, to get to that ordinary future (and to ensure said future is even going to exist), she has to navigate the hazards of the magical world and a threat that even Valkyrie failed to defeat. Meanwhile, Darquesse plots her rise and revenge, gathering some powerful allies (or rather tools of convenience, as the dark sorceress hardly considers other beings, even sorcerers, as anything like her peers)... some of whom begin to have their doubts. Twists and turns aplenty await, as well as numerous betrayals and other surprises, not to mention the return of several familiar faces. Several times I encountered what I was sure was going to be the finale, because there was no way Landy could kick things even higher, only to realize the book wasn't even half over and there was still a long, wild stretch of the roller coaster ahead. Not everyone makes it to the end, and there are many sacrifices on the way to a conclusion that marks a major transition in the greater series. I'm still enjoying this series immensely, and look forward to what comes next.
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