Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days

Skulduggery Pleasant
Derek Landy
8/10

Well we all know about the tried and true Skulduggery Pleasant books, all of the characters have a certain quality about them they, all have points that mean you cant help but love them, the devotion of Valkyrie our hero, the perseverance and deadliness of Tanith, the cute lovability of Kenspeckle, the blatant stupidity of some of the bad guys and, of course, the sharp wit, dry humour and sheer awesomeness of the walking talking skeleton, Skulduggery. This variance and individuality between characters shows the comittment of a truly gifted writer.

The difference is that this book starts off with no Skulduggery, hes gone, missing presumed dead. As Valkyrie joureys to rescue him we recieve news of a new collection of criminals bent on revenge, as well as a prophecy concerning an appocalypse in the near future. Not really the best time to lose one of the most freaking aweosome heroes that I know to exist in literature.

The story progresses at an excellent pace and keeps up the beautiful description that the books are famous for, with an edge of your seat pace you cant help but but get sucked in. The only criticims i can find is that, in comparison to previous books in the series, its not as heavy on the comedy and action that I loved in the first couple, there seems to be a bit more of an emphisis on the story, and though this makes the book seem deeper, its unfortunately at the loss of an element that was always a highlight of the other books. Dont let this put you off though, far from it, this series is certainately a must read and if you havent then do so.

Its not a hrad to book to pick up, short as far as pages go, and with a large friendly font. The easy humor makes it easily accessible and the simple take on magic is one of the best i've ever seen. Whenever a writer has to redo a basic item in a book there is always a chance that it will be to different and not liked, magic in SP is simple and makes sense. The idea of an elemental magician verses an adept who can have any sort of magic power is an awesome concept and easy for anyone to understand.

Overall a fantastic book, and totally worth a detention, I have to thank my chemistry teacher, who helped me greatly to read this book by not showing up to classes. This goes out to you Mr. Harris :D
Try your best to read this book, but if you cant dont lose your head:P