Skulduggery Pleasant (novel)

Skulduggery Pleasant (also known as Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients, or simply The Scepter of the Ancients) is the debut novel of Irish playwright Derek Landy, published in April 2007. It is the first of the Skulduggery Pleasant novels. The novel crosses the horror, comedy, mystery, and fantasy genres.

Skulduggery Pleasant
AuthorDerek Landy
Cover artistTom Percival
Country Ireland
LanguageEnglish
SeriesSkulduggery Pleasant
GenreChildren's novel, Fantasy novel, detective novel, comedy novel, adventure novel
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
3 April 2007
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages368 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN0-00-724161-5 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC77012018
Followed byPlaying with Fire (2008) 

The story follows the characters Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton, sorcerer and detective, with his partner Stephanie Edgley who goes by the name Valkyrie Cain, and numerous magic-wielding allies as they try to prevent Nefarian Serpine from unleashing a weapon of terrible power on the world. The book was retitled Sceptre Of The Ancients for the 2009 paperback release in the US and Canada. HarperCollins Audio also publishes the unabridged CD sets of the books read by Rupert Degas.

It won the coveted Red House Children's Book Award and the Hampshire Book Award in 2007.[1]

Warner Bros. was at one point considering to create a live action film based on the book.

Plot summary

When Stephanie Edgley's horror novelist uncle, Gordon Edgley, passes away unexpectedly she is called out on his will and present at the reading are herself, her parents Desmond and Melissa, Stephanie's none-too-well-liked uncle and aunt Fergus and Beryl, and a mysterious man in a tan overcoat, hat, frizzy wig, sunglasses, and scarf named Skulduggery Pleasant. Stephanie's aunt and uncle are given an ugly brooch, a boat, and a car, (none of which they wanted), while Stephanie's parents are left a magnificent villa in France. Stephanie herself is left with the entirety of Gordon's remaining estate, including the impressive royalties on his best-selling books, and a mansion filled with his possessions. Skulduggery Pleasant is left with a seemingly useless piece of advice.

After visiting the mansion, Melissa and Stephanie are stranded by car issues and a heavy rainstorm. Calling a tow-truck, Melissa opts to return while letting Stephanie spend time in her new property. After reading some of her uncle's latest manuscripts (to be published posthumously) and fixing herself a snack, Stephanie receives a threatening phone call. The caller demands she hand over a "key". When she refuses, the man breaks in and tries to attack and kill her. But and the burst through the door is saved by the mysterious Mr. Pleasant, who throws a fireball (produced from clicking his fingers) at the man. Upon discovering his imperviousness to flames, Pleasant shoots the attacker, forcing him to flee the scene. During the fight, Skulduggery's disguise is knocked off, revealing him to be an actual walking-and-talking skeleton held together by nothing but magic.

Upon realizing that her uncle was murdered, later in the book, and learning about the extensive nature of the secret world of mages and sorcerers in this secret world, Stephanie decides to escape her previously boring and tedious life and join this new one aswell. She begins by helping Skulduggery investigate Gordon's death. Over the course of their search, Skulduggery and Stephanie gradually uncover a greater plot for world domination by a previous general in the magical war again in attempt to bring back the Faceless Ones. Stephanie's yet had uncle had unearthed an ancient weapon used by the first sorcerers, the Ancients, to defeat their tyrannical gods the Faceless Ones. He recently sealed this deadly weapon, the Sceptre of the Ancients, in a maze beneath the house of Gordon Edgelys. The "key" is later discovered by Skullduggery that it is in fact the old, insignificant-looking brooch left by her uncle to his brother Fergus' wife, Beryl. The advice was a clue for Skulduggery to notice this.

Later going by the name Valkyrie Cain, Stephanie and Skulduggery, aided by a boxer/tailor named Ghastly Bespoke; the librarian and informant China Sorrows, Skulduggery and Stephanie meet with the enigmatic and incredibly strong Mr. Bliss, and the English professional swords-woman Tanith Low, in the hopes that he will be able to help them keep the Sceptre out of Serpine's hands for good and attempt to prevent Nefarian Serpine, the originator of the plot and murderer of Stephanie's uncle, from bring back their retired evil gods. Serpine once served under the evil wizard Mevolent, and worshiped the Faceless Ones as evil Gods. Mevolent, in an attempt to spread the evil religion and possibly bring back the Faceless Ones from their extra-dimensional banishment, waged a secret war on the wizard community. Skulduggery opposed Mevolent in this war four hundred years ago, when he was still alive. He became ensnared in a trap Serpine set by murdering Skulduggery's wife and child, then suffered several days of torture until he was finally killed by Serpine. Due to his extreme desire for revenge, rage and ties with unfinished business, Skulduggery resurrected himself. As nothing more than a bag of bones, Skulduggery put himself back together, got up, and finished the war.

After a race against Serpine to find the Sceptre in the caves, Mr Bliss betrays them however, handing Serpine the Sceptre. Sagacious Tome, one of the Elders of the Magical Sanctuary that heads Ireland's wizard government, also reveals himself to be a traitor, and allows the two other Elders, Eachan Meritorious and Morwenna Crow, to be murdered by Serpine. Serpine invades the Sanctuary and enters the Repository, a storage of magical objects and artifacts. Serpine's original plan was to use the Book of Names housed there to control the world, thus being able to simultaneously enforce Faceless One worship while searching unhindered for one who could show him how to bring them back. However the spell protecting the book is too strong, and only all three Elders' consent - or their deaths - would allow anyone to approach or use it using people's will power. In response to this, Serpine murders Tome. And then later discovers Mr. Bliss, has been playing against Serpine all along when he tries to stop Serpine at this point, but is repelled.

Skulduggery and Stephanie, having sneaked into the Sanctuary, witness the unfolding double and triple-crossing. Skuldggery attacks Serpine, with the Book of Names being destroyed in the ensuing struggle. Angered at his loss, Serpine tortures Stephanie with his Red Hand, but Skulduggery destroys him with the Sceptre, breaking the its power in the process. At the conclusion of the novel, Skulduggery offers to take Stephanie on as his assistant, partner and student in sorcery; Stephanie has discovered through the course of the novel's events that her family are descendants of the Ancients and she herself has unknown magical abillities.

Characters

Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective, magician, and warrior. He fought against Mevolent under Grand Mage Meritorious during the secret war as one of the leaders, and is in a group called The Dead Men but was caught in a deadly trap by Nefarian Serpine under Mevolent's command. He killed Skulduggery's wife and child in front of him. Furious, Skulduggery grabbed a dagger to kill Serpine with, but Serpine had planned this, and the handle of the dagger was poisoned. Serpine tortured Skulduggery for a few days then killed him. After Skulduggery's death, his body was impaled on a spike and burned as an example to Mevolent's other enemies. Though as a result of a necromancer's experiment, Skulduggery did not move on after his death, but stayed and watched the war progress; to his horror, the tide turned and Mevolent gained advantage. In the books, Skulduggery's past life name (given name) has not been revealed, though author Derek Landy says his taken name was "Skulduggery Pleasant" before he died. Skulduggery accepts the sacrifice of individuals as a necessary part of war, but he is highly reluctant to allow this to happen to Stephanie (aka Valkyrie Cain). He protects her diligently throughout the novel. He is very smart and witty.

Stephanie Edgley (Valkyrie Cain)

Stephanie is a 12-year-old girl living in the quiet Irish seaside town of Haggard. With the events of the books she is forced into maturing at a much faster pace. She is also the niece of Gordon Edgley, a recently deceased horror novelist, whose novels, she discovers, were not completely fictional. She first meets Skulduggery at Gordon's funeral; Gordon was a friend of Skulduggery. Skulduggery tells Stephanie how Gordon once described her as "strong-willed, intelligent, sharp-tongued, doesn't suffer fools gladly",[2] traits Gordon himself possessed. Stephanie proves herself to have all these qualities in spades, clashing wits with Skulduggery and annoying him to no end. She refuses to be left behind by Skulduggery after he saves her, despite his advice that she keep out of danger. He later comes to respect her abilities, recognizing them when she herself does not. Stephanie despised her boring, ordinary life; she did not have anything in common with her peers, and though not disruptive at school, has a healthy disregard for authority. She takes great enjoyment in Skulduggery's more criminal escapades, such as breaking into a museum vault. She constantly proves herself to be every bit the equal of the adults, though some people underestimate her – her pet peeve is being called "child".

Though possessing no immediately obvious special abilities, other than fundamental running, swimming, and fighting instincts which help her out of trouble at the outset of the novel, Stephanie later learns she is a descendant of the Last of the Ancients, who was one of the first to discover magic. She begins to develop her magic skills, manipulating air in a climactic battle scene, and managing to create fire at the end of the novel. Skulduggery offers to help her master her magical abilities, so that she can assist him in adventures to come. Her main strengths, however, are her intelligence, her will and determination.

According to the novel's magical premise, knowing someone's given name gives you a limited amount of power over them. China Sorrows knows Stephanie's name, and uses this knowledge to prevent Stephanie from rescuing Skulduggery. Stephanie is thus forced to take on the name Valkyrie Cain. Taking this name seals her given name, keeping others from controlling her, and breaks China's hold on her, allowing her to save Skulduggery. Although known as Valkyrie by other characters from this point onwards, Landy continues to refer to her in the third-person as Stephanie in the first book, and Skulduggery chooses to call her Valkyrie. However, for the rest of the series, she is known as Valkyrie.

She got her name from the Norse warrior women who guard Valhalla (she is familiar with the term, and even recognizes the "Ride of the Valkyries", when she is woken by it at her house), and she got her last name from the word Cain. Skulduggery Pleasant introduced the word to her, claiming that she had a "penchant for raising Cain", meaning that she makes trouble.

Tanith Low

Tanith Low is a master swords-woman who is first introduced while battling a troll on Westminster Bridge in the first book. Tanith does not work for the Elders (who are the leaders of the magical communities which are mainly divided by country), because she has a natural distrust of authority. Instead she merely, as Springheeled Jack says in 'Playing With Fire', "deals out what she calls justice". She is English and originally lived in London. Tanith Low's job is to apprehend or otherwise kill criminals and evil creatures who threaten national security.

Originally Derek Landy planned to kill off Tanith Low in the first book, but when he brought it to his editors they said it would be "too sad for the readers." So Derek Landy agreed that he would keep her alive as long as he can torture her in some way in every book she is in. Despite common belief, he does not hate Tanith Low, as he stated in his Down Under tour in Perth on 20 August 2012.

She befriends Valkyrie/Stephanie in Book 1. During a conversation with Valkyrie, Tanith expresses a desire for a little sister and she and Valkyrie develop an affectionate sisterly relationship. Valkyrie refers to Tanith as being like a sister to her in the fourth book. Tanith is also known to have an elder brother whom she states she 'loves to death'. Despite her softer, warmer side, Tanith can be ruthless, sending two Cleavers to their death in order to distract some Hollow Men to rescue Skulduggery from Serpine. She is also an excellent fighter. She takes on Serpine's White Cleaver in combat at the end of the first book, and almost wins, but the White Cleaver throws his scythe through her back and she nearly dies.

Tanith also features in her own book 'The Maleficent Seven'. Where she gets a group together to go hunt down and destroy objects called the God Killers.

Nefarian Serpine

The villain Serpine is an evil sorcerer who once served under Mevolent as one of his Infamous Three Generals. He dabbles in necromancy. He accidentally destroys the Book of Names with the Sceptre, foiling his own scheme for the return of the Faceless Ones, and then attempts to kill Stephanie, but Skulduggery stops him and avenges the death of his family by turning Serpine to dust with the Sceptre.

Serpine is highly intelligent and a skilled manipulator who managed to persuade Sagacious Tome to join him. He is a fanatic who is believed by many (Skulduggery included) to be insane, although the Faceless Ones (as proved in Book 2 Playing with Fire and Book 3 The Faceless Ones) are actually real.

The greatest weapon in Serpine's arsenal is his Red Right Hand which has the dark power to cause individuals great pain, eventually killing them, when pointed at. He was taught this by High Priest Tenebrae after Serpine surrounded the necromancer's temple.

China Sorrows

China is magically beautiful, making anyone fall in love with her at first sight. She is fluent in the language of magic and has hidden symbols all over her body and the library that she owns. She is quite secretive, but as time goes on Valkyrie gets to know her and eventually they become friends in the fifth book. China used to worship the Dark Gods (The Faceless Ones), as her whole family did (including Mr Bliss, her Brother). China helps Skulduggery and Valkyrie out many times, and has fought alongside them, though she calls herself neutral, stating '"I am loyal to one person only. That person is me.'" She is also perceived by Skulduggery as "not to be trusted". In a later book she got in a fight with the character Eliza Scorn, who blows up China's library and also all of her cars.

Reviews

Skulduggery Pleasant has opened to largely positive reviews by critics.

  • April Spisak (Project MUSE)

The result is a rich fantasy that is as engaging in its creative protagonists and villains as it is in the lightning-paced plot and sharp humor.[3]

It's exciting, pacy, nicely handled and it's fun. There's nothing worthy about it, and it's all the better for that. And, I might add, it's self-contained. Landy may well revisit these characters – I sincerely hope he does – but it's a pleasingly rounded tale, which is refreshing in these days of endless open-ended books of never-ending series.[4]
There is no expense spared by Landy in this book and I would have to say that everyone who could be bothered to read it, would definitely be drawn into it and certainly enjoy it. ... Something for everyone and everything for someone, Skulduggery Pleasant is easily my book of the year so far. Read it![5]
Landy is an established writer, and the combats between Skulduggery, Serpine and his legions of Hollow Men rival the climaxes of the Potter films for hair-raising effects; it isn't often that writing makes you feel as if you are watching a film.[6]
Derek Landy's debut, Skulduggery Pleasant ... has a distinctly Horowitzian humour and verve to it, being a detective story featuring a sorcerer skeleton as hero.[7]

Awards

Skulduggery Pleasant won the Red House Children's Book Award,[8] the Bolton Children's Book Award[9] and the Staffordshire Young Teen Fiction Award.[10] The book was also recommended for confident readers (9+) by the Richard & Judy Children's Book Club in 2007. It also won the Portsmouth Book Awards in 2008, having been selected by school children in Portsmouth.[11] Also, in 2009, it won the Kernow Youth and Grampian Book Awards by a majority vote. In 2010, Skulduggery Pleasant was awarded the title of Irish Book of the Decade, after being up against some of the world's best sellers.[12]

References
  1. Red House Children's Book Award.
  2. Landy, p. 13
  3. Spisak, April (June 2007). "Skulduggery Pleasant Review". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 60 – via Project MUSE.
  4. Review at The Guardian
  5. Review at the Witby Gazette Archived 2009-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Review at The Independent
  7. Short Review at the Times
  8. Red House Children's Book Award
  9. Bolton Children's Book Award 2008 at Bolton Literacy Trust
  10. YTF 2008 Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2012-11-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/irish-book-of-the-decade-announced-2201796.html
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