If you made it this far, thank you, and please share your thoughts on this book. As I said earlier, I don't hate HBL at all, it is a million miles ahead of the Grimoire and so that is pretty much all it needs. If I were to sum it up, I would say that the first half reads like a Dead Men war time prequel, and the second half reads like a phase two book with phase one characters. But in spite of everything I have complained about, I did enjoy this book and I think the good outweighs the bad. Have a wonderful day, and happy April. The Lost Art of World Domination: (1–2) Set after Skulduggery Pleasant, Scaramouch Van Dreg manages to capture Skulduggery Pleasant. Originally included in Skulduggery Pleasant.

Hell Breaks Loose by Derek Landy | Goodreads Hell Breaks Loose by Derek Landy | Goodreads

Skulduggery Pleasant: Hell Breaks Loose is the prequel set three hundred years before the events of the actual book series. In addition, Derek has been crafting many novellas that are longer than a full-length book, beginning in February 2012 with The End of the World. Tanith Low starred in the 2013 book The Maleficent Seven, which was released in March. A compilation of all previously released short stories as well as fresh material, titled Armageddon-Outta-Here, was released on 3 July 2014. Get Thee Behind Me, Bubba Moon, a short story that grew into a novella, was also featured. Another short story, Apocalypse Kings, was published in March 2021 in honor of World Book Day. No. Detective, dark fantasy, children's literature, young adult fiction, war, horror, thriller, coming-of-age, comedy, dark comedy, satire This one definitely kept me guessing, and while my theories didn't pan out, this was still a really, really fun book to read, and has possibly added to what was set up in the Grimoire and Until The End, which could may be the start of a new Skulduggery run! Ravel came with him. Ghastly could tell that he had a question, his friend's face was just too honest to disguise it.Skulduggery author, Derek Landy on the accidental reveal of the ending of his new book". Irish Examiner. 25 March 2021. The strongest parts of this story for me were Ghastly and Skulduggery. To really hear things from Ghastly'd perspective after so long was refreshing. Also, my god what a dedication. These books are known for funny dedications, but we've never had one that terrified me to my very soul.) 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. [44] I will say halfway through I DID NOT expect that plot twist, and it was quite out of left field but can why am I not surprised with the way phase 2 was handled. That’s where the disappointment sets in because while I’m all for it, this new direction/pattern is something that hasn’t made me want to re-read the newer books compared to the way I used to want to read the phase one books.

Skulduggery Pleasant - Hell Breaks Loose - Goodreads

In fact, I really enjoyed a lot of it. The whole idea of a prequel worked surprisingly great: Lots of characters you know and love - but with a twist, because it's set in the early 18th century and much of the later character development hasn't happened yet. (Also, you get to revisit some favourites that got killed off, which is awesome.) The whole thing centers around the Dead Men, so hilarity happens. The plot twist, honestly, took me by surprise. I heard something was "odd" about this book beforehand, but I didn't really speculate what it could be. While a proper prequel might have been lovely, the time-travel aspect did not diminish the fun - at least not to me. Generally, I am left with a sense of both melancholy of things that might have been and sadness of what did happen in the end. This is the story of the 400-year-old detective named Skulduggery Pleasant who is a walking and talking skeleton, and his partner Stephanie Edgley who goes by the name Valkyrie Cain. In case you were wondering, Dexter's the most honest, Saracen's the most charming, Ravel is the most loyal and you are the most decent."A writer at the height of his powers . . . Whatever your age, read them and enjoy the ride.” - Irish Independent I didn't like this for largely the same reasons I enjoyed the newer series (from Resurrection onwards) less than the original one, so if you like the newer series, I presume that little of this will bother you. It's still a funny book with great characters and magic - also, I did read it within a couple of hours, so I definitely didn't hate it. Revelling in the dark comedy, action set-pieces and unforgettable characters that are a hallmark of the Skulduggery Pleasant series, this standalone novel transports readers to early eighteenth-century Italy where our heroes are forced to save the Lord of the Dark Sorcerers' Waterstones, Books You Need to Read in 2023 - The action is always so impressively written; it flows, the chaos is vivid, the movement articulate. You can see it playing out, startingly, in your head like a movie. And, always, Derek plays with violence and conflict and pain in an accessible way without glorifying it; action scenes leave scars, people get hurt, people are conscious of their actions. Those are all factors that so often are just left behind because they're heavy, and even more so with characters who you're supposed to root for without descending your book into discussions on moral philosophy. Derek touches on the dark, but has such an appreciation for the light (be it comedy, characterisation, motivation) that he can do both. Would give 1.5 stars if available. Spoilers are mentioned. tldr review- good first half that is tainted by proxy with a second half that feels like I've read the premise better in fanfiction.