HERE IT IS! THE LONG-AWAITED, MUCH ANTICIPATED POST ON THE ENTIRE SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT BOOK SERIES!!
If you’ve followed along with me on my Instagram page – you know I’ve been slowly making my way through the Skulduggery Pleasant books on audio. It’s taken about 2 years, but I’ve finally made it through all 15 books! Why, you ask, has it taken me so long? It’s not like these are difficult, long books? Simply put, I’ve been enjoying them! Listening to Skulduggery nearly every day while hiking with my dog has been a highlight of my life these past many months. Skulduggery was just for me and Reggie. I didn’t listen to it while driving around town, doing the laundry or shoveling snow. Nope. Skulduggery was for up in the mountains.
Furthermore, I didn’t speed up the audio at all. These books are chock full of a fun cast of characters, and I enjoyed listening to the narrator’s interpretation of these characters at the regular speed. So, factor in that I only listened to Skulduggery for around an hour a day at regular speed…then, yes, it took many, many months to get through 15 books! And what a mad-capped adventure it has been!
Now, let’s dive into my oh-so-many thoughts on these oh-so-many books! Please know, while I have SO MUCH to say about this series, my thoughts will be SPOILER FREE! I enjoyed this experience way too much to ruin it for anyone else. The thoughts I’ll be sharing will, hopefully, be helpful tidbits for anyone thinking of diving into this pretty expansive series.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE JUMPING INTO THE WORLD OF SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT!!
1) NARRATORS
The first thing you need to know is that I didn’t physically read any of these books. I experienced them entirely on audio. However, my husband and daughter have read the first part of the series (with actual, physical books) and have enjoyed it in that format as well.
The Skulduggery Pleasant series is narrated on Audible by 4 different narrators over the course of the 15 books. Books 1-4 are narrated by Rupert Degas and he is tremendous! Most definitely my favorite of the four. Book 5 is narrated by Brian Bowles. Now, I don’t want to be too mean, but let’s just say – he is NOT my favorite. In fact, I threw a little fit when all of a sudden, he took over narrating what was quickly becoming one of my favorite book series ever and was kind of ruining it. All of a sudden, my beloved characters didn’t sound like my beloved characters anymore. Skulduggery, with his deep, velvety voice didn’t sound like my Skulduggery anymore. It’s fair to say, I was devastated and a little grumpy while listening to Book 5. Thankfully we get a new narrator for Books 6-9, Stephen Hogan. And, while Mr. Hogan doesn’t quite match Rupert Degas, he comes pretty darn close. Grumpiness averted. Books 10-15 are narrated by Kevin Hely, and to be honest, I didn’t even notice the switch this time. Apparently, Mr. Hogan and Mr. Hely sound awfully similar! There you have it. My run-down on the various narrators. So, if you’re listening to this series and find yourself a little shocked and grumpy at the start of Book 5, know that it will all be remedied by Book 6.
2) CYCLES
The next thing you need to know is that The Skulduggery Pleasant Series is divided up into two cycles. Books 1-9 are the first cycle. Books 10-15 are the second cycle. What does this mean? It’s kind of like two mini-series put together to make up one big series.
Cycle One introduces us to Skulduggery Pleasant, Valkyrie Cain and an eclectic cast of literary characters that are some of the best I’ve ever read. I can’t even describe my love for Tanith Low, Fletcher Ren, Ghastly Bespoke, Kenspeckle Grouse, and China Sorrows – to name a few. And it’s not just the heroes that are awesome. Each new book comes with a new villain/villains that are so fun to hate. Each time I finished a book in this first cycle, I would think to myself once again that Derek Landy is a genius. Each book would have a new conflict, build to a climax and have a thrilling finale – all while weaving together one central storyline throughout the entire series. So, while each book obviously didn’t wrap up everything, it wasn’t too much of a cliffhanger to drive you crazy. It would simultaneously give you a satisfying conclusion while also getting you excited and anxious to start the next book in the series. But be prepared, Derek Landy isn’t afraid to break your heart a little bit, sometimes a lot, in his books. Every book would have me experiencing an emotional roller-coaster. I’d smile, I’d laugh, I’d worry, I’d get angry, and yes, I would weep. And the surprises. Oh, so many surprises. I pride myself on being able to see plot twists coming but that Mr. Landy, man. He knows how to shock the heck out of me. Pretty much in every book. So, to sum up. Cycle One, Books 1-9, are to me – genius. There was a reason I became so obsessed with these books. They’re thrilling, inventive, unexpected and heart-warming. Love, love, love them.
My one sticking point for this first cycle of books is the finale book, Book 9. It wraps things up, sort of, but not in a completely satisfying way that I thought the series deserved. Mr. Landy wove in some strange storylines that didn’t really make sense until, looking back, I realized he was setting his readers up for Cycle Two. In my mind, by doing that – he kind of weakened this cycle’s finale book.
Now, let’s talk about Cycle Two.
Cycle Two brings me so many mixed emotions. I have no reservations recommending Books 1-9 to anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, I have a few reservations with Books 10-15. While these books continue with the escapades of Skulduggery and Valkyrie – a whole new cast of characters is introduced. I very much mourned the loss of the original band of characters and had a hard time connecting with some of the new ones. To make matters worse, Valkyrie is in depression and very grumpy for a few books. Yes, that’s right. For A FEW BOOKS. Not a few chapters. A few books. Remember in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry, understandably, has PTSD from what occurred in the previous book and spent this book walking around being depressed and grumpy? Well, that’s pretty much what happens to Valkyrie. I was willing to be sympathetic for one book. But multiple books? That dragged out a little. I wanted fun, sassy, adventurous Valkyrie back a lot sooner. So, maybe all of this combined wasn’t the smartest way for Mr. Landy to get his readers pumped about a new cycle of books. By introducing new characters, pushing some of our beloved characters aside and then making our heroine lose her spunk.
Another thing to know about Books 10-15, is the introduction of a very strong LGBTQ agenda. This was very much not the case in the first cycle of books and very much the case in the second cycle of books. So that kind of took me by surprise.
Now for the positives of Cycle Two. While starting off slow, and not completely winning me over, it got better and better. I did almost quit the series around books 10 or 11. I kept going mostly because of this blog post. I wanted to be able to write a comprehensive review of the entire series. (It’s a pet peeve of mine when a book reviewer recommends a book series to you when they themselves have only read one or two of the books in the series. How do you know if it’s going to stay good? What if the series tanks and the finale stinks? There’s nothing worse than getting invested in a series and then having it peter out and end poorly.) So, for the sake of this blog post – and to know whether or not I could, in good conscience, recommend the Skulduggery Pleasant series to others – I had to see it to the end. So, I kept plowing through the books. One plus, however, was that no matter how weak I thought a couple of the books were, Mr. Landy always managed to wrap the books up with an exciting climactic ending.
Book 15, however, was a game changer for me. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It was, FINALLY, the epic finale I was waiting for. It wrapped up everything. Everything. And there was A LOT to wrap up! It was amazing. So amazing that as it was wrapping up and I was listening to it while walking in the mountains with my dog, I just kept walking. And walking. And walking. Until it was all over. While cheering enthusiastically, I suddenly realized I was supposed to get home in time to take my son to his tennis class and was now nowhere near home. Whoops. Sorry Ty. Blame it on Derek Landy for writing such a griping, exciting finale with all the feels! He saved one of his best surprises for the very end! And the last minute of the last book – even the last two words of the entire series – will forever make me happy!
3) AGE RANGE
The last thing you need to be aware of before diving into the world of Skulduggery Pleasant is the age range. The recommended age group on various websites is ages 8-12, although the book jacket itself says 11+. I would wholeheartedly agree that this series is geared towards older children/teenagers/adults. My son is almost 10 and I definitely think it’s too much for him to handle right now. While our heroine of the series starts out as a feisty 12-year-old, she ages quickly as the books go on and so does the maturity level of the books. I would say it’s very similar to the Harry Potter books in this aspect. The first few Harry Potter books are suitable for younger children but then the villains and the scariness get more mature as the series progresses. Same with the Skulduggery Pleasant books. Derek Landy doesn’t shy away from violence, death and evil. It’s right in there alongside the goodness, the courage and the victories of our heroes.
I would give this series a PG-13 rating. (For violence, mild cursing, and mature content.) That being said, I think Lord Voldemort is pretty dang terrifying, but young kids are reading all the Harry Potter books. So, what do I know? Maybe kids handle stuff like this younger than I think. All I can tell you is what I do with my own children. I make my kiddos wait until at least 5th or 6th grade (preferably Junior High) to read the whole Harry Potter series and I would do the same thing for the Skulduggery Pleasant series. Use your own discretion. And if you’re an adult – I give you total permission to dive right into Skulduggery’s world. You’re ready. You can handle it! Jump in and enjoy the ride!!
P.S. I think I’m going through Skulduggery withdrawals. He’s been a part of my life for such a long time! Luckily, there are some prequels, stand-alone stories, and even a graphic novel for me to read that will help ease my withdrawal symptoms! And…drumroll please…a new Skulduggery book comes out in May. The first one in a brand-new trilogy. Yay for me! Yay for us all!
Shannon's Library 
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