What do you get when you throw together a crime-fighting skeleton, a secret underground world of sorcery and a clumsy twelve-year-old? You get a promising new fantasy series using a Harry Potter-esque plot, but with a few twists.
Basically, the story goes like this. After her Uncle Gordon’s death, Stephanie joins forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a talking skeleton, to solve the mystery of Gordon’s death. It ends up, Gordon was killed so that the evil sorcerer Serpine could steal his most prized possession, the Sceptor of the Ancients. The Sceptor is a magical tool that can kill anything, and Skulduggery believes Serpine plans to use it to bring back the Faceless Ones, cruel gods who will gain control of the world.
It’s a complicated story, as is Harry Potter. But it’s got loads more action than Harry. Some good torture, breaking and entering, and a few beheadings. Overall, a really enjoyable story for fantasy/violence junkies. I still like Harry Potter more (what can I say?…I guess the marketing machine worked), but I will totally check out the sequel.
By the way, here’s an interview with the author from YouTube:
DweebMeter: 3.5/5
