Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 1

By: Derek Landy

Narrated by: Rupert Degas

Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

“So you won't keep anything from me again?"
He put his hand to his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Okay then. Though you don't actually have a heart," she said.
"I know."
"And technically, you've already died."
"I know that too."
"Just so we're clear."

Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction.

Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture… Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.

©2007 Derek Landy (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK

Critic reviews

"The balance between humour and danger is well handled in Derek Landy's fun, fast-paced fantasy." (The Guardian)

Brilliant

So I am a bit of a fan of teenage fiction but the genre can be a bit of a risk. I had looked at this series of books in the stores for a long time and have been tempted but not purchased one. Then I listened to a preview of this on Audible.com ~~ well I was "sold" instantly. Rupert Degas has done one of the best narration jobs I have ever heard. The way he has bought the characters to life is nothing short of amazing. Rupert will always be the voice of Skulduggery for me now and I am glad of that.

The story is fast paced and captivating. The action at times is non-stop and it is hard to "put it down" or in the case of an audiobook "turn it off". There is a couple of common fantasy themes as mentioned in the review above (notably the use of names to give power to people) but this is by no means detracting in my opinion but rather adds to the validity of a magic realm by having cross-over with other authors. The characters in the novel are the heart of the work and Derek Landy has demonstrated he is a master at character development.

I look forward to listening to the whole series.

Gripping and fascinating audio book

What did you love best about Skulduggery Pleasant?

The characters, storyline and narration kept me listening and entertained!

What did you like best about this story?

The constant complications and resolutions kept me engaged and fascinated.

What about Rupert Degas’s performance did you like?

Rupert's ability to adopt and adapt the various characters' voices was sensational and gripping. What a terrific narrator. Really made the story for me.!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The meeting of Skulduggery and the key character at the outset will remain a powerful one for me.

Any additional comments?

Best ever audio book I've listened to thus far.

Amazingly Intriguing!

I thoroughly enjoyed the balance between humour and excitement. I would definitely continue reading the series

Positively epic!

Degas is nothing short ofa master narrator, and he easily manages to bring Landy's characters to life. From the rolling boulder to the seductive femme fatale, Degas does all voices with exquisite authenticity. Don't settle for lesser narrators - Degas is simply the best there is.

Dark Magic & a talking skeleton

The novel is a good novel, albeit it starts off a bit slowly and predictively. But once it gets off, it is quite interesting, with Skullduggery Pleasant providing a lot of smart remarks and replies. It almost feels like you are reading a movie script rather than a novel with the amount of action involved.
On the good side, it has quite a few twists and turns, and the writer has used a lot of formulae (but not often used ones). The only criticism is that, it uses about the "true name" and "taken name" concept which has been mentioned in quite a few novels, whether it is Eragon series or Barthemeus the djinn's serries.

Apart from that, its a good read if you like Buffy the Vampire slayer type stuff (with a bit more humour and wit).

Skullduggery Pleasant

Would you consider the audio edition of Skulduggery Pleasant to be better than the print version?

Yes I do. Having all the characters played out with individual voices make the story come alive .

What did you like best about this story?

My favourite part was all the witty one liners, they were very funny and I did laugh listening to them. The arguments between Skullduggery and Stephanie were also hilarious.

What about Rupert Degas’s performance did you like?

He was excellent. His voice was perfect for Skullduggery.. It had the right amount of sarcasm and experience.. It was easy to imagine him as the older wiser person in their friendship. His voice could be very creepy at times which set the scene on more then one occasion. At other times his voice was very droll. Perfect for who he was playing. I was not sure at the beginning if I would like a man reading the parts of Stephanie but it really worked!, he was great at it.After a while I forgot that it was a man reading female voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh. The banter between the two main characters was played out very well and I would easily buy more books in the series just from listening to this book.

Any additional comments?

A wonderful series for the young or the young at heart who like adventure and bad guys that get what is coming to them.

enjoyed every second of it.

Loved every bit of it ♡ Will start on next book now :) Inlove with Skulduggery

Skulduggery Pleasant

This book is absolutely amazing!!!! I could not stop laughing, and suddenly I would start crying. Rupert degas is an amazing narrator. Perfect Skulduggery voice! 😉

best novel ever

It is so cool it is a book of adventure and magic and wonder which makes it wonderful

not just for kids!

thought this was terrific.
didn't realise it was for kids when I downloaded it but there was plenty to enjoy and laughs galore. will definitely get the next in the series.