Resurrection by Derek Landy

Resurrection by Derek Landy
Buy Resurrection by Derek Landy at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Z J Cookson
Summary: A fast-paced, slightly disjointed, adventure that will be embraced by Skulduggery fans. However, if you've not read the previous books, I'd suggest you steer clear of this and start at the beginning of the series.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 432	Date: June 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0008169022
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Skulduggery Pleasant – the sharply dressed and wise-cracking skeleton – is back and he needs help. A small group of disgruntled sorcerers have banded together and have plans to use their unique set of skills to wage war on the mortal world. Others have tried this in the past but this particular group have a scheme that should guarantee their success: they're going to resurrect a terrifying evil. Despite his powers, Skulduggery can't defeat them alone. He successfully persuades his former partner – Valkyrie Cain – to join him for just twenty-four hours. But will she stay when the time runs out? Will they be able to save the world?

It's been five years in story time since Skulduggery and Valkyrie's last adventure and it's been three years since Skulduggery fans have had a new book about the skeleton detective. Most fans believed they'd reached the end of the series so they're likely to be thrilled by simply the idea of Book Ten – the aptly named Resurrection.

These fans are unlikely to be disappointed. In the scenes with Skulduggery or Valkyrie the text positively sparkles and we're also able to learn more about the effect of their previous adventures on both their life and their friendship. Indeed, the emotional scars on, now twenty-four year old, Valkyrie are skilfully described.

Sadly, however, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are not the only point of view characters and several of the others are distinctly less interesting. These new characters are also mostly adults which is odd for a children's book. Luckily there is a wonderful new teen character in fourteen year old, Omen Darkly. An overlooked and often inept boy who lives in the shadow of his brother, we are soon cheering Omen on and skipping through the pages as fast as possible, eager for the time to read more of his adventure.

Those of Skulduggery and Valkyrie's friends who survived the battles in the previous books also make cameo appearances including China Sorrows and Valkyrie's former boyfriend, Fletcher. (Sadly many of my favourite characters would need to be resurrected themselves to be included in the story). However, there is very little explanation of the magical powers or history of these sorcerers which probably makes this a hard book to follow if you haven't read the others in the series.

The plot is slightly disjointed, largely as a result of so many viewpoint characters. It is, nonetheless, worth reading for the witty dialogue and the impressively choreographed climax in which Valkyrie's life hangs in the balance – quite literally as she's suspended upside down about to have her life essence sucked from her body! (It's a vivid scene but remarkably restrained given some of the gore in the previous books).

Overall, this is a fast-paced, slightly disjointed, adventure that will be embraced by Skulduggery fans. However, if you've not read the previous books, I'd suggest you steer clear of this and head back to the first in the series. If you've devoured this and the rest of the Skulduggery Pleasant books, why not try Derek Landy's Demon Road trilogy, starting with the first book of the same name.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Resurrection by Derek Landy at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Resurrection by Derek Landy at Amazon.com.

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