Skulduggery Pleasant... the novel...

I borrowed this book from my school's library on Sunday. My friend was searching for scary stories, but could not find one. I thought this book would be pretty scary, looking at the cover, but was not. Some parts were rather funny though. It took me a day to finish it.

Here is roughly how to story goes...

Stephanie's novelist uncle dies. At the reading of the will, a strange man in a tan overcoat, an oversized hat, sunglasses and a scarf is present. Stephanie's aunt and uncle are to be given something as well, a seemingly useless brooch, which turned out to be a key later on. Stephanie inherited the uncle’s mansion. Spending a night alone in the mansion, Stephanie is attacked by a strange man, demanding she gives him a "key". As the man attacks Stephanie, a mysterious man, Skulduggery Pleasant, arrives and saves her, throwing fireballs at her attacker. Skulduggery's disguise fall off to reveal that he is an undead wizard, made up of only a skeleton held together by magic.

Upon the revelation that her uncle was murdered, Stephanie helps Skulduggery investigate his uncle’s death. Stephanie's uncle had discovered an ancient weapon used by the Ancients, to defeat their gods. He sealed this deadly weapon, the Sceptre of the Ancients, in a maze beneath the house Stephanie inherited. The "key" is the brooch left by her uncle to his other brother's wife.

Stephanie and Skulduggery, aided by Ghastly, Tanith Low and the world's physically strongest man, Mr Bliss, attempt to prevent Nefarian Serpine, from obtaining the Sceptre. Serpine was trying to take over the world.

Skulduggery defeats Serpine with Stephanie’s help, destroying him with the Sceptre to protect Stephanie, breaking the Sceptre's power in the process. Stephanie discovered her family are descendants of the Ancients and she herself has magic abilities.

This book is so EXPENSIVE! This book alone cost RM 59.90.

"Magic," he said.

Taken from Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Rating: 7/10

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure