Skulduggery and Valkyrie have an incredibly laugh-out-loud dialogue and friendship with one another, but one of the things that really stood out to me during this re-read was the fierce dichotomy between this and the violent side of the novel. Having read the first five Skulduggery Pleasant books, I was drawn back to this particular book in the series in my attempt to re-read some of the series before the release of the twelfth book ‘Bedlam’ during 2019, and I can without a doubt say that this was a comforting, hilarious and action-packed re-read.

However, three powerful mages disturb the peace of this magic world when they attempt to rebirth the Grotesquery, a monster that will be able to open a portal which will usher in long undead gods known ominously as ‘the Faceless Ones.’ So, once again, by teaming up with a ragtag bunch of magicians and fighters–most notably Tanith Low, China Sorrows and Mr Bliss, Valkyrie and Skulduggery battle to prevent the resurrection of said gods on the lunar eclipse.

Stephenie Edgely has now fully adopted her new persona as Valkyrie Cain and is training hard to perfect her skills in elemental magic. Following on from the events of the first novel (if you have not read the first novel, or do not want spoilers, please STOP reading right now), the novel picks up a few months after Skulduggery and Valkyrie defeated Nefarian Serpine in the battle at the Sanctuary. Skulduggery Pleasant is the iconic first book in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series - available to order now in paperback or ebook.Skulduggery Pleasant – Playing with Fire is the second novel in Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series. But together they’re going to save the world. If the Sceptre is real, and if Gordon had it, then it’s up to Stephanie and Skulduggery to find it and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Legend has it that the very first sorcerers used a weapon called the Sceptre of the Ancients to banish and defeat their tyrannical gods. The two of them soon realize that Gordon knew a lot more than he had ever let on and that his death might not have been so accidental after all. Pursued by evil forces, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source-the wisecracking skeleton of a dead sorcerer. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn’t fiction. Stephanie’s uncle Gordon is famous for writing horror stories.

Skulduggery pleasant books