Having, barely, saved her sister in _Midnight_, Valkyrie is once again faced
with the blowback from an awful thing she has done. In the world shaking
battle against Darquesse, Valkyrie killed her sister. Just for a few minutes,
and for a reasonably good, world saving purpose, but actions have consequences.
Now her sister's soul is fragmented and damaged, and the only one who may
be able to help is the evil and non-human Dr. Nye, who has killed Valkyrie
once and whose current location is unknown.
Unfortunately, she can't start on that immediately. Skulduggery's maybe-son
has other information she needs to stop Skulduggery's again-living evil ex's
nefarious plan with a US President who is certainly not Donald Trump, and
to keep her half of the bargain, she will have to storm an asylum so secure
that nobody even knows it exists, much less where it is. Not in the best
state of mind in the first place, much less for dealing with evil
psychiatrists, Valkyrie sees her phychoses given physical form, and to
stay sane enough to function finds herself falling into addiction in several
forms. If being poised on a knife's edge weren't enough, she has visions
of the Darkly boys being killed in America, and now Omen has done the one
thing she most warned him against and has found himself in the US. Beaten
to within an inch of her life by China Sorrow's corrupt city guard, can
things get worse?
Things get worse.
This is not a happy book, and it is sometimes hard to read as Valkyrie
turns down a dark road. In the end, I think it is a good book, and there
*is* some of the typical Landy humor in the mix. At this point, with
Valkyrie being 25 and even the Darkly boys and Never aging out of the YA
demo, it's hard to continue to call these books Young Adult fantasy, and
I'm not sure I would. Landy does address the "fun" issue somewhat:
======
They turned right at a junction. "When it comes to visions
of the future, we can't know anything," he said. "We could
continue on exactly as we are and not one thing you saw
will actually come true. Or we could second-guess every
decision we make from now until then, and the future would
happen just as you foresaw. From what we know, there are
an infinite amount of possible futures that stem from any
given moment. Sensitives can glimpse one of these possible
futures, but there's no way of knowing how close it is to
what will eventually transpire."
Valkyrie let his words soak in. They didn't make her feel
any better. In fact, they made her glum. Which in turn made
her wonder.
"Am I as much fun as I used to be?" she suddenly asked.
"No," Skulduggery said immediately.
She shot him a look. "You could have taken a little more
time to think about it."
"You've had a lot on your mind for the last thirteen years,"
he responded. "First you found out that your uncle had been
murdered, then you had to help save the world, then you met
some transdimensional supergods, after which you found out
that you were this Darquesse person that all the Sensitives
were so worried about. Then you thought you were going to
be the Death Bringer, then Darquesse emerged, and then she
took over your body, and then you died, and then you had
to fight her, and then you were in America for five years
to recover, and now you've come back and you've had to
rescue your sister from a serial killer who blamed you for
the death of his serial-killer apprentice, and now this
whole thing with Alice's soul ... But I think there was
maybe a three-week gap somewhere in there, before things
got too serious, when you were what could be considered
fun."
She grunted. "We've been busy."
"Yes, we have."
"And do you think I've become too ... serious?"
"It's a serious world."
"That doesn't answer the question."
"You're as serious as you need to be," said Skulduggery.
"And you're as flippant as you need to be. It's a balancing
act. If you tip too far one way or the other, you fall off
the wire. People like us, Valkyrie, it's our purpose in
life to walk that wire."
She nodded, and looked out of the window. "I don't think
I'm as happy as I used to be."
"It would astonish me if you were."
"I've got issues. About everything that's happened. I think
I need to talk to someone."
"You can talk to me."
She smiled. "Thank you. But I think I have to talk to someone
else. You're ... I don't mean this in a bad way, but--"
"But I'm a part of the problem," Skulduggery said.
"Yes. Sorry."
"Don't be. I'm a bad influence, and I always have been. You
need a professional. China has a few on her staff at the
High Sanctuary."
Valkyrie looked at him. "I might make an appointment, so."
He nodded. "That's probably a good idea."
"Would you ever consider it?"
He flicked the indicator and they overtook a slow-moving
truck. "I'm too far gone, I'm afraid," he said. "I have my
demons, but they work to keep each other in check at all
times. My mind is in a permanent state of finely tuned chaos
that I would be loath to disrupt."
"And you don't think it's too late for me?"
He angled his head towards her. "Your traumas have made you
who you are, but they don't define you. You can live with
them, I have no doubt."
Valkyrie nodded. She was satisfied with that. For the moment.
======
And so must we be I suppose.
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From the Publisher
Enter the world of Skulduggery Pleasant...
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Be warned. Once you enter this world of monsters, mayhem, sorcerers and sarcasm you'll find it very, very hard to escape... |
'...dark comedy, action set-pieces and unforgettable characters are a hallmark of the Skulduggery Pleasant series' Waterstones Best Books of the Year |
‘A writer at the height of his powers . . . Whatever your age, read them and enjoy the ride’ Irish Independent |
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| Book 1: Skulduggery Pleasant | Book 2: Playing With Fire | Book 3: The Faceless Ones | Bad Magic | The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire | |
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| Price | $7.99 | $7.99 | $7.99 | $14.39 | — |
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Reviews with images
Bedlam looks amazing
As a book, it's three stars. As a product, it's BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy with how it looks. Midnight has waited months for its friend Bedlam to finally be released, and now the whole series is here. The full spine picture is something I can rant about for ages, but I will restrain myself.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020
As a book, it's three stars. As a product, it's BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy with how it looks. Midnight has waited months for its friend Bedlam to finally be released, and now the whole series is here. The full spine picture is something I can rant about for ages, but I will restrain myself.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2019
Top reviews from other countries
SuperMcFluffyPants
WHAT THE HELL? THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT!!! ;-)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2020
