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Skulduggery Pleasant #18
A Soul Full of Shadows
The bone-shaking new trilogy concludes – the latest adventure in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series
Magical society is about to be torn in two.
With an island of sorcerers ready to cut themselves off from the rest of the world, a terrorist group enjoying unprecedented public support, and a looming showdown between her sister and the Child of the Ancients, Valkyrie Cain only has time to focus on her most immediate the daily fight to stay alive in a place where everyone wants to kill her.
This, once again, is the end.
Magical society is about to be torn in two.
With an island of sorcerers ready to cut themselves off from the rest of the world, a terrorist group enjoying unprecedented public support, and a looming showdown between her sister and the Child of the Ancients, Valkyrie Cain only has time to focus on her most immediate the daily fight to stay alive in a place where everyone wants to kill her.
This, once again, is the end.
Kindle Edition
First published March 26, 2026
About the author
Derek Landy
268 books5,354 followersDerek Landy is an Irish writer and screenwriter. In addition to the bestselling children's/YA series of Skulduggery Pleasant books, a supernatural mystery series starring Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective, and Valkyrie Cain, a young female magician, he has written two screenplays that have been made into films: the IFTA award winning "Dead Bodies" and the IFTA nominated "Boy Eats Girl". Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script.
He doesn’t like to brag about all the awards he’s won, such as the Irish Book of the Decade, or the Red House in the UK, or all the other awards that he humbly displays on his mantelpiece. He is also far too modest to mention things like the first book being a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year, but would like to extend an invitation to Oprah to pop around one day for tea, in thanks for selecting his book for the Oprah’s Book Club Kids Reading List.
Derek plays too many video games, reads too many comics, and watches too many movies. He lives in Ireland with too many cats. Occasionally he talks to real people, but only when he absolutely has to.
He doesn’t like to brag about all the awards he’s won, such as the Irish Book of the Decade, or the Red House in the UK, or all the other awards that he humbly displays on his mantelpiece. He is also far too modest to mention things like the first book being a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year, but would like to extend an invitation to Oprah to pop around one day for tea, in thanks for selecting his book for the Oprah’s Book Club Kids Reading List.
Derek plays too many video games, reads too many comics, and watches too many movies. He lives in Ireland with too many cats. Occasionally he talks to real people, but only when he absolutely has to.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
April 10, 2026
I always enjoy coming back to this magical world. Every time I think the series is done, another book comes out the next year. I’m not complaining though, because I really like these characters.
That said, it does feel like there’s only so much left to explore, and parts of the story are starting to feel a bit repetitive. Still, Skulduggery’s wit and banter always make it fun to read, and that’s what keeps me hooked.
Winter really stood out to me in this one. In the first half, she annoyed me a lot. I get that her past shaped who she is, but it felt like we had already been through that. Then something big happens in the second half, and her switch flips and she completely changes. After that, I found myself rooting for her. I wouldn’t mind exploring her character more if there’s another book.
That said, it does feel like there’s only so much left to explore, and parts of the story are starting to feel a bit repetitive. Still, Skulduggery’s wit and banter always make it fun to read, and that’s what keeps me hooked.
Winter really stood out to me in this one. In the first half, she annoyed me a lot. I get that her past shaped who she is, but it felt like we had already been through that. Then something big happens in the second half, and her switch flips and she completely changes. After that, I found myself rooting for her. I wouldn’t mind exploring her character more if there’s another book.
March 26, 2026
hey, derek. why did it not say “Skulduggery Pleasant will return”, derek. i know i keep saying you should let this die but i actually need this, derek. you don’t understand,
i NEED this.
worst one yet (i say this with every instalment since phase 2). but apart from the ruse that we kept up for way too long that even i, the biggest skeptic, got worried for a second there, this was just an average book. some boring parts interspersed with some funny parts (i did particularly enjoy the transformers joke). if this is actually, really, in all honesty where he wants to end this series.. i could not think of a more disappointing book to end it on. we could have gone out with a bang (book 9 or even 15) instead we are just quietly fizzling out and that’s the saddest thing.
i NEED this.
worst one yet (i say this with every instalment since phase 2). but apart from the ruse that we kept up for way too long that even i, the biggest skeptic, got worried for a second there, this was just an average book. some boring parts interspersed with some funny parts (i did particularly enjoy the transformers joke). if this is actually, really, in all honesty where he wants to end this series.. i could not think of a more disappointing book to end it on. we could have gone out with a bang (book 9 or even 15) instead we are just quietly fizzling out and that’s the saddest thing.
March 29, 2026
This very much felt like an ending, lots of recaps and reminiscing about the great adventures we have had, the actual ending was hopeful and sweet and nice closure. But Landy definitely left room to continue the story if he chooses so who knows. Part of me wants it to be over, I do think the story is beating a dead horse at this point, but part of me hates to let go. I started these books when I was 10/11 and Valkyrie was 12 and now I am 30 and Val is 34 so I have grown with her and with these stories and as such it is hard to think it may be over. But all good things must come to an end and I think it is time.
The story is just as fun and action packed as it always has been. There is just as much sass and shenanigans as we have come to expect. Reading this was a great time and I am glad to have gone on this adventure.
The story is just as fun and action packed as it always has been. There is just as much sass and shenanigans as we have come to expect. Reading this was a great time and I am glad to have gone on this adventure.
March 28, 2026
keeping in mind there have been nights i couldnt sleep the past 2 years because i love this series so much, the writing in this one was offensively bad. the first third is just people explaining what happened the last 20 years, the second third is just people describing valkyrie (which is my job on tumblr so im feeling territorial ngl), and the last third is explaining everything that just happened. not a single interesting implication brought up since phase 2 has been explored!! god!!
March 26, 2026
fuuuuck this book.
huge waste of my time. convoluted bullshit with absolutely stupid bait and no consequences. god damn. I feel so stupid for reading it and even more stupid for being willing to read on. I thought phase 3 was pulling back on the huge scale pantheon shit and then this book is the worst example of it yet.
god. just infuriating and made me feel dumber and smaller for having even a crumb of hope after enjoying AMFOM & AHFOH.
huge waste of my time. convoluted bullshit with absolutely stupid bait and no consequences. god damn. I feel so stupid for reading it and even more stupid for being willing to read on. I thought phase 3 was pulling back on the huge scale pantheon shit and then this book is the worst example of it yet.
god. just infuriating and made me feel dumber and smaller for having even a crumb of hope after enjoying AMFOM & AHFOH.
April 6, 2026
mr landy, i need u to leave my boy ghastly out of ur schemes. please.
May 3, 2026
I’ve been here for 12 years now. Have a tattoo for these books as well, if anyone wants my credentials (to understand just how numbing of an experience this was).
There were some moments that were genuinely good and funny. Skulduggery and Cadaver interactions are always a treat and did make me laugh out loud a few times (the chair plot was hilarious). The only issue is the entire book, when not considering those few glorious pages.
Phase 3 gave me a stupid amount of hope with AMFOM where I foolishly thought that for the first time in years, we had a book that felt like it was getting back to the phase 1 charm. Then AHFOH happened. And then… this.
ASFOS could not have possibly deviated more from the essence of the books that keeps people coming back: Skulduggery and Valkyrie, their partnership, their side-by-side mystery solving and sweet bantering. And yet, we spend just about the ENTIRE book with the two of them separated because apparently that’s been super well received before, right (*cough* Midnight).
The stakes could not be any lower, and Valkyrie’s non-death was the final nail in the (empty!) coffin. Ghastly Bespoke had a beautiful, impactful death in phase 1 but - surprise! - let’s bring him back and remove all impact from that loss and moment of genuinely good writing. China Sorrows loses her powers in a moment of rare selflessness but - surprise! - she gets to have them back now. Valkyrie Cain dies but - surprise! - no she’s not dead and can actually never die now. The amount of accumulating cop-outs all throughout phase 3 make it painfully clear that Derek has *a lot* of writing choices he regrets, which I’m sure has something to do with how this series keeps aimlessly trudging on. Considering that every year Derek relies on creating tension for his readers with the implication that Skulduggery and/or Valkyrie may not survive, I am shocked at how colossal of a mistake he’s made here with her immortality. A series suddenly devoid of consequences is very, very hard to remain invested in.
The first half of the book has very little impact, and no plot progression. There’s a whole lot of talking and that’s about it. And then Valkyrie “dies” so we get the next little bit of the book where, again, there’s a whole lot of talking and nothing actually going on. And then, bam, only about 50 pages left when Valkyrie is brought back to life. Finally, we end off with an explanation of an incredibly convoluted plot that was somehow orchestrated by Cadaver (if this feels familiar, it is! This is exactly what happened in AMFOM as well).
There’s a recycling plot issue here, and ironically, also an inability to remember to follow through with the plot (AMFOM ends with an explicit statement on how Skulduggery and Cadaver will have to face each other one day, and that only one would survive. The ASFOS cover is Cadaver, seemingly setting up for that final showdown. Nothing happens. But maybe this is addressed in phase 4 because we are obviously here forever and for some reason cannot conclude plot points in a timely, logical manner).
On that note, many of these issues pop up with Winter, who gets a very heavy presence in the book. The reckoning is introduced and has the classic end-all-be-all feel to it. The showdown between the Child of the Ancients and Faceless Ones’ has been mentioned numerous times in previous books so you’d think we’re building to something significant here, right? Anyway, Winter and Koa have a fun, silly idea to just not fight. We end with a shockingly convenient conclusion where it turns out Winter and Koa were right and did not need to kill each other at all, just like they hoped. Again, I would like to bring back my point of the stakes literally never being lower.
Additionally, it feels like a mistake to prioritize Winter this heavily - again, there’s truly one reason why people come back to these series, and if we hurtle towards a horror scenario (Winter spinoff), I fear this series will conclude with a Game of Thrones finale sort of indignation and rage. Which is genuinely very depressing, because this series once had the potential to end on a very high note (with book 9 and to a lesser extent with book 15).
Winter was not written to be a compelling character (her entire arc can be summarized into hating her sister), not that that matters at all, really - there is basically infinite proof out there that spin-off series without the main cast have a tendency to fail. I don’t know if this is going to happen - I pray it doesn’t - but Winter received a ridiculous amount of book-time in ASFOS and what really even happened in her chapters? Visits with the Witch Mother, grumbling about her sister, meeting the Child of the Ancients, grumbling about her sister, realizing Valkyrie died and oh wait, maybe I shouldn’t grumble about my sister anymore.
There was a rare instance in the last few pages of AHFOH where Winter became an interesting character and her motives began to feel understandable, and then we lost it entirely in ASFOS. Basically, I’m trying to say there was a brief moment of potential there for Winter to be more than just a character who’s entire purpose is to hate her sister and prop Valkyrie Cain up a little more, but. Anyway.
ASFOS TLDR; cop out, cop out, cop out, chair, Val Cain is immortal so nothing matters anymore, phase 4,5,6 and beyond, here we come, nothing here is sacred anymore
There were some moments that were genuinely good and funny. Skulduggery and Cadaver interactions are always a treat and did make me laugh out loud a few times (the chair plot was hilarious). The only issue is the entire book, when not considering those few glorious pages.
Phase 3 gave me a stupid amount of hope with AMFOM where I foolishly thought that for the first time in years, we had a book that felt like it was getting back to the phase 1 charm. Then AHFOH happened. And then… this.
ASFOS could not have possibly deviated more from the essence of the books that keeps people coming back: Skulduggery and Valkyrie, their partnership, their side-by-side mystery solving and sweet bantering. And yet, we spend just about the ENTIRE book with the two of them separated because apparently that’s been super well received before, right (*cough* Midnight).
The stakes could not be any lower, and Valkyrie’s non-death was the final nail in the (empty!) coffin. Ghastly Bespoke had a beautiful, impactful death in phase 1 but - surprise! - let’s bring him back and remove all impact from that loss and moment of genuinely good writing. China Sorrows loses her powers in a moment of rare selflessness but - surprise! - she gets to have them back now. Valkyrie Cain dies but - surprise! - no she’s not dead and can actually never die now. The amount of accumulating cop-outs all throughout phase 3 make it painfully clear that Derek has *a lot* of writing choices he regrets, which I’m sure has something to do with how this series keeps aimlessly trudging on. Considering that every year Derek relies on creating tension for his readers with the implication that Skulduggery and/or Valkyrie may not survive, I am shocked at how colossal of a mistake he’s made here with her immortality. A series suddenly devoid of consequences is very, very hard to remain invested in.
The first half of the book has very little impact, and no plot progression. There’s a whole lot of talking and that’s about it. And then Valkyrie “dies” so we get the next little bit of the book where, again, there’s a whole lot of talking and nothing actually going on. And then, bam, only about 50 pages left when Valkyrie is brought back to life. Finally, we end off with an explanation of an incredibly convoluted plot that was somehow orchestrated by Cadaver (if this feels familiar, it is! This is exactly what happened in AMFOM as well).
There’s a recycling plot issue here, and ironically, also an inability to remember to follow through with the plot (AMFOM ends with an explicit statement on how Skulduggery and Cadaver will have to face each other one day, and that only one would survive. The ASFOS cover is Cadaver, seemingly setting up for that final showdown. Nothing happens. But maybe this is addressed in phase 4 because we are obviously here forever and for some reason cannot conclude plot points in a timely, logical manner).
On that note, many of these issues pop up with Winter, who gets a very heavy presence in the book. The reckoning is introduced and has the classic end-all-be-all feel to it. The showdown between the Child of the Ancients and Faceless Ones’ has been mentioned numerous times in previous books so you’d think we’re building to something significant here, right? Anyway, Winter and Koa have a fun, silly idea to just not fight. We end with a shockingly convenient conclusion where it turns out Winter and Koa were right and did not need to kill each other at all, just like they hoped. Again, I would like to bring back my point of the stakes literally never being lower.
Additionally, it feels like a mistake to prioritize Winter this heavily - again, there’s truly one reason why people come back to these series, and if we hurtle towards a horror scenario (Winter spinoff), I fear this series will conclude with a Game of Thrones finale sort of indignation and rage. Which is genuinely very depressing, because this series once had the potential to end on a very high note (with book 9 and to a lesser extent with book 15).
Winter was not written to be a compelling character (her entire arc can be summarized into hating her sister), not that that matters at all, really - there is basically infinite proof out there that spin-off series without the main cast have a tendency to fail. I don’t know if this is going to happen - I pray it doesn’t - but Winter received a ridiculous amount of book-time in ASFOS and what really even happened in her chapters? Visits with the Witch Mother, grumbling about her sister, meeting the Child of the Ancients, grumbling about her sister, realizing Valkyrie died and oh wait, maybe I shouldn’t grumble about my sister anymore.
There was a rare instance in the last few pages of AHFOH where Winter became an interesting character and her motives began to feel understandable, and then we lost it entirely in ASFOS. Basically, I’m trying to say there was a brief moment of potential there for Winter to be more than just a character who’s entire purpose is to hate her sister and prop Valkyrie Cain up a little more, but. Anyway.
ASFOS TLDR; cop out, cop out, cop out, chair, Val Cain is immortal so nothing matters anymore, phase 4,5,6 and beyond, here we come, nothing here is sacred anymore
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2026
My gosh. Derek Landy really hates us, doesn't he? There were about 100 pages of pure agony in this. As for the rest?
I seem to have become lost in whatever he is cooking up. There are so many people and events that are strung together in a way that is just a little too confusing if you don't know the whole series by heart. This is my plea to simplify stuff a bit. Otherwise we get lots of things I love - the banter, the magic, the friendship...
I seem to have become lost in whatever he is cooking up. There are so many people and events that are strung together in a way that is just a little too confusing if you don't know the whole series by heart. This is my plea to simplify stuff a bit. Otherwise we get lots of things I love - the banter, the magic, the friendship...
March 29, 2026
This book made me cry and I will not be shamed for it
March 28, 2026
Ill preface this review by saying as a stand alone skulduggery book i would've been happy with this one and been excited to start the next, it was full of laughs, adventure and heart stopping moments like all Skulduggery books.
As the last in the trilogy and potentially the end of skulduggery pleasant as we know it i must ask .. .. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME ??
BEYOND HERE THERE BE SPOILRERS!!!
knowing what we know now about Valkyrie by the end of the novel it turns out there was no danger for her......none, I thought the deletion aspect of Until the end was a cop out but OMG.... rewriting timelines, immortal characters and Cosmic entities just stinks of lazy writing and to use all these to end ANOTHER series is just awful.
3 stars, a good attempt but ultimately disappointed
As the last in the trilogy and potentially the end of skulduggery pleasant as we know it i must ask .. .. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME ??
BEYOND HERE THERE BE SPOILRERS!!!
knowing what we know now about Valkyrie by the end of the novel it turns out there was no danger for her......none, I thought the deletion aspect of Until the end was a cop out but OMG.... rewriting timelines, immortal characters and Cosmic entities just stinks of lazy writing and to use all these to end ANOTHER series is just awful.
3 stars, a good attempt but ultimately disappointed
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2026
Nothing much to say here, loved it. I am loving it again and again. A bit scared that this will never end and maybe it will suffer once it goes triple digets.
March 14, 2026
Best one yet!
March 30, 2026
Derek, you had me going there. I cried, laughed, I cried again. The final wrap-up felt a little contrived but it’s gotta be hard to end two decades of work, so I forgive you. I’ve grown up with Valkyrie and I just don’t know what I’ll do with myself now.
June 2, 2026
do NOT speak to me i am busy crying until my lungs collapse
April 8, 2026
God I feel so stupid because this book sucked so much ass, yet I know when Derek Landy’s rent is coming or something and he farts out another of these I’ll probably read that, too. It’s a real shame - this new series started quite well with a book that felt like a genuine, if imperfect, return to form. Any promise found there has been comfortably quashed. The sequel was a warning shot, but this was a tactical nuke.
Like a lot of people, this series was very formative to me. I was the right age, was into horror and fantasy and detective stories, and here was a book that combined all three with a decent mixture of humour and a well drawn cast of lively characters who, back then at least, seemed to actually want something. I maintain that the initial run of books is generally pretty decent, and the first one is particularly good for what it is. Obviously I have a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in it that makes it difficult for me to be unbiased, but when the mood strikes and I pick up one of those early books I’m not overcome with embarrassment, which says enough for me. It was a messy series, and no one would ever accuse Derek Landy of being a brilliant stylist, but it told a cohesive, relatively contained story with a beginning, middle and end. Like most YA fiction, it was a story (9 books!) about growing up, and while there’s nothing particularly original about that structure, the tone and world is still fairly singular.
And then he just kinda kept writing them. Some of the follow ups have been okay, even if the larger narrative became fairly incomprehensible. But if this truly is the end of the series (and I doubt it will be), then it really has added up to a wet fart.
Special mention the clowns, in what might be the single worst scene in this series 18 odd books.
Like a lot of people, this series was very formative to me. I was the right age, was into horror and fantasy and detective stories, and here was a book that combined all three with a decent mixture of humour and a well drawn cast of lively characters who, back then at least, seemed to actually want something. I maintain that the initial run of books is generally pretty decent, and the first one is particularly good for what it is. Obviously I have a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in it that makes it difficult for me to be unbiased, but when the mood strikes and I pick up one of those early books I’m not overcome with embarrassment, which says enough for me. It was a messy series, and no one would ever accuse Derek Landy of being a brilliant stylist, but it told a cohesive, relatively contained story with a beginning, middle and end. Like most YA fiction, it was a story (9 books!) about growing up, and while there’s nothing particularly original about that structure, the tone and world is still fairly singular.
And then he just kinda kept writing them. Some of the follow ups have been okay, even if the larger narrative became fairly incomprehensible. But if this truly is the end of the series (and I doubt it will be), then it really has added up to a wet fart.
Special mention the clowns, in what might be the single worst scene in this series 18 odd books.
April 6, 2026
i’ve spent most of the third gen complaining that characters from the other series just completely stop getting mentioned, even just to see what they’re up to now - and i did that for most of this book until the funeral scene and then i was like huh he did not bring them back in a super great way and it seemed just thrown in for the sake of it (i still cried tho)
the way Tier/Winter/Koa was done also felt really rushed to me?? but i think my biggest gripe of this one was that Fletcher was mentioned by name once and that Valkyrie did not seem to feel sad about him being gone at all - people just seemed to completely forget he ever even existed????
the clowns?????? what was the relevance?? what about the Wreath necromancers? - they just were not mentioned at all in this book. and the Witch Mother? i also feel like the character names are just becoming words instead of actual names and it makes it so hard to keep a track of them like yeah it’s cool to have characters named after words that describe them but what happened to some characters also having normal names plz
i do think the ending tying this trilogy together was pretty good and obviously i still love it because duh but i just think it has been one of the weakest of the entire franchise and he says he won’t do another but he’s left too many untied aspects of the story for that to really be true
and clearly my heart still doesn’t know the difference between being held at gun point and seeing billy-ray sanguines name written down on paper ♥️
the way Tier/Winter/Koa was done also felt really rushed to me?? but i think my biggest gripe of this one was that Fletcher was mentioned by name once and that Valkyrie did not seem to feel sad about him being gone at all - people just seemed to completely forget he ever even existed????
the clowns?????? what was the relevance?? what about the Wreath necromancers? - they just were not mentioned at all in this book. and the Witch Mother? i also feel like the character names are just becoming words instead of actual names and it makes it so hard to keep a track of them like yeah it’s cool to have characters named after words that describe them but what happened to some characters also having normal names plz
i do think the ending tying this trilogy together was pretty good and obviously i still love it because duh but i just think it has been one of the weakest of the entire franchise and he says he won’t do another but he’s left too many untied aspects of the story for that to really be true
and clearly my heart still doesn’t know the difference between being held at gun point and seeing billy-ray sanguines name written down on paper ♥️
May 26, 2026
Oh boy here we go again. Just finished reading the last book of the third phase of the SP saga, which clearly is not the last saga cause god forbid derek landy ties up all his plotlines on a single book.
Now. I reviewed the previous two books before this one and TL;DR quite liked the first one, was kinda okay with the second one and in general preferred phase 3 over phase 2 and its billion different POV's. This last book at least follows the course correction and mainly shows Valkyrie, Winter and Taniths povs, which is good cause they're all characters i like and am interested in. But this book kinda pissed me off guys.
Firstly and the main reason it pissed me off: Skulduggery and Valkyrie hardly spend time together in the book. HELLO???? WHY TF WOULD YOU DO THIS???? I swear this new direction derek took with their relationship, where he just wants to make it sooo clear to us that they're toxic and codependent and unhealthy, and because of this apparently we can't have them together for too long, is so obnoxious. Of course they are toxic and codependent and unhealthy derek, THAT'S WHY I KEEP ON READING THE BOOKS. I'm sick and tired of the story giving them less and less screen time together in its effort to try to correct essentially all of phase 1, and yet not even fully commiting to this by reminding us every 200 pages or so that yeah, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are still as insane about the other as always, we just get to see much less of them. Which absolutely sucks. By far my biggest gripe with the story so far.
The other thing that made me almost drop the book in exasperation was the whole disaster with everything about Valkyrie's "death". First of all, who do you think you're fooling? Of couse she was gonna come back somehow, so having me go through the motions of everyones reaction and shock and tears and the "meaningful" conversations, and the funeral, and look guys it's scapegrace! Didn't you like scapegrace?? Look it's dexter vex! Am i going to give him something to do? Of course not! It was agony tbh. Second of all, it actually finally made me dislike Militsa, cause what to you mean she's suddenly coming along on the mission and we're justifying it by saying we need an expert in stealth so, umm, shadows. Don't piss me off! It's obvious she was just brought along so that Valkyrie could sacrifice herself and die her meaningless death man. Plus the absolutely vile and despicable things she says to Winter just after her sisters death?? WTF?? You just made me despise a character you want me to like derek! In a single scene! I'm almost impressed! All of this isn't helped by the fact Militsa's character, despite appearing in seven books now, still remains as deep as a paper bag, as complex as a rock and as interesting as watching drying paint. She's still, after everything, just Valkyries Girlfriend (except she got a promotion and is now just Valkyries Wife).
Moving onto things i did like, Cadavers here again! Thank god! I still really like him, to no ones surprise, and i wish we'd seen more of him. Such a shame he dropped off the face of the earth in the middle of the book tho, with no explanation as to why, but i guess we just needed space for more interesting characters, like Militsa for example (god fucking damn it).
I also still like Winter as a secondary protagonist more than i ever liked Omen, and i like the evolution of her character and her personality, even if she still remains surrounded by wet pieces of cardboard masquerading as characters. And i hate her forced and rushed romantic subplot with Koa fucking Koa. Also i skipped her fight scene with boring antagonists #1 to #4, sorry not sorry.
This is just a complaint with phase 3 in general cause guys? Did i just hallucinate that Skulduggery's siblings returned at the end of phase 2? Weren't we teased with more information about them?? Am i going crazy?! An entire saga has passed without a single mention of Skulduggery's siblings and i think i'm gonna eat the plaster in my walls cause in what universe is dealing with the eighteenth world-ending plotline more interesting than getting to know more about Skulduggery!? (and don't mention his 20 fucking grandchildren istg). Also i guess no one else apart from Valkyrie and China will ever find out about Skulduggery being Lord Vile, cause i guess interesting ideas are out of the question now apparently. Who knows if they'll ever be back.
I still love the Skulduggery Pleasant books. I love Skulduggery. I love Valkyrie. I love the two of them together. I don't think i'll ever stop loving them, no matter what. This series still means so much to me. I loved the moments we got of the two of them in this book, even if there were fewer than i would've liked. Phase 3 started out of pretty strong, and even though the structure and focus in comparison with phase 2 improved a lot, i'm afraid to say it kinda stumbled in its landing. I just want more of Skulduggery and Valkyrie, is that too much to ask?
TL;DR:
4/10 cause not even half of the book had the two protagonists together.
6/10 for phase 3. you glimpsed the spark, but it vanished when you reached out for it.
Now. I reviewed the previous two books before this one and TL;DR quite liked the first one, was kinda okay with the second one and in general preferred phase 3 over phase 2 and its billion different POV's. This last book at least follows the course correction and mainly shows Valkyrie, Winter and Taniths povs, which is good cause they're all characters i like and am interested in. But this book kinda pissed me off guys.
Firstly and the main reason it pissed me off: Skulduggery and Valkyrie hardly spend time together in the book. HELLO???? WHY TF WOULD YOU DO THIS???? I swear this new direction derek took with their relationship, where he just wants to make it sooo clear to us that they're toxic and codependent and unhealthy, and because of this apparently we can't have them together for too long, is so obnoxious. Of course they are toxic and codependent and unhealthy derek, THAT'S WHY I KEEP ON READING THE BOOKS. I'm sick and tired of the story giving them less and less screen time together in its effort to try to correct essentially all of phase 1, and yet not even fully commiting to this by reminding us every 200 pages or so that yeah, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are still as insane about the other as always, we just get to see much less of them. Which absolutely sucks. By far my biggest gripe with the story so far.
The other thing that made me almost drop the book in exasperation was the whole disaster with everything about Valkyrie's "death". First of all, who do you think you're fooling? Of couse she was gonna come back somehow, so having me go through the motions of everyones reaction and shock and tears and the "meaningful" conversations, and the funeral, and look guys it's scapegrace! Didn't you like scapegrace?? Look it's dexter vex! Am i going to give him something to do? Of course not! It was agony tbh. Second of all, it actually finally made me dislike Militsa, cause what to you mean she's suddenly coming along on the mission and we're justifying it by saying we need an expert in stealth so, umm, shadows. Don't piss me off! It's obvious she was just brought along so that Valkyrie could sacrifice herself and die her meaningless death man. Plus the absolutely vile and despicable things she says to Winter just after her sisters death?? WTF?? You just made me despise a character you want me to like derek! In a single scene! I'm almost impressed! All of this isn't helped by the fact Militsa's character, despite appearing in seven books now, still remains as deep as a paper bag, as complex as a rock and as interesting as watching drying paint. She's still, after everything, just Valkyries Girlfriend (except she got a promotion and is now just Valkyries Wife).
Moving onto things i did like, Cadavers here again! Thank god! I still really like him, to no ones surprise, and i wish we'd seen more of him. Such a shame he dropped off the face of the earth in the middle of the book tho, with no explanation as to why, but i guess we just needed space for more interesting characters, like Militsa for example (god fucking damn it).
I also still like Winter as a secondary protagonist more than i ever liked Omen, and i like the evolution of her character and her personality, even if she still remains surrounded by wet pieces of cardboard masquerading as characters. And i hate her forced and rushed romantic subplot with Koa fucking Koa. Also i skipped her fight scene with boring antagonists #1 to #4, sorry not sorry.
This is just a complaint with phase 3 in general cause guys? Did i just hallucinate that Skulduggery's siblings returned at the end of phase 2? Weren't we teased with more information about them?? Am i going crazy?! An entire saga has passed without a single mention of Skulduggery's siblings and i think i'm gonna eat the plaster in my walls cause in what universe is dealing with the eighteenth world-ending plotline more interesting than getting to know more about Skulduggery!? (and don't mention his 20 fucking grandchildren istg). Also i guess no one else apart from Valkyrie and China will ever find out about Skulduggery being Lord Vile, cause i guess interesting ideas are out of the question now apparently. Who knows if they'll ever be back.
I still love the Skulduggery Pleasant books. I love Skulduggery. I love Valkyrie. I love the two of them together. I don't think i'll ever stop loving them, no matter what. This series still means so much to me. I loved the moments we got of the two of them in this book, even if there were fewer than i would've liked. Phase 3 started out of pretty strong, and even though the structure and focus in comparison with phase 2 improved a lot, i'm afraid to say it kinda stumbled in its landing. I just want more of Skulduggery and Valkyrie, is that too much to ask?
TL;DR:
4/10 cause not even half of the book had the two protagonists together.
6/10 for phase 3. you glimpsed the spark, but it vanished when you reached out for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2026
this is the first time in Years i’ve read one of these with the preceding book fresh in my brain. it does help with context and the like
anyway. as always this is fuuuuuun. the power scaling thing is like. it’s becoming an issue. i’m not opposed to the increasing threat of eldritch gods because that’s been present in the series since the inception but i do wish it like. felt a bit more like part of the world rather than an excuse to increase a new mysterious villain as the plot demands. not to mention valkyrie’s new deal. i also wish we got to play with some of the social implications (such as the Government Funding Terrorist Groups) a bit more but like. skulduggery and valkyrie truly don’t have time for all that there’s other stuff going On. but despite it all it’s fun it’s very easy to read and there were some really good skullduggery+valkyrie Moments and that is as ever all i want from these
anyway. as always this is fuuuuuun. the power scaling thing is like. it’s becoming an issue. i’m not opposed to the increasing threat of eldritch gods because that’s been present in the series since the inception but i do wish it like. felt a bit more like part of the world rather than an excuse to increase a new mysterious villain as the plot demands. not to mention valkyrie’s new deal. i also wish we got to play with some of the social implications (such as the Government Funding Terrorist Groups) a bit more but like. skulduggery and valkyrie truly don’t have time for all that there’s other stuff going On. but despite it all it’s fun it’s very easy to read and there were some really good skullduggery+valkyrie Moments and that is as ever all i want from these
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2026
Honestly, we are so deep into the Skulduggery Pleasant series at this point that my bookshelf is basically groaning under the weight of them. You’d think series fatigue would be a thing by now, but nope. Every single time a new book drops, I inhale it and instantly just want 20 more.
It always comes down to the banter. The wit, the elite-tier sarcasm, the sheer chaos of it literally never gets old. I read a ton, but this is straight-up the only book that actually makes me laugh out loud in real life. Skulduggery and Valkyrie could be doing literally nothing and I'd still be fully invested.
If Derek Landy wants to write 20 more of these, my bank account and my shelf space are ready. Keep them coming.
It always comes down to the banter. The wit, the elite-tier sarcasm, the sheer chaos of it literally never gets old. I read a ton, but this is straight-up the only book that actually makes me laugh out loud in real life. Skulduggery and Valkyrie could be doing literally nothing and I'd still be fully invested.
If Derek Landy wants to write 20 more of these, my bank account and my shelf space are ready. Keep them coming.
June 15, 2026
Checked out of the series, bye bye
July 2, 2026
The skulduggery from a few books would shoot the skulduggery from here . ALSO I WAS ROBBED OF MR AND MS CAIN in prison scenes
June 20, 2026
3.5/5
yes technically this is considered a childrens book but ive been reading this series since i was ten i cant stop now
yes technically this is considered a childrens book but ive been reading this series since i was ten i cant stop now
April 19, 2026
This had better not be the end 😭😭😭
March 31, 2026
if this is how the series ends, I'm happy with that
May 10, 2026
I don’t care what anyone says, I have not bawled my eyes out like that (continuously for chapters on end) since sunrise on the reaping. So yeah… there’s that.
April 18, 2026
As a long time lover of this series I can't believe how bad this book is. Undoubtedly lost the essence of what was once an engrossing series with real emotional consequence. There will for sure be another book - which I won't be reading - because there were so many story threads left open ended.
***Spoilers ahead***
1st off, the clowns. Absolutely pointless. Tanith turns into Coco for all of 2 minutes before coming back to her senses and escaping, like what???? I was honestly so confused by that entire plot line that I kept reading it over and over because I felt like I must have missed something.
Next, the big fight between Winter and Koa Koa. Felt like it was a massive cop out to not make them fight and instead have Winter fight the most obnoxious 4 characters in the entire series. What is it with all these massively OP characters playing with their food? Like, if they are THAT strong, surely they would just kill anyone who gets in their way?? Major missed opportunity not having either Winter or Koa Koa kill the other and Valkyrie fight the winner. Either because Winter goes batshit after having to kill Koa Koa or Valkyrie going batshit because Koa Koa has killed her sister.
The dialogue was over the top cringe in this, can't get over how many times Landy decides to describe how massive and how gay Val is, and how every single interaction that Skul and Val are involved in has some form of sarcasm. Used to be way more balanced. Considering the fact that almost every encounter they are involved in ends up with them having their asses handed to them, maybe they should just be a bit less cocky. Seems like they get so much morale from beating on petty criminals who they know they can destroy.
Making Val immortal is an absolute pisstake considering that Skulduggery is pretty much immortal himself, it takes away absolutely all consequence from encounters as they can just revive over and over again.
I have so many other issues with this book, but I feel that it had taken too much of my life already. Absolutely gutted that this is the state of a series that was part of the reason I got hooked on reading in the first place.
***Spoilers ahead***
1st off, the clowns. Absolutely pointless. Tanith turns into Coco for all of 2 minutes before coming back to her senses and escaping, like what???? I was honestly so confused by that entire plot line that I kept reading it over and over because I felt like I must have missed something.
Next, the big fight between Winter and Koa Koa. Felt like it was a massive cop out to not make them fight and instead have Winter fight the most obnoxious 4 characters in the entire series. What is it with all these massively OP characters playing with their food? Like, if they are THAT strong, surely they would just kill anyone who gets in their way?? Major missed opportunity not having either Winter or Koa Koa kill the other and Valkyrie fight the winner. Either because Winter goes batshit after having to kill Koa Koa or Valkyrie going batshit because Koa Koa has killed her sister.
The dialogue was over the top cringe in this, can't get over how many times Landy decides to describe how massive and how gay Val is, and how every single interaction that Skul and Val are involved in has some form of sarcasm. Used to be way more balanced. Considering the fact that almost every encounter they are involved in ends up with them having their asses handed to them, maybe they should just be a bit less cocky. Seems like they get so much morale from beating on petty criminals who they know they can destroy.
Making Val immortal is an absolute pisstake considering that Skulduggery is pretty much immortal himself, it takes away absolutely all consequence from encounters as they can just revive over and over again.
I have so many other issues with this book, but I feel that it had taken too much of my life already. Absolutely gutted that this is the state of a series that was part of the reason I got hooked on reading in the first place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2026
I want to give this book a -5 out of 5.
I think I’ve spent a majority of the time reading this constantly saying “what the fuck?”.
Yet again Derek Landry has written a disappointing instalment to his Skulduggery Pleasant series, here’s hoping he isn’t lying about it being the last because he needs to stop.
What is it about? Skulduggery has a bounty placed on his head and Valkyrie is stuck in a bad situation. You’d think, with Skulduggery’s repertoire, that the best of the best would be coming after him. Nope. Just another slew of Landry writing pathetic characters to make Skulduggery look smarter.
Like with the previous one, it’s chock full of convoluted storylines that have zero purpose existing. This man keeps writing himself into corners that he can’t get himself out of. I thought this trilogy was supposed to be about Winter and Koa’s big fight. Not 10 storylines that never get resolved by the end of this book, and don’t get me started on the god awful “love at first sight” trope he tried throwing in there.
My wish was finally granted. Valkyrie died. For all of what….3 chapters? Before coming back. Yet again proving Landry can’t get out from under his Valkyrie security blanket.
We get to see some past characters. By “see” I mean they are mentioned as existing in the same room as the others and each get a whooping 2 lines each. Thrasher gets more dialogue than the more popular Dexter Vex.
Since phase 2 Landry has proven that his writing was regressed to a point where he can’t write his own world and characters anymore. He’s so detached from everything that his characters are OOC and he’s constantly writing in circles to justify his lack of knowledge with what’s going on in his books. AND HE WROTE IT! How hard is it to keep your ow facts straight.
This book is a mess of different storylines, timelines, and characters that have no point existing. This better be the last one. I have zero faith in this series getting better.
I think I’ve spent a majority of the time reading this constantly saying “what the fuck?”.
Yet again Derek Landry has written a disappointing instalment to his Skulduggery Pleasant series, here’s hoping he isn’t lying about it being the last because he needs to stop.
What is it about? Skulduggery has a bounty placed on his head and Valkyrie is stuck in a bad situation. You’d think, with Skulduggery’s repertoire, that the best of the best would be coming after him. Nope. Just another slew of Landry writing pathetic characters to make Skulduggery look smarter.
Like with the previous one, it’s chock full of convoluted storylines that have zero purpose existing. This man keeps writing himself into corners that he can’t get himself out of. I thought this trilogy was supposed to be about Winter and Koa’s big fight. Not 10 storylines that never get resolved by the end of this book, and don’t get me started on the god awful “love at first sight” trope he tried throwing in there.
My wish was finally granted. Valkyrie died. For all of what….3 chapters? Before coming back. Yet again proving Landry can’t get out from under his Valkyrie security blanket.
We get to see some past characters. By “see” I mean they are mentioned as existing in the same room as the others and each get a whooping 2 lines each. Thrasher gets more dialogue than the more popular Dexter Vex.
Since phase 2 Landry has proven that his writing was regressed to a point where he can’t write his own world and characters anymore. He’s so detached from everything that his characters are OOC and he’s constantly writing in circles to justify his lack of knowledge with what’s going on in his books. AND HE WROTE IT! How hard is it to keep your ow facts straight.
This book is a mess of different storylines, timelines, and characters that have no point existing. This better be the last one. I have zero faith in this series getting better.
April 1, 2026
Not nearly as gripping as most of the other novels, but it's a fine installment if a dissapointing end to the trilogy and I don't even want to begin to believe that after 19 years he's run out of ideas and ends it there.
One more trilogy, get it together Derek and let's go out with a bang because the characters and the fans deserve better than the last two books.
The scene with the returning character or two was cool, but he did literally NOTHING with them after that chapter and it really served as a reminder of how much better the first two phase's supporting characters were and makes you wonder why Derek dropped so many of them without warning.
One more trilogy, get it together Derek and let's go out with a bang because the characters and the fans deserve better than the last two books.
The scene with the returning character or two was cool, but he did literally NOTHING with them after that chapter and it really served as a reminder of how much better the first two phase's supporting characters were and makes you wonder why Derek dropped so many of them without warning.
July 9, 2026
Real rating: 2.5 stars, rounded down because I'm disappointed that this is how the series ends. It's a shame to rate a Skulduggery Pleasant book so low since I'm a long time fan (I mean, it's book 18, we're all long time fans here), but I'm afraid I have to do it.
This book still has Landy's signature, comedic writing style and is easy enough to read for that alone. I've recently read books that were shorter but took me much longer to read, so this is absolutely a virtue.
It also has some genuinely interesting ideas, but it feels like there wasn't enough time to really explore any of them in detail. There are three different main plotlines in this book and they're all fighting for pages, which ends up undermining them all.
The stakes also feel unclear for most of the book and the first half is just generally quite meandering.
The rest of this review will contain spoilers.
The three plotlines in this book are:
1) the insadoom isolationists want chorus wild to be tried and imprisoned on insadoom not within the sanctuary system and coldheart prison
2)the child of the ancients Vs the child of the faceless
3) Arava fucking Kahann
The insadoom plotline gets the least focus so there isn't masses to say about it. But there is one thing about it that I desperately need Derek Landy to understand: you cannot reveal a character is 1) a spy, 2) a spy that flipped and 3) a spy that never actually flipped IN THE SAME CHAPTER.
I also feel like this plotline assassinates Ghastly's character as it pretty much makes him a corrupt politician sabotaging any attempt at governance outside the sanctuary system. How dare you do this?!
So, onto the next plotline: the child of the ancients Vs the child of the faceless. The child of the ancients (Koa Koa) and Winter don't really want to kill each other but various powers seem to insist that it has to happen and that things will go very poorly if they don't.
There's a bit of figuring out how to fight fate and get away with it, I like it. Also, the kinda instantly have a crush on each other as a weird side effect of the whole fate thing. It was amusing at first but got a bit grating.
Koa has a few asshole associates that also had the potential to be the child of the ancients. They decide he's too close to Winter and take his place and we get a redone version of the fight against Kitana and co from Kingdom of the wicked.
The stakes were confused here but they apparently don't matter because everyone lived and everything seems to be fine by the end of the book. It was also a little disappointing to see winter not have a villain arc, because the end of the last book really seemed to be setting up for that.
The final plotline, and the one that ultimately gets the most focus (and clearly defined stakes) is Arava Kahann. Now, I've not liked any of this stuff for the entirety of phase 3 and have not read hell breaks loose, so I may be a bit biased here.
The grand plan is to destroy the universe so that Arava kahann can reshape it in his own image. This will be achieved by letting a deleted timeline superimpose over the current one. The details are left extremely vague but it's a timeline where Valkyrie died, skulduggery went on the warpath and billions died.
No we do not get more detail than that. And since we learn that Valkyrie is just straight up immortal and cannot permanently die, it's truly hard to believe this timeline ever existed in the first place.
Did skulduggery kill billions himself? Or was that a butterfly effect? Just how long could he have been on the warpath before Valkyrie regenerated?
Anyway, Ghastly apparently made a deal with Arava Kahann to undo that timeline. The conditions were that if anyone else every found out about it, the casket containing the timeline would begin to unseal and end the universe.
All of the weird serial killer stuff in the previous two books was purely to get our protagonists' attention on Arava Kahann and the town of Hellfire so they could eventually find out this unrelated fact and help end the universe.
Yeah, the stakes of this plotline kind of make the others seem irrelevant. I thought that the point of phase 3 was to lower the stakes and examine the effects of the deletion on the world, which was done moderately well in the previous two books, but the continued presence of Arava Kahann has ruined that.
Also, I feel like just about every attempt to expand the cosmology/pantheon of gods beyond the faceless ones in this series just makes things more confusing.
Also, one last minor criticism: the titles of the previous two books (a mind full of murder and a heart full of hatred) pretty clearly refer to their respective unstoppable slasher serial killers, but I'm not sure who this book's title is meant to refer to. Cadaver, because he's on the cover? He's there but in a fairly minor role. Skulduggery, for going on the warpath in that timeline that totally happened and causing billions of deaths? There's barely any exploration of what actually happened in that timeline. Ghastly, for making a deal with the devil? Who knows, not fucking me that's for sure.
In conclusion, this series didn't go out with a bang, but with a whimper.
This book still has Landy's signature, comedic writing style and is easy enough to read for that alone. I've recently read books that were shorter but took me much longer to read, so this is absolutely a virtue.
It also has some genuinely interesting ideas, but it feels like there wasn't enough time to really explore any of them in detail. There are three different main plotlines in this book and they're all fighting for pages, which ends up undermining them all.
The stakes also feel unclear for most of the book and the first half is just generally quite meandering.
The rest of this review will contain spoilers.
The three plotlines in this book are:
1) the insadoom isolationists want chorus wild to be tried and imprisoned on insadoom not within the sanctuary system and coldheart prison
2)the child of the ancients Vs the child of the faceless
3) Arava fucking Kahann
The insadoom plotline gets the least focus so there isn't masses to say about it. But there is one thing about it that I desperately need Derek Landy to understand: you cannot reveal a character is 1) a spy, 2) a spy that flipped and 3) a spy that never actually flipped IN THE SAME CHAPTER.
I also feel like this plotline assassinates Ghastly's character as it pretty much makes him a corrupt politician sabotaging any attempt at governance outside the sanctuary system. How dare you do this?!
So, onto the next plotline: the child of the ancients Vs the child of the faceless. The child of the ancients (Koa Koa) and Winter don't really want to kill each other but various powers seem to insist that it has to happen and that things will go very poorly if they don't.
There's a bit of figuring out how to fight fate and get away with it, I like it. Also, the kinda instantly have a crush on each other as a weird side effect of the whole fate thing. It was amusing at first but got a bit grating.
Koa has a few asshole associates that also had the potential to be the child of the ancients. They decide he's too close to Winter and take his place and we get a redone version of the fight against Kitana and co from Kingdom of the wicked.
The stakes were confused here but they apparently don't matter because everyone lived and everything seems to be fine by the end of the book. It was also a little disappointing to see winter not have a villain arc, because the end of the last book really seemed to be setting up for that.
The final plotline, and the one that ultimately gets the most focus (and clearly defined stakes) is Arava Kahann. Now, I've not liked any of this stuff for the entirety of phase 3 and have not read hell breaks loose, so I may be a bit biased here.
The grand plan is to destroy the universe so that Arava kahann can reshape it in his own image. This will be achieved by letting a deleted timeline superimpose over the current one. The details are left extremely vague but it's a timeline where Valkyrie died, skulduggery went on the warpath and billions died.
No we do not get more detail than that. And since we learn that Valkyrie is just straight up immortal and cannot permanently die, it's truly hard to believe this timeline ever existed in the first place.
Did skulduggery kill billions himself? Or was that a butterfly effect? Just how long could he have been on the warpath before Valkyrie regenerated?
Anyway, Ghastly apparently made a deal with Arava Kahann to undo that timeline. The conditions were that if anyone else every found out about it, the casket containing the timeline would begin to unseal and end the universe.
All of the weird serial killer stuff in the previous two books was purely to get our protagonists' attention on Arava Kahann and the town of Hellfire so they could eventually find out this unrelated fact and help end the universe.
Yeah, the stakes of this plotline kind of make the others seem irrelevant. I thought that the point of phase 3 was to lower the stakes and examine the effects of the deletion on the world, which was done moderately well in the previous two books, but the continued presence of Arava Kahann has ruined that.
Also, I feel like just about every attempt to expand the cosmology/pantheon of gods beyond the faceless ones in this series just makes things more confusing.
Also, one last minor criticism: the titles of the previous two books (a mind full of murder and a heart full of hatred) pretty clearly refer to their respective unstoppable slasher serial killers, but I'm not sure who this book's title is meant to refer to. Cadaver, because he's on the cover? He's there but in a fairly minor role. Skulduggery, for going on the warpath in that timeline that totally happened and causing billions of deaths? There's barely any exploration of what actually happened in that timeline. Ghastly, for making a deal with the devil? Who knows, not fucking me that's for sure.
In conclusion, this series didn't go out with a bang, but with a whimper.
May 3, 2026
pull the trigger piglet
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