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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.
Hardcover
First published March 26, 2026
About the author
Derek Landy
265 books5,346 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 74 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 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
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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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 17, 2026
A brilliant conclusion to their newest trilogy in this series. I hope that Landy keeps on going because I will read however many Skulduggery Pleasant books he puts out until the day I die! I love this series so much!
The one thing I felt was off about this book was how quickly everyone moved on from Fletcher. I know this book is set months after his death, but it is barely mentioned. It feels like mourning his character was just skipped over to push the rest of the plot forward. He’s been with us for such a long time that I wanted to see the characters - especially Val - go through more grief about it. Not that I want to see her in more pain, but it felt like Fletchers death and mourning went by too quickly.
Val spends most of the book in Coldheart prison, trying to survive. She eventually breaks out - though that wasn’t her intention and is just in time to save the day - then make a heartbreaking exit. Saving Militsa.
I was happy to see Scapegrace, Thrasher and Clarabelle again! I was hoping that we would see them at some point and we did! Granted it wasn’t under the best conditions, but at least they were there!
The same goes for Omen and Auger. I missed Omen! We didn’t even get to find out what discipline he went with! But at least he was there when he needed to be.
The funeral was a heartbreaking scene. I was fighting back tears while I was reading that part.
Poor Skulduggery so broken and empty. The alternate timeline where the same thing happens (but in a different way) and he goes crazy with grief! Kind of like Cadaver in a way.
I was so happy when Valkyrie returned! Then to find out later the implications of this for her future. It was heartbreaking.
I guess in a way, she’ll always have Skulduggery because he sort of has the same fate?
I liked seeing Militsa go off on Winter. That girl had it coming and someone had to pull her head out of her ass so that she could see all that Val had down for her. After that I started liking Winter more.
When Winter’s surge happened during her battle and she ended up becoming a Sensitve… I wonder what implications this will have for her future?
We never got more mention of her meeting Malice in secret.
She absorbed the flame of the Faceless Ones, but that didn’t seem to make her stronger, or any different from other sorcerers, so I’m left wondering if this will play more into future stories or not.
Cadaver and Ghastly being behind the terrorists and justifying it as being a way to keep everyone safe! I was shocked. I knew something was up with Ghastly, but I never imagined that he was behind so much!
The one thing I felt was off about this book was how quickly everyone moved on from Fletcher. I know this book is set months after his death, but it is barely mentioned. It feels like mourning his character was just skipped over to push the rest of the plot forward. He’s been with us for such a long time that I wanted to see the characters - especially Val - go through more grief about it. Not that I want to see her in more pain, but it felt like Fletchers death and mourning went by too quickly.
Val spends most of the book in Coldheart prison, trying to survive. She eventually breaks out - though that wasn’t her intention and is just in time to save the day - then make a heartbreaking exit. Saving Militsa.
I was happy to see Scapegrace, Thrasher and Clarabelle again! I was hoping that we would see them at some point and we did! Granted it wasn’t under the best conditions, but at least they were there!
The same goes for Omen and Auger. I missed Omen! We didn’t even get to find out what discipline he went with! But at least he was there when he needed to be.
The funeral was a heartbreaking scene. I was fighting back tears while I was reading that part.
Poor Skulduggery so broken and empty. The alternate timeline where the same thing happens (but in a different way) and he goes crazy with grief! Kind of like Cadaver in a way.
I was so happy when Valkyrie returned! Then to find out later the implications of this for her future. It was heartbreaking.
I guess in a way, she’ll always have Skulduggery because he sort of has the same fate?
I liked seeing Militsa go off on Winter. That girl had it coming and someone had to pull her head out of her ass so that she could see all that Val had down for her. After that I started liking Winter more.
When Winter’s surge happened during her battle and she ended up becoming a Sensitve… I wonder what implications this will have for her future?
We never got more mention of her meeting Malice in secret.
She absorbed the flame of the Faceless Ones, but that didn’t seem to make her stronger, or any different from other sorcerers, so I’m left wondering if this will play more into future stories or not.
Cadaver and Ghastly being behind the terrorists and justifying it as being a way to keep everyone safe! I was shocked. I knew something was up with Ghastly, but I never imagined that he was behind so much!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2026
I really hope this is the final book.
I am glad I read it, but it feels a really sorry end to what was once a good series.
This book felt extremely slow, convoluted with both plot and characters, to the point where people where showing up and I couldn't remember who they were. Their personalities also felt all too similar. I felt, a lot of the time, that characters were telling jokes for the sake of telling jokes, and it made them all feel a bit the same as skul and val.
Also, some of the newly introduced character names just felt silly. As though they were thought up in about two seconds.
I would have loved the middle aspect of this book, hadn't it been made completely redundant later, with a few words, by simply saying: Darquesse made Valkyrie immortal.
But, it was also predictable that Valkyrie wasn't dead. So I'm sat there reading the middle part of the book knowing that she will return, meaning what I'm reading is pointless, really. Especially when the logic behind it is that she's been made immortal.
Not only this, it was followed up with a really weak end passage that just felt like a bit dump of information, trying to tie things together. I felt myself skimming the last few pages, the scene where they were talking to Ghastly and Cadaver, because, quite frankly, I was bored.
I have loved these books for years. But this was quite a painful read. The ending really just fizzled out. Ending at book 9 would have been perfection. Ending at book 15 wouldn't have even been a terrible end.
But this ending we've potentially been given, had kind of thrown everything back in our faces for these past 3 books. It's basically, thanks for reading, but Valkyrie is immortal, so all that danger was redundant. Especially as a huge chunk of this book, in particular, focused on her being targeted whilst in prison.
I feel like Valkyrie being killed just to come back because she's now immortal, was just weak. It was like Derek got that far through the book and couldnt figure out how to bring her back. So, rather than a rewrite, thought, let's says she's immortal.
If another came out, I doubt I'd bother with it. It's a shame. I love this series.
Side note: Did the Witch Mother question get answered? When Winter questioned why she was never allowed to go to the outside because of what might be there? I remember this catching my interest but can't recall getting an answer
I am glad I read it, but it feels a really sorry end to what was once a good series.
This book felt extremely slow, convoluted with both plot and characters, to the point where people where showing up and I couldn't remember who they were. Their personalities also felt all too similar. I felt, a lot of the time, that characters were telling jokes for the sake of telling jokes, and it made them all feel a bit the same as skul and val.
Also, some of the newly introduced character names just felt silly. As though they were thought up in about two seconds.
I would have loved the middle aspect of this book, hadn't it been made completely redundant later, with a few words, by simply saying: Darquesse made Valkyrie immortal.
But, it was also predictable that Valkyrie wasn't dead. So I'm sat there reading the middle part of the book knowing that she will return, meaning what I'm reading is pointless, really. Especially when the logic behind it is that she's been made immortal.
Not only this, it was followed up with a really weak end passage that just felt like a bit dump of information, trying to tie things together. I felt myself skimming the last few pages, the scene where they were talking to Ghastly and Cadaver, because, quite frankly, I was bored.
I have loved these books for years. But this was quite a painful read. The ending really just fizzled out. Ending at book 9 would have been perfection. Ending at book 15 wouldn't have even been a terrible end.
But this ending we've potentially been given, had kind of thrown everything back in our faces for these past 3 books. It's basically, thanks for reading, but Valkyrie is immortal, so all that danger was redundant. Especially as a huge chunk of this book, in particular, focused on her being targeted whilst in prison.
I feel like Valkyrie being killed just to come back because she's now immortal, was just weak. It was like Derek got that far through the book and couldnt figure out how to bring her back. So, rather than a rewrite, thought, let's says she's immortal.
If another came out, I doubt I'd bother with it. It's a shame. I love this series.
Side note: Did the Witch Mother question get answered? When Winter questioned why she was never allowed to go to the outside because of what might be there? I remember this catching my interest but can't recall getting an answer
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2026
It's the end of another trilogy in the world of Skulduggery Pleasant.
And hey! I enjoyed it, hell I gave it 4 stars out of 5, that's pretty high.
Howevs, I didn't enjoy the ending. It felt rushed and the nature of these books feels like anything can happen and there's often some sorta Deus ex Machina, so, for most of the characters, death is not the end. Therefore, Val's 'death' didn't feel final and then her sudden immortal nature was really annoying. The ending felt rushed, and maybe it was.
Unfortunately, the Val fight scenes are often overly sexualised at times, and the fact that when she flies for too long her clothes burn off her body? Could have not made that a thing in my opinion. In the last book there was a fight where she was in a bikini, which I thought was really cool at first, but now I am unsure about where the line is in terms of sexualising the main character. (PLUS we get that she has muscly arms and that she's hot! We don't need everyone to say it all the time).
Another gripe I have, with the newer novels, is that I've not been able to remember all these new names and how they link, there's a lot of world-building but almost too many characters. Maybe I'm reading too quickly and need to have the patience to go back and remind myself...
I liked seeing a change in Winter though, although I'm still confused about her personality and why she is the way she is (something to do with her soul and traumatic past, perchance? Plus her hatred for her parents and mortals in general is a bit odd), and I do love the magic aspects and fight scenes, the danger and the sarcasm and the fun, it's a great read, and easy to read quickly.
I also loved prison Vi, to be fair I did feel like she was in danger there, without her magic, especially when Cadaver was no longer the Warden, it was an interesting plot driver, tbh any scene with Valkyrie in it I love, she's an icon!
I also love how Valkyrie is in a healthy relationship with a woman, and the proposal at the end! In terms of diversity and writing about real people, Derek has improved throughout time, especially with characters like Never and Val.
Overall, I love these books, they're one of the only YA/childrens books I still read at me old age and I love the nostaligia I have tied to them. Curling up with a good book that I can read voraciously is a privilege.
And hey! I enjoyed it, hell I gave it 4 stars out of 5, that's pretty high.
Howevs, I didn't enjoy the ending. It felt rushed and the nature of these books feels like anything can happen and there's often some sorta Deus ex Machina, so, for most of the characters, death is not the end. Therefore, Val's 'death' didn't feel final and then her sudden immortal nature was really annoying. The ending felt rushed, and maybe it was.
Unfortunately, the Val fight scenes are often overly sexualised at times, and the fact that when she flies for too long her clothes burn off her body? Could have not made that a thing in my opinion. In the last book there was a fight where she was in a bikini, which I thought was really cool at first, but now I am unsure about where the line is in terms of sexualising the main character. (PLUS we get that she has muscly arms and that she's hot! We don't need everyone to say it all the time).
Another gripe I have, with the newer novels, is that I've not been able to remember all these new names and how they link, there's a lot of world-building but almost too many characters. Maybe I'm reading too quickly and need to have the patience to go back and remind myself...
I liked seeing a change in Winter though, although I'm still confused about her personality and why she is the way she is (something to do with her soul and traumatic past, perchance? Plus her hatred for her parents and mortals in general is a bit odd), and I do love the magic aspects and fight scenes, the danger and the sarcasm and the fun, it's a great read, and easy to read quickly.
I also loved prison Vi, to be fair I did feel like she was in danger there, without her magic, especially when Cadaver was no longer the Warden, it was an interesting plot driver, tbh any scene with Valkyrie in it I love, she's an icon!
I also love how Valkyrie is in a healthy relationship with a woman, and the proposal at the end! In terms of diversity and writing about real people, Derek has improved throughout time, especially with characters like Never and Val.
Overall, I love these books, they're one of the only YA/childrens books I still read at me old age and I love the nostaligia I have tied to them. Curling up with a good book that I can read voraciously is a privilege.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2026
TL;DR: the most pointless trilogy ever. It's like a bad random Marvel tv show. Wasted potential from start to finish. Derek's best days are far behind him.
This is by far the biggest disappointment in Derek Landy's career. For all intents and purposes: the book title is the worst case of clickbait I've ever seen. There's so much background material that is far more interesting than anything we actually saw in the last 3 books. So much untapped potential completely sacrificed in favor of the worst character in the SP universe: Winter Grieving fka Alice Edgley.
There's so much he could've done in the last 3 books, and so much that SHOULD'VE been done in this book. All that teasing, all that hype, only to fizzle out in the worst possible way. If you expected anything phase 1-like "good" you'll be sorely disappointed. This is Skulduggery Pleasant at his most insufferably hypocritical, and plain boring.
Every time Derek gave himself the opening to do something awesome, he went the complete opposite way.
- the Viddu De are there to be explored fully, but they are mentioned just once and have nothing to do with the plot.
- instead of revealing the "Child of the Ancients" as someone impactful, we get some random dude noone's ever heard of before and nobody cares about.
- no mention of the revived Solomon Wreath/Necromancers, which the book title heavily hints at.
- more and more boring Winter/Hidden One stuff that has completely overstayed its welcome, and we all could do without.
- Tanith still walking around completely unbothered by the fact that Skulduggery revealed himself to be Lord Vile in her presence several books ago, and continues to date the man whose mother Vile killed without any mention of it whatsoever.
- as if Valkyrie's Plot Armor wasn't already thicker than Negan's in TWD, now it becomes painfully predictable.
All in all, I fail to see what the book title has to do with the godawful content Derek put out. He has completely run out of good ideas and it just seems like his publishers are forcing him to release book after book just for the hell of it. If that's the case, Derek needs to find a way to breach contract, because Skulduggery Pleasant has been trash for too long.
This is by far the biggest disappointment in Derek Landy's career. For all intents and purposes: the book title is the worst case of clickbait I've ever seen. There's so much background material that is far more interesting than anything we actually saw in the last 3 books. So much untapped potential completely sacrificed in favor of the worst character in the SP universe: Winter Grieving fka Alice Edgley.
There's so much he could've done in the last 3 books, and so much that SHOULD'VE been done in this book. All that teasing, all that hype, only to fizzle out in the worst possible way. If you expected anything phase 1-like "good" you'll be sorely disappointed. This is Skulduggery Pleasant at his most insufferably hypocritical, and plain boring.
Every time Derek gave himself the opening to do something awesome, he went the complete opposite way.
- the Viddu De are there to be explored fully, but they are mentioned just once and have nothing to do with the plot.
- instead of revealing the "Child of the Ancients" as someone impactful, we get some random dude noone's ever heard of before and nobody cares about.
- no mention of the revived Solomon Wreath/Necromancers, which the book title heavily hints at.
- more and more boring Winter/Hidden One stuff that has completely overstayed its welcome, and we all could do without.
- Tanith still walking around completely unbothered by the fact that Skulduggery revealed himself to be Lord Vile in her presence several books ago, and continues to date the man whose mother Vile killed without any mention of it whatsoever.
- as if Valkyrie's Plot Armor wasn't already thicker than Negan's in TWD, now it becomes painfully predictable.
All in all, I fail to see what the book title has to do with the godawful content Derek put out. He has completely run out of good ideas and it just seems like his publishers are forcing him to release book after book just for the hell of it. If that's the case, Derek needs to find a way to breach contract, because Skulduggery Pleasant has been trash for too long.
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.
March 29, 2026
I can't hate it. So many flaws, yet I still can't hate these books. When will my nonsensical obsession with Skulduggery Pleasant end???????????????????????????
I cannot believe the first crush I ever had, and it was on a fictional skeleton. And that it's still ongoing.
The worst part about these books is that there's too many characters and too little soul.
I don't care about literally any character (except Skulduggery). I have not shed a tear for a single death, not even during phase one when Ghastly died. And not when you-know-what happens in this one.
The only reason I read this book was for my favorite wise-cracking detective(s?? I'm including Cadaver too, because I love him just as much.) AND YET, I was begging for crumbs of him. THE VERY NAMESAKE of the series, but he's a side character and I hate it so much. It's misleading to the public!!!
Like when I read the title of the book, A Soul Full of Shadows, I was so ecstatic! Who has a soul full of shadows? SHADOWS? I thought this book would finally center around Skulduggery and Cadaver and maybe some showdown between them, but I was sorely, DEVESTATINGLY, disappointed.
I just want to read about the genius skeletons, is that so hard?
On another point, you know what happens when you introduce too many characters? You become unable to flesh out their personalities and they all begin to sound the exact same. Like what makes (made) Valkyrie unique? Her brilliant sarcasm and witty comebacks. But while I was reading this book, there were NUMEROUS times when another character said something, and I was like, huh, that sounds something like Valkyrie would say. MULTIPLE characters. When Tanith was with Skulduggery, I honestly didn't see any difference between the og partnership and them because Tanith literally talks and thinks like a second Valkyrie Cain.
And the plot was just a rehashed version of the previous books in phase 3.
These series have plummeted so hard and so deep, it's just sad.
On that note, when is the next book coming out?
I'm going to die in this place.
I cannot believe the first crush I ever had, and it was on a fictional skeleton. And that it's still ongoing.
The worst part about these books is that there's too many characters and too little soul.
I don't care about literally any character (except Skulduggery). I have not shed a tear for a single death, not even during phase one when Ghastly died. And not when you-know-what happens in this one.
The only reason I read this book was for my favorite wise-cracking detective(s?? I'm including Cadaver too, because I love him just as much.) AND YET, I was begging for crumbs of him. THE VERY NAMESAKE of the series, but he's a side character and I hate it so much. It's misleading to the public!!!
Like when I read the title of the book, A Soul Full of Shadows, I was so ecstatic! Who has a soul full of shadows? SHADOWS? I thought this book would finally center around Skulduggery and Cadaver and maybe some showdown between them, but I was sorely, DEVESTATINGLY, disappointed.
I just want to read about the genius skeletons, is that so hard?
On another point, you know what happens when you introduce too many characters? You become unable to flesh out their personalities and they all begin to sound the exact same. Like what makes (made) Valkyrie unique? Her brilliant sarcasm and witty comebacks. But while I was reading this book, there were NUMEROUS times when another character said something, and I was like, huh, that sounds something like Valkyrie would say. MULTIPLE characters. When Tanith was with Skulduggery, I honestly didn't see any difference between the og partnership and them because Tanith literally talks and thinks like a second Valkyrie Cain.
And the plot was just a rehashed version of the previous books in phase 3.
These series have plummeted so hard and so deep, it's just sad.
On that note, when is the next book coming out?
I'm going to die in this place.
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 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 3, 2026
Phase 3 started strong with A mind full of murder but the following 2 entries really dropped I think. Not being bad books but just a let down from the return to form.
This series is best when Skullduggery and Val are together, solving the case while throwing in their humor. This book in particular they spend over half the book separated and it feels like we only get a handful of chapters where they are together doing what they do best.
But I could forgive that if not for the immortality. I was deep into reading after Vals death, tears and all because this was a character that I had read about since my teens and to see her go was tough. But it felt well done right until she appeared to save Winter. Then I just closed the book and went to sleep because I had to take a break and readjust my emotions after feeling robbed of them. It came out of nowhere and that was my same issue with Calen being Gestalt in "A Heart Full of Hatred" like it feels like a gotcha moment for the sake of it and not a cleverly woven story reveal like the early stories felt like.
I think back to all of phase one and each trio of books wrapped up their plot while hinting to what came next. But phase 2 and 3 just seem to want to keep hinting instead of really trying up much story.
Overall as a stand alone it was fine but as the ending to a trilogy it felt flat. I think 3 stars is generous and fueled by my general like of the characters more so the strength of this story.
This series is best when Skullduggery and Val are together, solving the case while throwing in their humor. This book in particular they spend over half the book separated and it feels like we only get a handful of chapters where they are together doing what they do best.
But I could forgive that if not for the immortality. I was deep into reading after Vals death, tears and all because this was a character that I had read about since my teens and to see her go was tough. But it felt well done right until she appeared to save Winter. Then I just closed the book and went to sleep because I had to take a break and readjust my emotions after feeling robbed of them. It came out of nowhere and that was my same issue with Calen being Gestalt in "A Heart Full of Hatred" like it feels like a gotcha moment for the sake of it and not a cleverly woven story reveal like the early stories felt like.
I think back to all of phase one and each trio of books wrapped up their plot while hinting to what came next. But phase 2 and 3 just seem to want to keep hinting instead of really trying up much story.
Overall as a stand alone it was fine but as the ending to a trilogy it felt flat. I think 3 stars is generous and fueled by my general like of the characters more so the strength of this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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