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Skulduggery Pleasant #12
Bedlam
The 12th explosive novel in the internationally bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series, BEDLAM will blow your mind – and change everything…
On a desperate journey to recover her sister's lost soul, Valkyrie Cain goes up against the High Sanctuary itself, and there's nothing Skulduggery Pleasant can do to stop her. With Abyssinia's grand plan about to kick off in a night of magic, terror, and bloodshed, it falls to Omen Darkly to save the lives of thousands of innocent people.
And as the madness unfolds around him, as hidden enemies step into the light, and as Valkyrie is sucked into a desperate, lawless quest of her own, he has no choice but to become the hero he never really wanted to be — or die in the attempt.
On a desperate journey to recover her sister's lost soul, Valkyrie Cain goes up against the High Sanctuary itself, and there's nothing Skulduggery Pleasant can do to stop her. With Abyssinia's grand plan about to kick off in a night of magic, terror, and bloodshed, it falls to Omen Darkly to save the lives of thousands of innocent people.
And as the madness unfolds around him, as hidden enemies step into the light, and as Valkyrie is sucked into a desperate, lawless quest of her own, he has no choice but to become the hero he never really wanted to be — or die in the attempt.
584 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2019
369 people are currently reading
3878 people want to read
About the author
Derek Landy
252 books5,283 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 408 reviews
June 7, 2019
Bedlam? Like the infamous asylum in London? Oh, that will be interesting.
Edit: I GOT IT EARLY. ~(￣∇￣)~
Edit 2:
BEFORE
AFTER
Some spoilery thoughts:
Edit: I GOT IT EARLY. ~(￣∇￣)~
Edit 2:
BEFORE
AFTER
Some spoilery thoughts:
June 12, 2019
This book is a MESS. I used to love this series, but with this instalment it has gone off the rails completely. The characters are like parodies of themselves, exaggerated into grotesqueness. They are no longer people, and no longer likeable at all. The protagonist used to be a girl who was quick with a quip and who was okay with breaking the rules when neccessary. Now she is a non-stop smartass who uses her friends whenever they're useful to her and forgets about them otherwise, who thinks no laws apply to her, and who thoughtlessly kills people and offends others, secure in her belief that she is the strongest and therefore right.
The plot zigzags madly along, with no coherency and no satisfying conclusion, simply one improbable thing strung after the next. There are so many little sidequests that go nowhere, and I genuinely think the book would have been better if the author had been forced to cut 200 pages. The good guys and the bad guys are barely distinguishable anymore, but not because their motivations are morally complex or anything. It is simply that the good guys don't seem to care anymore that killing people is evil. They team up with the bad guys about six different times this book, and not because the situation is desperate and they are reluctantly forced to work together. No, they'll be fighting to the death but then the genocidal maniac's son is hurt, so they immediately drop everything, heal her up and teleport over to help him, only to then barely try to arrest them all. Why should I, the reader, care whether they stop Abyssinia's plan of mass-murder when they barely seem to dislike her for trying to start a genocidal war?
This series also used to have good fight scenes: no longer. The narrative will set up a cool fight and then cut to the end, entirely missing out the important bits. It got so bad that at several points I sincerely wondered whether I had somehow managed to skip a few chapters, but no. The power levels of the charcters are also all over the place. Valkyrie seems to be getting new powers at the drop of a hat, and by the end of the book I had no clue anymore who was meant to be a powerful sorceror and who wasn't, since it seems to depend only on the whim of the author.
I hate that I dislike this book. This series is very important to me. I've had great times at readings and fan events, and I've had many hours of happy reading with these characters. But I barely recognise my favourite characters anymore and this book has finally severed the emotional connection I used to have with them. I will try to forget the entire sequel series and try to remember why I used to like this series so much. What a shame.
The plot zigzags madly along, with no coherency and no satisfying conclusion, simply one improbable thing strung after the next. There are so many little sidequests that go nowhere, and I genuinely think the book would have been better if the author had been forced to cut 200 pages. The good guys and the bad guys are barely distinguishable anymore, but not because their motivations are morally complex or anything. It is simply that the good guys don't seem to care anymore that killing people is evil. They team up with the bad guys about six different times this book, and not because the situation is desperate and they are reluctantly forced to work together. No, they'll be fighting to the death but then the genocidal maniac's son is hurt, so they immediately drop everything, heal her up and teleport over to help him, only to then barely try to arrest them all. Why should I, the reader, care whether they stop Abyssinia's plan of mass-murder when they barely seem to dislike her for trying to start a genocidal war?
This series also used to have good fight scenes: no longer. The narrative will set up a cool fight and then cut to the end, entirely missing out the important bits. It got so bad that at several points I sincerely wondered whether I had somehow managed to skip a few chapters, but no. The power levels of the charcters are also all over the place. Valkyrie seems to be getting new powers at the drop of a hat, and by the end of the book I had no clue anymore who was meant to be a powerful sorceror and who wasn't, since it seems to depend only on the whim of the author.
I hate that I dislike this book. This series is very important to me. I've had great times at readings and fan events, and I've had many hours of happy reading with these characters. But I barely recognise my favourite characters anymore and this book has finally severed the emotional connection I used to have with them. I will try to forget the entire sequel series and try to remember why I used to like this series so much. What a shame.
June 7, 2019
"You're not afraid of spiders, are you?"
"I tend to get slightly arachnophobic when they're three times the size of me."
Derek Landy, I hate you. And I love you. You give us these amazing characters, tell amazing stories AND THEN YOU END THEM LIKE THIS?! HOW ON EARTH (or Dimension X, whatever!) AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK, hu?!
So... yeah. I might have shook this book after finishing it. I saw it coming but it still got me.
This book waited till page 7 to crush my heart. At least it started there, the real crushing came later:
Bedlam is a great story with a lot of storylines (yes, it was a little confusing at times...) but we get the humor we love this series for, we get magic adventures and we have characters that don't just brush off the awful things they experienced. It's not all just better, Valkyrie is still trying to get better and life just keeps coming for her. She knows she's not alright and it shows.
Well, of course there's parts of the book that are about the Darkly brothers. Three books in and I've got no clue on how I feel about them. Omen's nice enough but I caught myself wanting to read another perspective a couple times when it was his turn. Also, I want to punch Never because she/he can't really call him/herself Omen's friend. As for Auger... I don't have a clear picture of him. I don't really want to brand him a douchebag but sometimes I get this arrogant vibe from him and the next second he'll be worried about his friends or his brother...
As always, there's also a bit of the books dedicated to the storyline in the White House. I always forget the president's name, but I'm pretty sure it's spelled T-R-U-M-P. And Landy captures him perfectly. (Honestly: his chapters might be the most horrifying ones in the whole series!)
Enough rambling from me. I loved it, it's Skulduggery Pleasant at it's best.
October 18, 2019
That ending had a plot twist I did not see coming!!! Also the lgbtqia live was always welcome especially during pride month ❤️❤️
Sadly, I did expect more. After reading fan comments and the author’s hints I had hoped for other emotional gasps and side-swiping plot twists but I received none. However that will probably change with 2 chapters in the next book.
The character development and camaraderie remains 10/10 in this book as does the humour.
There is never a time I do not love a Derek Landy novel.
Sadly, I did expect more. After reading fan comments and the author’s hints I had hoped for other emotional gasps and side-swiping plot twists but I received none. However that will probably change with 2 chapters in the next book.
The character development and camaraderie remains 10/10 in this book as does the humour.
There is never a time I do not love a Derek Landy novel.
August 24, 2021
Star Rating: —> 5 Stars
5 Stars as expected, AAAAAAAGAIN.
5 Stars as expected, AAAAAAAGAIN.
June 25, 2019
I wanted to like this book, I really did. Once upon a time these books were my favourite thing in the entire world, I thought they were beyond spectacular.
I started reading this series when the first book had just come out and I was 12 years old, and I recognise that I am no longer the target audience, which is why I'm conflicted about my feelings on this book. I can't tell if 12 year old me would have adored it and my tastes have changed in the intervening 12 years, or if it's just a bad book. The pacing was ridiculous, the characters felt like an endless parade of cardboard cutouts, the dialogue was cringe inducing and formulaic in the extreme, and the LGBT rep was as ham-fisted as you could expect coming from a cis straight man.
On this last point I will concede that having such a variety of LGBT characters in a children's/YA series is absolutely necessary and needed, and if this kind of rep had been present when I was a teenager reading these books for the first time, it would have made my life a whole lot richer and my own journey to understanding my sexuality a whole lot easier. I just wish it hadn't taken Derek this long to get a clue. Also I wish that the scenes containing moments of LGBT discussion didn't feel like an assortment of stiff disjointed moments that were peppered in without any kind of integration into the flow of the story, but that is more of an issue with the pacing which I've already mentioned is shocking.
But dear god, the rest.
Does this man even have an editor?? He's been writing this series for 12 years, did he suddenly forget how to author?? I felt the same way about Midnight; that if Derek had been forced to axe 100 pages, a handful of pointless copypaste conversations and at least 1 tertiary plot thread then the finished product could have been approaching 4 stars, but sadly those pages remain and the result is a complete shitshow. All in all, I don't think I enjoyed myself at all whilst reading this book, not once.
Also that moment where Razzia is putting on her lipstick and then deliberately smudges it all over her face and is like "perfect" because she's CrAaAazY read like a rejected scene from Suicide Squad and I cringed so hard I almost pulled something. Special hate props to that moment especially.
I started reading this series when the first book had just come out and I was 12 years old, and I recognise that I am no longer the target audience, which is why I'm conflicted about my feelings on this book. I can't tell if 12 year old me would have adored it and my tastes have changed in the intervening 12 years, or if it's just a bad book. The pacing was ridiculous, the characters felt like an endless parade of cardboard cutouts, the dialogue was cringe inducing and formulaic in the extreme, and the LGBT rep was as ham-fisted as you could expect coming from a cis straight man.
On this last point I will concede that having such a variety of LGBT characters in a children's/YA series is absolutely necessary and needed, and if this kind of rep had been present when I was a teenager reading these books for the first time, it would have made my life a whole lot richer and my own journey to understanding my sexuality a whole lot easier. I just wish it hadn't taken Derek this long to get a clue. Also I wish that the scenes containing moments of LGBT discussion didn't feel like an assortment of stiff disjointed moments that were peppered in without any kind of integration into the flow of the story, but that is more of an issue with the pacing which I've already mentioned is shocking.
But dear god, the rest.
Does this man even have an editor?? He's been writing this series for 12 years, did he suddenly forget how to author?? I felt the same way about Midnight; that if Derek had been forced to axe 100 pages, a handful of pointless copypaste conversations and at least 1 tertiary plot thread then the finished product could have been approaching 4 stars, but sadly those pages remain and the result is a complete shitshow. All in all, I don't think I enjoyed myself at all whilst reading this book, not once.
Also that moment where Razzia is putting on her lipstick and then deliberately smudges it all over her face and is like "perfect" because she's CrAaAazY read like a rejected scene from Suicide Squad and I cringed so hard I almost pulled something. Special hate props to that moment especially.
July 3, 2019
Check out my spoiler-free review on Youtube!
Or click here for a spoilery version!! (Warning: this is VERY spoiler-heavy, DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK)
Phase 2 of Skulduggery Pleasant has been the source of many mixed feelings for me. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions – joy at seeing my favourite characters again, but equally the bittersweet feeling that these new books have been lacking the spark that gave this series life. Bedlam, I promised myself, was the last straw. If I didn’t love this one, then I’d put the series to bed, pretend the last three books never happened and end on a high note with Dying of the Light.
I’ve closed the book on Bedlam. I’ve read it cover to cover. And I am pleased to announce that WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS, BABY.
This book was incredible. From the very first page I was sucked back into the wisecracking, ass-kicking world of the skeleton detective, and I never looked back. Bedlam feels like an OG Skulduggery book; we’ve gone back to basics, the tried and tested formula. Skulduggery and Valkyrie, hanging out, cracking jokes and beating bad guys. It was everything I could have hoped for, and it was glorious.
Bedlam has changed my outlook on so many things about the series that I wasn’t totally sold on. A prime example is Omen Darkly, a character who I was kind of ‘meh’ about up until now. Omen really comes into his own in this book – he’s made some fantastic development and starts to become a far more interesting character. The thing about having one character in a book full of confident, butt-kicking people who’s kind of a bit weak and unsure of themselves is that they just don’t stand out as much. Here, though, Omen gets his time to shine and I’m excited to see him grow even further. Similarly, my thoughts on Abyssinia – a villain who I have scorned very vocally in previous reviews – were altered after reading this. Before, I’ve seen her as kind of a caricature, a very weak answer to the Darquesse problem. I mean, who can live up to the legacy of a god? Not Abyssinia, I said. This book definitely made me rethink my stance on Abyssinia, and I found her a far more compelling villain by the end of it Having said that, a new player is also introduced here and oh boy am I excited. This is going to be a game-changer and I cannot WAIT to see where we go from here.
Let’s talk about Val. Oh, Valkyrie Cain, how I have missed you! This book doesn’t forget about Val’s torment, her PTSD, her struggles with mental health – but it sees her fight them every step of the way. She’s got her mojo back in a big way, and although she’s not necessarily dealing with things in the healthiest way (take a shot every time I said, ‘god damn it, Val’ whilst reading this book) it was so good to see her making jokes again. To see her flirting, having fun, FORGIVING herself. Her friendship with Skulduggery is mending. It’s still rough around the edges, but they’re a team again, well and truly, and it was great to see them together again because I feel like they’ve spent a lot of time apart over the past two books and we needed this. Their dynamic is at least 70% of what I read these books for, and without that… it isn’t Skulduggery Pleasant. This is the series I fell in love with. I’m so unbelievably happy to see my faves bounce back after all this time.
Another thing I loved is that we get some awesome throwbacks to Phase 1, with the resurgence of a lot of old faces I was so pleased to see again. It’s great to see Derek Landy utilising this rich worldbuilding and the vast cast of characters – well, those he hasn’t already killed off – and bringing back some concepts we haven’t explored as much before. This makes all the new information a lot less overwhelming, and also allows us to explore certain disciplines that maybe we didn’t know much about before.
The ending KILLED me. When I heard that we’d be learning some information that changed the series as we know it, altering things way back from the beginning, I was… concerned, to put it mildly. But I could not have ASKED for a better plot twist. This also leads to some fascinating conundrums for future books – a lot more heartache for Val and some implications for another character that have me so unbelievably excited for what’s to come. The ending was perfect; it felt satisfying as hell and was a great conclusion, but also left us with enough unanswered questions to make me crazy curious about what comes next. Friends, I have never felt more alive.
That being said, there were a few rough edges that I would have liked to see smooth out to fully solidify this book for me. One thing I’m a little dubious on is the ‘everybody’s a little bit bi’ agenda that Derek’s pushing. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the fact that one of my fave characters is now canonically bi and that they’ve discovered their sexuality in adulthood (not going to say who – I don’t personally consider sexuality a spoiler but I’ll keep shtum anyway). That being said, I am a bit wary of the ‘everybody’s bi’ rhetoric, because I find it a bit reductionist. Sexuality is a spectrum, but to say that nobody is truly monosexual is to speak for a LOT of people and I don’t think that’s fair. In addition to this, the idea that everybody is a bit bi was an obstacle for me when it came to understanding my own sexuality, because this was an idea that was pushed at me, and left me struggling with the question ‘Well am I just like everybody else? If everybody feels this way then am I just reading too far into this?’ Turns out that some people do and that is valid – but many people don’t, and it was very confusing for me, so I think it’s an idea that shouldn’t necessarily be presented as something so concrete. The idea does kind of get challenged in a conversation between other characters, but it made me a little uneasy at times. That’s not a huge deal though, just a personal bug-bear.
I also felt that at times the plot wasn’t quite as easy to follow as I would have liked. Don’t get me wrong, it was a LOT better than Resurrection (the plot of which I could not reliably recount to you, despite having read it several times.) That being said, in Phase 1 I never, ever had an issue following what was going on, and I did find myself getting a bit muddled on a few occasions in this book. Never for more than a chapter or two, and I managed to figure things out before long, but it did lose me a couple of times. There were also a few dropped plotlines that were brought up in the beginning and in the end, but seemed to be forgotten about in the middle. In the end, everything was resolved and I was perfectly happy with how it all turned out, but it would have been nice to see them carried through the story consistently.
In spite of this, I had a fantastic time reading this book and I feel the series is finally back on track. Overall verdict: 4.5/5 stars. LOVED IT. Can’t wait to see where we go from here.
Or click here for a spoilery version!! (Warning: this is VERY spoiler-heavy, DO NOT CLICK IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK)
Phase 2 of Skulduggery Pleasant has been the source of many mixed feelings for me. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions – joy at seeing my favourite characters again, but equally the bittersweet feeling that these new books have been lacking the spark that gave this series life. Bedlam, I promised myself, was the last straw. If I didn’t love this one, then I’d put the series to bed, pretend the last three books never happened and end on a high note with Dying of the Light.
I’ve closed the book on Bedlam. I’ve read it cover to cover. And I am pleased to announce that WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS, BABY.
This book was incredible. From the very first page I was sucked back into the wisecracking, ass-kicking world of the skeleton detective, and I never looked back. Bedlam feels like an OG Skulduggery book; we’ve gone back to basics, the tried and tested formula. Skulduggery and Valkyrie, hanging out, cracking jokes and beating bad guys. It was everything I could have hoped for, and it was glorious.
Bedlam has changed my outlook on so many things about the series that I wasn’t totally sold on. A prime example is Omen Darkly, a character who I was kind of ‘meh’ about up until now. Omen really comes into his own in this book – he’s made some fantastic development and starts to become a far more interesting character. The thing about having one character in a book full of confident, butt-kicking people who’s kind of a bit weak and unsure of themselves is that they just don’t stand out as much. Here, though, Omen gets his time to shine and I’m excited to see him grow even further. Similarly, my thoughts on Abyssinia – a villain who I have scorned very vocally in previous reviews – were altered after reading this. Before, I’ve seen her as kind of a caricature, a very weak answer to the Darquesse problem. I mean, who can live up to the legacy of a god? Not Abyssinia, I said. This book definitely made me rethink my stance on Abyssinia, and I found her a far more compelling villain by the end of it Having said that, a new player is also introduced here and oh boy am I excited. This is going to be a game-changer and I cannot WAIT to see where we go from here.
Let’s talk about Val. Oh, Valkyrie Cain, how I have missed you! This book doesn’t forget about Val’s torment, her PTSD, her struggles with mental health – but it sees her fight them every step of the way. She’s got her mojo back in a big way, and although she’s not necessarily dealing with things in the healthiest way (take a shot every time I said, ‘god damn it, Val’ whilst reading this book) it was so good to see her making jokes again. To see her flirting, having fun, FORGIVING herself. Her friendship with Skulduggery is mending. It’s still rough around the edges, but they’re a team again, well and truly, and it was great to see them together again because I feel like they’ve spent a lot of time apart over the past two books and we needed this. Their dynamic is at least 70% of what I read these books for, and without that… it isn’t Skulduggery Pleasant. This is the series I fell in love with. I’m so unbelievably happy to see my faves bounce back after all this time.
Another thing I loved is that we get some awesome throwbacks to Phase 1, with the resurgence of a lot of old faces I was so pleased to see again. It’s great to see Derek Landy utilising this rich worldbuilding and the vast cast of characters – well, those he hasn’t already killed off – and bringing back some concepts we haven’t explored as much before. This makes all the new information a lot less overwhelming, and also allows us to explore certain disciplines that maybe we didn’t know much about before.
The ending KILLED me. When I heard that we’d be learning some information that changed the series as we know it, altering things way back from the beginning, I was… concerned, to put it mildly. But I could not have ASKED for a better plot twist. This also leads to some fascinating conundrums for future books – a lot more heartache for Val and some implications for another character that have me so unbelievably excited for what’s to come. The ending was perfect; it felt satisfying as hell and was a great conclusion, but also left us with enough unanswered questions to make me crazy curious about what comes next. Friends, I have never felt more alive.
That being said, there were a few rough edges that I would have liked to see smooth out to fully solidify this book for me. One thing I’m a little dubious on is the ‘everybody’s a little bit bi’ agenda that Derek’s pushing. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the fact that one of my fave characters is now canonically bi and that they’ve discovered their sexuality in adulthood (not going to say who – I don’t personally consider sexuality a spoiler but I’ll keep shtum anyway). That being said, I am a bit wary of the ‘everybody’s bi’ rhetoric, because I find it a bit reductionist. Sexuality is a spectrum, but to say that nobody is truly monosexual is to speak for a LOT of people and I don’t think that’s fair. In addition to this, the idea that everybody is a bit bi was an obstacle for me when it came to understanding my own sexuality, because this was an idea that was pushed at me, and left me struggling with the question ‘Well am I just like everybody else? If everybody feels this way then am I just reading too far into this?’ Turns out that some people do and that is valid – but many people don’t, and it was very confusing for me, so I think it’s an idea that shouldn’t necessarily be presented as something so concrete. The idea does kind of get challenged in a conversation between other characters, but it made me a little uneasy at times. That’s not a huge deal though, just a personal bug-bear.
I also felt that at times the plot wasn’t quite as easy to follow as I would have liked. Don’t get me wrong, it was a LOT better than Resurrection (the plot of which I could not reliably recount to you, despite having read it several times.) That being said, in Phase 1 I never, ever had an issue following what was going on, and I did find myself getting a bit muddled on a few occasions in this book. Never for more than a chapter or two, and I managed to figure things out before long, but it did lose me a couple of times. There were also a few dropped plotlines that were brought up in the beginning and in the end, but seemed to be forgotten about in the middle. In the end, everything was resolved and I was perfectly happy with how it all turned out, but it would have been nice to see them carried through the story consistently.
In spite of this, I had a fantastic time reading this book and I feel the series is finally back on track. Overall verdict: 4.5/5 stars. LOVED IT. Can’t wait to see where we go from here.
October 17, 2019
And I’m back in the world of Skulduggery Pleasant. I ended up really enjoying this one, not that it was overly unexpected and found it to be a load of fun, while also being a bittersweet story, especially towards the end.
I will admit, that this book took a bit too long for what I normally would have liked to finish, though all of that fault lies on me. For about two days, which was half the time I spent reading this book, I was for the most part, incredibly stressed out for this music exam that I had coming up and ended up in a bit of a reading slump. That being said, I powered right through the entirety of the book shortly afterwards.
To begin with, the humour in this book(and in the main eleven other books in the series) is absolutely brillant. It is incredibly charming, witty and funny, which was great for me personally as it helped me settle down after my exam. I will admit, that there were times that the humour might have detracted the reader a tad bit from the story, but I did not really care all that much whilst reading the book and was rather relieved at the joy gave me.
I suppose that for this who don’t know and have made it this far into this review, this series has twelve books and counting and is focussed on a literal skeleton who has magically powers and is a detective, who is at first the mentor figure for the actual main protagonist of the series, Stephanie Edgley and as she slowly discovers herself in this magical world that coincides with the real one. I think that it’s great for younger and older readers alike, and is filled with loads of fun, action and great characters. I’ll classify it as YA, though for readers who are passionate, I don’t see why a ten or eleven year old couldn’t read it. Note of warning, the end books of the first ‘proper’ full story arc thing if you can call it that do get a bit lengthy.
Now back onto the review. One thing that I will say is that the last time I reread all the books that were out at that time was four years ago, or back in 2015, and since then having been reading the new ones as they come out. With that being said, I have forgotten lots of things and the lines between individual books have blurred a fair bit, especially as I have read hundreds of books since then, which did mean that I was perhaps not as immersed in the world as I would have liked to have have been. While this did not detract from the story for the most part, there were little things that I ultimately did forget. This is on no one’s fault but my own.
The characters are still very much themselves from what I can remember and I like it like that. They have definitely grown, as otherwise the author would be doing something wrong after twelve books, but he hasn’t, and to be fair, this was honestly one of my favourite series when I was younger where I ranked it just below Percy Jackson and Harry Potter at the time. Neither of those three remain my absolute top favourites today despite how special they still are to me.
Bedlam was awesome and if you have not picked it up, or any Skulduggery Pleasant books before yet are looking for an action packed fantasy adventure, then I highly recommend this series to you. 8.5/10
I will admit, that this book took a bit too long for what I normally would have liked to finish, though all of that fault lies on me. For about two days, which was half the time I spent reading this book, I was for the most part, incredibly stressed out for this music exam that I had coming up and ended up in a bit of a reading slump. That being said, I powered right through the entirety of the book shortly afterwards.
To begin with, the humour in this book(and in the main eleven other books in the series) is absolutely brillant. It is incredibly charming, witty and funny, which was great for me personally as it helped me settle down after my exam. I will admit, that there were times that the humour might have detracted the reader a tad bit from the story, but I did not really care all that much whilst reading the book and was rather relieved at the joy gave me.
I suppose that for this who don’t know and have made it this far into this review, this series has twelve books and counting and is focussed on a literal skeleton who has magically powers and is a detective, who is at first the mentor figure for the actual main protagonist of the series, Stephanie Edgley and as she slowly discovers herself in this magical world that coincides with the real one. I think that it’s great for younger and older readers alike, and is filled with loads of fun, action and great characters. I’ll classify it as YA, though for readers who are passionate, I don’t see why a ten or eleven year old couldn’t read it. Note of warning, the end books of the first ‘proper’ full story arc thing if you can call it that do get a bit lengthy.
Now back onto the review. One thing that I will say is that the last time I reread all the books that were out at that time was four years ago, or back in 2015, and since then having been reading the new ones as they come out. With that being said, I have forgotten lots of things and the lines between individual books have blurred a fair bit, especially as I have read hundreds of books since then, which did mean that I was perhaps not as immersed in the world as I would have liked to have have been. While this did not detract from the story for the most part, there were little things that I ultimately did forget. This is on no one’s fault but my own.
The characters are still very much themselves from what I can remember and I like it like that. They have definitely grown, as otherwise the author would be doing something wrong after twelve books, but he hasn’t, and to be fair, this was honestly one of my favourite series when I was younger where I ranked it just below Percy Jackson and Harry Potter at the time. Neither of those three remain my absolute top favourites today despite how special they still are to me.
Bedlam was awesome and if you have not picked it up, or any Skulduggery Pleasant books before yet are looking for an action packed fantasy adventure, then I highly recommend this series to you. 8.5/10
July 18, 2019
Good lord what a hot mess. I'm honestly baffled by the excellent reviews this is getting. This book reads like Landy had about a dozen ideas for the series and instead of exploring them and formulating them into two or three coherent novels, he decided to just smash bits of them together and throw the resulting pile at the wall, and apparently everyone else likes Jackson Pollock a lot more than I do because here we are.
Also, I'm Australian. Razzia was excruciating in the first book, and then I thought Landy must have actually met an Australian because she talked like a normal person in the second book, but then I guess an Australian spit in Landy's coffee after that because oh boy are we back to being the inbred offspring of Alf Stewart and the Crocodile Hunter.
This book just ... wasn't very good. The writing was weirdly juvenile and lacklustre in a lot of places, events were often skipped over or unlikely plot-conveniences, and boy am I tired of Val being able to do absolutely everything. You know why Superman is the worst hero? He's boring. It's boring when someone has ALL the powers. That's why there are other characters in the book, Landy. Then I got to the ending and just rolled my eyes and wondered if Val had a power that could make me forget that the Skulduggery series was ever resuscitated.
Also, I'm Australian. Razzia was excruciating in the first book, and then I thought Landy must have actually met an Australian because she talked like a normal person in the second book, but then I guess an Australian spit in Landy's coffee after that because oh boy are we back to being the inbred offspring of Alf Stewart and the Crocodile Hunter.
This book just ... wasn't very good. The writing was weirdly juvenile and lacklustre in a lot of places, events were often skipped over or unlikely plot-conveniences, and boy am I tired of Val being able to do absolutely everything. You know why Superman is the worst hero? He's boring. It's boring when someone has ALL the powers. That's why there are other characters in the book, Landy. Then I got to the ending and just rolled my eyes and wondered if Val had a power that could make me forget that the Skulduggery series was ever resuscitated.
May 20, 2019
Love love love Skulduggery & Valkyrie & Tanith.....the gang’s all here basically! Some gasp aloud moments in this latest adventure along with the usual sarcastic humour and non stop action. Read this far too quickly, wanted to slow down and savour it but was too eager to read what would happen next, damn you Landy!
June 11, 2019
3.5 stars? I...Just don't know. I'm always excited for a new Skulduggery book even though Phase 2 in itself always felt a little weak in comparison to the earlier books, and I'm still missing a lot of main characters from before. It was nice to see some familiar faces, but other than that this book just felt very jumbled and all over the place. There were so many things going on that I couldn't keep track of all the plot-lines. It was great to have some good moments between Skul and Valkyrie again which felt pretty nostalgic to Phase 1, but I honestly can't remember most of what I just read. Maybe I'll get back and re-read it.
July 7, 2019
I think by now I'm just so far up Derek Landy's ass that it's literally impossible for me to give these books something less than 5 stars.
September 26, 2021
Your traumas have made you who you are, but they don’t define you. You can live with them, I have no doubt.
*spoilers for anyone who's currently reading the series. read review at your own risk.*
You would think after 12 books in a series that i would be finally sick of it and ready to throw in the towel but this series isn't the case the series is strong and enjoyable as the time i started it 3 years ago. I feel like i've grown with these characters over the course of the series and its changed but it's a good and necessary change that needs to happen in order for the series to continue to grow and get better which it has.
Bedlam is a great story itself and there as always is so much going on with all the different characters list which seems to grow with every book that comes out. Valkyrie is trying to restore her sisters soul which was damaged and taken away from her when she killed her in order to save the world from a greater threat. I love the fact that we are now in the future and we see a much older Alice it has add much more of a dynamic for Valkyrie in her needing to keep her safe but also her understanding the fact that she is becoming more of her own person which has been great to see. I also love her parents and every scene in there in just makes for some of the best scenes in the series in my opinion because it wouldn't be a skulduggery pleasant book without scenes with her parents.
Valkyrie and Militsa's relationship is taking off more and is a main focus relationship for Valkyrie in the series and marking it her first girlfriend of the series. It's revealed that Valkyrie is bisexual and i love the journey of self discovery with her sexuality and exploring things later in her 20's and the different reactions of her friends and family around her which was a positive one.
Omen is starting to take on more of a side story role of the new part of the series and seeing his own little story has been a fun one to get to know. Omen is a twin who is the 'chosen one' after a prophecy that has been set in stone for some time which leaves Omen in the back which is kind of sad because he just wants to fit and be able to participate but has been pushed to the back. Omen however is getting himself involved a lot more and hopefully starts to take more of a front roll moving forward because he is very capable and can handle himself.
All of the other characters are all still growing and making their own mark on me during the course of the series whether they're on for a long haul or a short one they always seem to make an impact when they do. Derek has done a great job in getting all the characters to adapt to the storyline changes and including them all to make the story make sense and it seems to be working with how long this series has been going on for so he's doing something right.
When she was strong, she was unbeatable. When she was strong, she got things done.
Valkyrie finally gets all the missing pieces of Alice's soul and manges to reunite them together and put them back in Alice making her able to feel emotions that she was missing when she was temporarily killed. This scene to me is one of the most well written and eerie ones for the series because when it's happening Valkyrie sees an older Alice who tells her that she's ok but the job isn't done yet which hints at something huge and terrible to come if it does happen.
I was definitely not expecting Valkyrie to be a faceless one and i am so excited to see how this plays out in the next book.
I have grown along with this series and it has remained strong and slowly become one of my favourite series list and i can't wait to get my hands on the next two books in the series!
*spoilers for anyone who's currently reading the series. read review at your own risk.*
You would think after 12 books in a series that i would be finally sick of it and ready to throw in the towel but this series isn't the case the series is strong and enjoyable as the time i started it 3 years ago. I feel like i've grown with these characters over the course of the series and its changed but it's a good and necessary change that needs to happen in order for the series to continue to grow and get better which it has.
Bedlam is a great story itself and there as always is so much going on with all the different characters list which seems to grow with every book that comes out. Valkyrie is trying to restore her sisters soul which was damaged and taken away from her when she killed her in order to save the world from a greater threat. I love the fact that we are now in the future and we see a much older Alice it has add much more of a dynamic for Valkyrie in her needing to keep her safe but also her understanding the fact that she is becoming more of her own person which has been great to see. I also love her parents and every scene in there in just makes for some of the best scenes in the series in my opinion because it wouldn't be a skulduggery pleasant book without scenes with her parents.
Valkyrie and Militsa's relationship is taking off more and is a main focus relationship for Valkyrie in the series and marking it her first girlfriend of the series. It's revealed that Valkyrie is bisexual and i love the journey of self discovery with her sexuality and exploring things later in her 20's and the different reactions of her friends and family around her which was a positive one.
Omen is starting to take on more of a side story role of the new part of the series and seeing his own little story has been a fun one to get to know. Omen is a twin who is the 'chosen one' after a prophecy that has been set in stone for some time which leaves Omen in the back which is kind of sad because he just wants to fit and be able to participate but has been pushed to the back. Omen however is getting himself involved a lot more and hopefully starts to take more of a front roll moving forward because he is very capable and can handle himself.
All of the other characters are all still growing and making their own mark on me during the course of the series whether they're on for a long haul or a short one they always seem to make an impact when they do. Derek has done a great job in getting all the characters to adapt to the storyline changes and including them all to make the story make sense and it seems to be working with how long this series has been going on for so he's doing something right.
When she was strong, she was unbeatable. When she was strong, she got things done.
Valkyrie finally gets all the missing pieces of Alice's soul and manges to reunite them together and put them back in Alice making her able to feel emotions that she was missing when she was temporarily killed. This scene to me is one of the most well written and eerie ones for the series because when it's happening Valkyrie sees an older Alice who tells her that she's ok but the job isn't done yet which hints at something huge and terrible to come if it does happen.
I was definitely not expecting Valkyrie to be a faceless one and i am so excited to see how this plays out in the next book.
I have grown along with this series and it has remained strong and slowly become one of my favourite series list and i can't wait to get my hands on the next two books in the series!
July 8, 2019
I was wary of this installment immediately when I realized this book was a good bit larger than the two prior books in phase 2. Large novels can often spell trouble for a continuing series, often due to filler content used to bloat the page count. But this was a Skulduggery Pleasant novel, one of my most beloved series, so I took a deep breath and dove in with guarded expectations.
Right off the bat, I can say that this book suffers a slow start, and the story properly starts around the middle of the page count. It’s not as badly paced as Midnight was, but getting through the first thirty or so chapters was a slog at best. I’m a fan of the characters in this series, but I felt bored as they puttered around without purpose or a mission until the first big setting change sent Val and Skulduggery on their adventure. The first half of the story reminded me a lot of the start to Midnight, with the characters going about their days, as if the readers are being reintroduced to the characters they already know.
Here too, is where the political lecturing seeps into the already soggy story. I would like to preface that I hold no qualms about incorporating modern events and politics into a fictional narrative, since literature is one of the most influential forms of media. However, Derek Landy seems to have left subtlety by the wayside in this tale, as he jams headlines into the fantastical narrative, building off of the pseudo-political world presented in Bedlam. The society of sorcerers is integrating with the foreign mortals introduced in the previous story, and tensions are high. While I rolled my eyes at several of the lines, I was glad to see that Landy was capitalizing on the setup from Midnight. This was soon squashed though, and this plot point once again faded into the background, much to my frustration. Bisexuality surfaces as a theme in the first half of the story, and the amount of explanation and discussion about this trait felt like the author was lecturing me. It’s borderline obsessive at points, getting to the point where characters just sit and talk about their sexual orientations, breaking my immersion as the characters were hijacked by Landy’s trademark lack of subtlety.
This book also follows suit in the on/off characterization of Valkyrie – the central character. She flips between multiple versions of herself throughout the story, first as an upstanding, aggressive defender of respecting women, then as a mopey, damaged individual with no qualms about snapping towards anyone, even her friends. Finally, the story settles onto a haunted, yet angry version for the meat of the story, as she grapples with the quest she is responsible for. There is also a bizarre plot device introduced at one point which seems to represent drug usage, which I was hoping to see capitalized upon, but Landy ends the story with Val just deciding to ease off the substance all on her own with no debate, internal or external.
Here we approach a reoccurring issue that is all too strong in this most recent novel. Skulduggery Pleasant has suffered from the same characterization issues as Val, but since he isn’t a POV character, we the readers watch as he slips into becoming a gimmicky side character, who is sorely underused in this story and is often separated from Val for plot reasons. Their interactions in the story are surface-level at best, and while Skulduggery occasionally voices his mind to other characters, Val never gets these lines. The two seemed closer than ever in the prior two books, but they are driven apart throughout Bedlam.
This story, like the others in phase 2, is seperated into arcs, some of which seemed to take priority over others. Near the start of the story, a brief insight into Abyssinia’s plans bodes doom for the heroes, but her plan is seemingly put on ice until the middle of the novel so Val can pursue her main quest to restore her sister’s soul. Not only did this kill any tension, it made keeping the plot threads separate more difficult. I’ve always felt negatively towards the characters introduced in phase 2, but none more than Sebastian Tao. I noted his appearance on the cover of the novel, and more focused plot line to finally locate Darquesse, but his (albeit uninteresting) story takes a backseat, reduced to mere blips in the novel. Martin Flannery - the trump caricature, is back, and for once I felt that he played a part in the story. Crepuscular Vies, the villain introduced at the end of Midnight is also more prominent, which I enjoyed, but I don’t know enough about him to truly give his appearance accolades. Omen is in this book, but I soon grew tired of him (not that I was looking forward to his narrative) because he has absolutely no motivation to pursue any sort of plot. His involvement in this story is so contrived that he is literally kidnapped into the story; dragged in by Landy’s pen like a reluctant child. Finally, the villains in this story seem bent on destruction, but their interactions with the heroes end up in a truce, or one side escaping. Neither group really seems to want to hurt the other, which hamstrings the conflict and the neo-nazi themes that trail the “First Wave” characters.
If I had to summarize my thoughts on this arching story, I would say that it started slow, got interesting around the middle and picked up steam heading into the final showdown, then collapsed under the weight of its story arcs. The tale concludes with a slurry of character deaths and twists, but I breezed through it with regret as I realized the truth I had been avoiding since the start of the book. It’s time to leave this series of sorcerers on the shelf.
Right off the bat, I can say that this book suffers a slow start, and the story properly starts around the middle of the page count. It’s not as badly paced as Midnight was, but getting through the first thirty or so chapters was a slog at best. I’m a fan of the characters in this series, but I felt bored as they puttered around without purpose or a mission until the first big setting change sent Val and Skulduggery on their adventure. The first half of the story reminded me a lot of the start to Midnight, with the characters going about their days, as if the readers are being reintroduced to the characters they already know.
Here too, is where the political lecturing seeps into the already soggy story. I would like to preface that I hold no qualms about incorporating modern events and politics into a fictional narrative, since literature is one of the most influential forms of media. However, Derek Landy seems to have left subtlety by the wayside in this tale, as he jams headlines into the fantastical narrative, building off of the pseudo-political world presented in Bedlam. The society of sorcerers is integrating with the foreign mortals introduced in the previous story, and tensions are high. While I rolled my eyes at several of the lines, I was glad to see that Landy was capitalizing on the setup from Midnight. This was soon squashed though, and this plot point once again faded into the background, much to my frustration. Bisexuality surfaces as a theme in the first half of the story, and the amount of explanation and discussion about this trait felt like the author was lecturing me. It’s borderline obsessive at points, getting to the point where characters just sit and talk about their sexual orientations, breaking my immersion as the characters were hijacked by Landy’s trademark lack of subtlety.
This book also follows suit in the on/off characterization of Valkyrie – the central character. She flips between multiple versions of herself throughout the story, first as an upstanding, aggressive defender of respecting women, then as a mopey, damaged individual with no qualms about snapping towards anyone, even her friends. Finally, the story settles onto a haunted, yet angry version for the meat of the story, as she grapples with the quest she is responsible for. There is also a bizarre plot device introduced at one point which seems to represent drug usage, which I was hoping to see capitalized upon, but Landy ends the story with Val just deciding to ease off the substance all on her own with no debate, internal or external.
Here we approach a reoccurring issue that is all too strong in this most recent novel. Skulduggery Pleasant has suffered from the same characterization issues as Val, but since he isn’t a POV character, we the readers watch as he slips into becoming a gimmicky side character, who is sorely underused in this story and is often separated from Val for plot reasons. Their interactions in the story are surface-level at best, and while Skulduggery occasionally voices his mind to other characters, Val never gets these lines. The two seemed closer than ever in the prior two books, but they are driven apart throughout Bedlam.
This story, like the others in phase 2, is seperated into arcs, some of which seemed to take priority over others. Near the start of the story, a brief insight into Abyssinia’s plans bodes doom for the heroes, but her plan is seemingly put on ice until the middle of the novel so Val can pursue her main quest to restore her sister’s soul. Not only did this kill any tension, it made keeping the plot threads separate more difficult. I’ve always felt negatively towards the characters introduced in phase 2, but none more than Sebastian Tao. I noted his appearance on the cover of the novel, and more focused plot line to finally locate Darquesse, but his (albeit uninteresting) story takes a backseat, reduced to mere blips in the novel. Martin Flannery - the trump caricature, is back, and for once I felt that he played a part in the story. Crepuscular Vies, the villain introduced at the end of Midnight is also more prominent, which I enjoyed, but I don’t know enough about him to truly give his appearance accolades. Omen is in this book, but I soon grew tired of him (not that I was looking forward to his narrative) because he has absolutely no motivation to pursue any sort of plot. His involvement in this story is so contrived that he is literally kidnapped into the story; dragged in by Landy’s pen like a reluctant child. Finally, the villains in this story seem bent on destruction, but their interactions with the heroes end up in a truce, or one side escaping. Neither group really seems to want to hurt the other, which hamstrings the conflict and the neo-nazi themes that trail the “First Wave” characters.
If I had to summarize my thoughts on this arching story, I would say that it started slow, got interesting around the middle and picked up steam heading into the final showdown, then collapsed under the weight of its story arcs. The tale concludes with a slurry of character deaths and twists, but I breezed through it with regret as I realized the truth I had been avoiding since the start of the book. It’s time to leave this series of sorcerers on the shelf.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2019
I hate everything.
But also love everything.
Yes I finished this in a single night.
But also love everything.
Yes I finished this in a single night.
June 25, 2019
Just when I thought I'd had enough of angsty dark Valkyrie we decide now that she has to be angsty dark bisexual homicidal drug addicted Valkyrie? All in one book and with no reasons or plot development to get her to any of these? Come on now...killing one of my favorite series is not cool...
July 2, 2019
3.5 The best of the continuation of the series after the original 9 so far.
December 9, 2021
Beendet als Hörbuch ♥️
August 22, 2023
Ha revivido mi ilusion por la saga
May 29, 2019
Oh my god!!! Another fabulous skulduggery book. I couldn't put this one down.
Derek never fails to amaze when writing these books, each new book has twists and turns and surprises I never see coming and Bedlam was no exception.
So nice to see some old names re appear in this installment with some surprises along the way. This book had me saying "oh my god" more than once and I didn't want it to end. The secret is one I personally didn't see coming.
Well worth the red
Derek never fails to amaze when writing these books, each new book has twists and turns and surprises I never see coming and Bedlam was no exception.
So nice to see some old names re appear in this installment with some surprises along the way. This book had me saying "oh my god" more than once and I didn't want it to end. The secret is one I personally didn't see coming.
Well worth the red
May 10, 2021
Когато си толкова навътре в една поредица, просто продължаваш да плуваш напред, колкото и да са зле нещата с наратива. Конкретно тази част от историята беше повече от безлична - не точно скучна, но и с нищо впечатлителна. Всъщност действието беше толкова динамично, направо хаотично, та чак можеше да предизвика епилептичен пристъп на читателя. И цялото това сега сме врагове, после приятели, сега се бием до смърт помежду си, после си помагаме да си съберем червата от пода, сега си споделяме тайни, после си забиваме нож в гърбовете - беше повече от прекалено. То не остана цял човек накрая, почти всеки се оказа наръган от някой друг, а към финала Ланди се опита да вкара някаква доза интрига за следващите книги, но твърде късно според мен. Не че няма да ги прочета, но не му спасяват книгата от ниска оценка 🤷🏻♀️
March 26, 2020
Also... ich weiß gar nicht so genau, wie ich das Buch finde...
Es hat mich gut unterhalten, obwohl mir die eine oder andere Kampfszene zuviel darin war. Und das (offene) Ende hat mich eiskalt erwischt... Mir bleiben da einfach zu viele lose Enden, irgendwie sind alle Handlungsstränge in der Schwebe, alle Protagonisten in Schwierigkeiten stecken geblieben.
Vielleicht hat sich die Reihe für mich auch überlebt?! Ich muss das jetzt mal sacken lassen...
Es hat mich gut unterhalten, obwohl mir die eine oder andere Kampfszene zuviel darin war. Und das (offene) Ende hat mich eiskalt erwischt... Mir bleiben da einfach zu viele lose Enden, irgendwie sind alle Handlungsstränge in der Schwebe, alle Protagonisten in Schwierigkeiten stecken geblieben.
Vielleicht hat sich die Reihe für mich auch überlebt?! Ich muss das jetzt mal sacken lassen...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2021
Oh hell, that was insane! But soooo good! 😃
So we have a bit crazy Valkyrie, stoic but impulsive Skulduggery, not very confident Omen, the Chosen One Auger, tired Never, witty Temper, psycho crazy Razzia, a bunch of too powerful ladies in command and other characters as weird and amazing as them! 😆
I absolutely love Skulduggery Phase 1 books, and although so far I have been a bit sceptical about Phase 2, it is starting to grow on me more and more ... It still has the humour and banter but at the same time it's more mature and deals more with loss and sadness as well. The sadness was a bit overwhelming in book 10 but a great balance was achieved in this book. 🙂
So we have a bit crazy Valkyrie, stoic but impulsive Skulduggery, not very confident Omen, the Chosen One Auger, tired Never, witty Temper, psycho crazy Razzia, a bunch of too powerful ladies in command and other characters as weird and amazing as them! 😆
I absolutely love Skulduggery Phase 1 books, and although so far I have been a bit sceptical about Phase 2, it is starting to grow on me more and more ... It still has the humour and banter but at the same time it's more mature and deals more with loss and sadness as well. The sadness was a bit overwhelming in book 10 but a great balance was achieved in this book. 🙂
July 30, 2019
BRILLIANT as usual!
February 6, 2020
Okay, falls jemand einen gelben Roller hat, dann passt auf, dass er immer vollgetankt ist.
June 23, 2019
Although slightly better than Midnight, Bedlam suffers from many of the same issues that made that book so hard to read. And that ending? Give me a break. It's almost like erasing all the good things you accomplished with the first nine books by rewriting them because you can't think of something shocking enough to end your latest novel.
But despite the small improvement in overall readability, the plot is still a convoluted, sprawling mess. It reads like the author simply bit off more than he could chew, and it's not going down well. The characters I loved are all becoming vaguely unlikable, and that is just so damn depressing. The heart and soul that made this series so fantastic and gave it life is very obviously gone now. Rather than look forward to the inevitable 13th book, I feel like I should just mourn a bad ending.
But despite the small improvement in overall readability, the plot is still a convoluted, sprawling mess. It reads like the author simply bit off more than he could chew, and it's not going down well. The characters I loved are all becoming vaguely unlikable, and that is just so damn depressing. The heart and soul that made this series so fantastic and gave it life is very obviously gone now. Rather than look forward to the inevitable 13th book, I feel like I should just mourn a bad ending.
June 16, 2020
-Sigh- Where to start?
OK, first of all, some disclaimers: I absolutely adore the original Skulduggery Pleasant series; Books 1 through to 9—including the Tanith novella and the short story collection—are some of the best children's books on the market. I also appreciate that now, as a 31 year old woman, I am no longer the target market for these books, but I do still count Derek Landy among my favourite authors, and note that I would kill to read an adult horror novel by him, no holds barred, which he's been threatening to do for a while.
That being said, this new cycle of Skulduggery Pleasant books have thus far proven to be... not great. Resurrection was average but promising whilst Midnight read like a rushed, disjointed, convoluted mess. As for Bedlam... like its predecessor, there are moments of unbridled brilliance bogged down by far, far too many ideas; confusing alliances; an increasingly-confusing plot; and piss-poor representation.
I wish to get my main gripe out of the way first, which involves the latter point. I touched upon it briefly in my review of Midnight, but alas, I am forced to return to it again. In the previous book, it was revealed (in a vague, roundabout sort of way) that Valkyrie was a heteroromantic bisexual. As a bisexual woman myself, I have always gotten serious bi-vibes from Val, and she ranks highly in my list of fictional crushes. Although I have a few issues with how this conversation went in Midnight (particularly when I considered it alongside Derek's very questionable depiction of lesbians in Desolation), I was generally pleased with this revelation and hoped it wouldn't be ignored going forward. Sadly, I now find myself wishing it had been ignored.
Note: Slight spoilers ahead but I'm not marking them 'cause everything's revealed in the first chapter.
At the very beginning of Bedlam, it's revealed that Valkyrie is now in a relationship with Militsa Gnosis (thus acting on her bisexuality). However, the way this is introduced is so uncomfortably forced, I could actually practically feel my insides turning in on themselves as I read several paragraphs of cringe-worthy flirting which seemed to be happening for no other reason than to exposite Val's new relationship status. Every time Val and Militsa were on the page together, I wanted to hide, because they have absolutely zero chemistry (primarily because Militsa is so underdeveloped; I know next to nothing about her, nor do I care for her) and the God awful pet names Militsa kept giving Val drove me up the frikkin' wall. Granted, romance hasn't exactly been a prevalent theme in the Skulduggery Pleasant books up 'til now, and Valkyrie's previous pairings (Fletcher, Caelan) have been equally awkward and stiff. However, awkwardness was always kind of the point with those relationships, and this time with Militsa I got the impression Valkyrie was taking things a bit more seriously, and generally being more mature about it. The stuff around Valkyrie being afraid to come out to her parents was handled much, much better, but then this abomination of a conversation happened between Omen Darkly and the genderfluid Never, which puts Landy's decision to make Valkyrie bisexual into very dodgy context:
There is... so much wrong with this conversation:
1) I find it incredibly odd that someone would actually be envious of a sexuality, especially a marginalised one which makes your life undeniably harder (I'm prepared to accept sorcerers may be more accepting of such things than mortals, but in my opinion, that just makes the envy even weirder, because why would you even bat an eyelid at it?).
2) Bi-envy perpetuates this idea that bisexuals are greedy/have more choice than straight people (yes, even with the in-dialogue subversion) and are therefore lucky to be bi, which is not only far, far from most bisexual people's lived-in experiences; it's also incredibly harmful.
3) Bisexuality is not a personality trait, nor is it something to collect to earn you 'cool' points.
4) Bisexuality isn't something you can choose, it's something you just are.
5) Even with the benefit of the doubt that sexualities can and do change over time, the fact that most sorcerers eventually turn bi out of boredom is so trivialising and offensive, I literally cannot even.
If you are a straight man and you're going to make your female protagonist bisexual—not only that, but you make the commitment to writing her first f/f relationship and experience of coming out to her parents, it is absolutely essential you do your research and get it right. I appreciate that I am but one bisexual woman and I do not speak for all of us—we are by no means a monolith—but I don't think any bisexual person would be happy with the way things were handled here. I totally understand and appreciate the desire to diversify your cast, but the only thing worse than No Representation... is Bad representation. I love bisexual Val, but I absolutely do not love the way Derek Landy handled bisexual Val; I'd have preferred if he'd never touched upon the subject at all.
Now that that's out the way (gosh, that really was a rant, sorry), I can get onto some of the structural issues which actually had a much bigger impact on my negative rating than the above. Because despite my issues with the bi-representation, I can at least see Derek is trying. But when it comes to fundamentals like plotting, pacing, characterisation and writing quality... at 15(?) books in, he should be a pro by now. Bedlam was every bit as messy and convoluted as its predecessor, whereby I would just about struggle to comprehend what was going on in one chapter, only to lurch wildly to the next and have to start all over again. Several times it felt like there was a scene missing, and I had to flick back to earlier chapters between reading sessions to remind myself of what was happening.
I've spoken about Militsa already, but more importantly than that, Abyssinia's characterisation (i.e. the main antagonist) is all over the place. One minute she's a megalomaniac villain who must be stopped at all costs, the next Valkyrie and Skulduggery are allied to her for... reasons that barely made sense to the point I can't even remember. Despite being featured on the cover this time, Sebastian still remains distant and unknowable, .
The good stuff: I loved everything that took place in Greymire Asylum and I was so, so excited when I deduced the title of Bedlam (i.e. the informal name for the infamous Bethlem Hospital) meant we'd be focusing here—alas, another disappointment. The little we did get, however, was fantastically creepy and Derek Landy really seems to consistently excel at writing excellent horror segments. I loved the idea of the mind-wiping music box and the terrifying manifestation of the Nemesis, though I fervently wish we'd dwelled more on these, and less time flitting around with Razzia, Sebastien, Temper etc. Gosh I haven't even touched on my issues with Razzia and Temper, and this review is already so, so long...
At this point sadly, I am considering bowing out reading the rest of this series altogether. I've become one of those odious people who wish Derek had just left Skulduggery Pleasant the hell alone. I know he's capable of better than this; I really enjoyed the first book in his Demon Road trilogy (though was admittedly devastated when his punishing publishing schedule ruined the other two). I'd have even welcomed an entirely new story focussing on Omen Darkly as a protagonist with his Chosen One brother Auger in the same world as this one with Skulduggery and Valkyrie completely absent. The original 9 Skulduggery Pleasant books followed such a complete and perfect arc... Why fix what isn't broken?
-Sigh-
OK, first of all, some disclaimers: I absolutely adore the original Skulduggery Pleasant series; Books 1 through to 9—including the Tanith novella and the short story collection—are some of the best children's books on the market. I also appreciate that now, as a 31 year old woman, I am no longer the target market for these books, but I do still count Derek Landy among my favourite authors, and note that I would kill to read an adult horror novel by him, no holds barred, which he's been threatening to do for a while.
That being said, this new cycle of Skulduggery Pleasant books have thus far proven to be... not great. Resurrection was average but promising whilst Midnight read like a rushed, disjointed, convoluted mess. As for Bedlam... like its predecessor, there are moments of unbridled brilliance bogged down by far, far too many ideas; confusing alliances; an increasingly-confusing plot; and piss-poor representation.
I wish to get my main gripe out of the way first, which involves the latter point. I touched upon it briefly in my review of Midnight, but alas, I am forced to return to it again. In the previous book, it was revealed (in a vague, roundabout sort of way) that Valkyrie was a heteroromantic bisexual. As a bisexual woman myself, I have always gotten serious bi-vibes from Val, and she ranks highly in my list of fictional crushes. Although I have a few issues with how this conversation went in Midnight (particularly when I considered it alongside Derek's very questionable depiction of lesbians in Desolation), I was generally pleased with this revelation and hoped it wouldn't be ignored going forward. Sadly, I now find myself wishing it had been ignored.
Note: Slight spoilers ahead but I'm not marking them 'cause everything's revealed in the first chapter.
At the very beginning of Bedlam, it's revealed that Valkyrie is now in a relationship with Militsa Gnosis (thus acting on her bisexuality). However, the way this is introduced is so uncomfortably forced, I could actually practically feel my insides turning in on themselves as I read several paragraphs of cringe-worthy flirting which seemed to be happening for no other reason than to exposite Val's new relationship status. Every time Val and Militsa were on the page together, I wanted to hide, because they have absolutely zero chemistry (primarily because Militsa is so underdeveloped; I know next to nothing about her, nor do I care for her) and the God awful pet names Militsa kept giving Val drove me up the frikkin' wall. Granted, romance hasn't exactly been a prevalent theme in the Skulduggery Pleasant books up 'til now, and Valkyrie's previous pairings (Fletcher, Caelan) have been equally awkward and stiff. However, awkwardness was always kind of the point with those relationships, and this time with Militsa I got the impression Valkyrie was taking things a bit more seriously, and generally being more mature about it. The stuff around Valkyrie being afraid to come out to her parents was handled much, much better, but then this abomination of a conversation happened between Omen Darkly and the genderfluid Never, which puts Landy's decision to make Valkyrie bisexual into very dodgy context:
Omen sagged. "You're so lucky."
"I know," said Never. "But remind me—how exactly?"
"You're bisexual. I wish I was bisexual."
Never laughed. "Feeling cheated, are we?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's like cutting off half my potential love interests without even thinking about it. If I liked boys as much as I liked girls, I'd at least have a chance to... to... Well, to be turned down by more people. But that's not the point."
"I wouldn't worry about it, Omen. Most sorcerers eventually turn bi because they grow tired of viewing relationships from a traditional, mortal perspective. They gradually allow themselves to be free—the key word being gradually. It takes a little time."
"But what if I'm not bi?" Omen asked, keeping his voice low. "What if I'm one of those sorcerers who's like, straight or gay their entire lives?"
Never patted his shoulder. "It won't be so bad. I'll still invite you to parties."
There is... so much wrong with this conversation:
1) I find it incredibly odd that someone would actually be envious of a sexuality, especially a marginalised one which makes your life undeniably harder (I'm prepared to accept sorcerers may be more accepting of such things than mortals, but in my opinion, that just makes the envy even weirder, because why would you even bat an eyelid at it?).
2) Bi-envy perpetuates this idea that bisexuals are greedy/have more choice than straight people (yes, even with the in-dialogue subversion) and are therefore lucky to be bi, which is not only far, far from most bisexual people's lived-in experiences; it's also incredibly harmful.
3) Bisexuality is not a personality trait, nor is it something to collect to earn you 'cool' points.
4) Bisexuality isn't something you can choose, it's something you just are.
5) Even with the benefit of the doubt that sexualities can and do change over time, the fact that most sorcerers eventually turn bi out of boredom is so trivialising and offensive, I literally cannot even.
If you are a straight man and you're going to make your female protagonist bisexual—not only that, but you make the commitment to writing her first f/f relationship and experience of coming out to her parents, it is absolutely essential you do your research and get it right. I appreciate that I am but one bisexual woman and I do not speak for all of us—we are by no means a monolith—but I don't think any bisexual person would be happy with the way things were handled here. I totally understand and appreciate the desire to diversify your cast, but the only thing worse than No Representation... is Bad representation. I love bisexual Val, but I absolutely do not love the way Derek Landy handled bisexual Val; I'd have preferred if he'd never touched upon the subject at all.
Now that that's out the way (gosh, that really was a rant, sorry), I can get onto some of the structural issues which actually had a much bigger impact on my negative rating than the above. Because despite my issues with the bi-representation, I can at least see Derek is trying. But when it comes to fundamentals like plotting, pacing, characterisation and writing quality... at 15(?) books in, he should be a pro by now. Bedlam was every bit as messy and convoluted as its predecessor, whereby I would just about struggle to comprehend what was going on in one chapter, only to lurch wildly to the next and have to start all over again. Several times it felt like there was a scene missing, and I had to flick back to earlier chapters between reading sessions to remind myself of what was happening.
I've spoken about Militsa already, but more importantly than that, Abyssinia's characterisation (i.e. the main antagonist) is all over the place. One minute she's a megalomaniac villain who must be stopped at all costs, the next Valkyrie and Skulduggery are allied to her for... reasons that barely made sense to the point I can't even remember. Despite being featured on the cover this time, Sebastian still remains distant and unknowable, .
The good stuff: I loved everything that took place in Greymire Asylum and I was so, so excited when I deduced the title of Bedlam (i.e. the informal name for the infamous Bethlem Hospital) meant we'd be focusing here—alas, another disappointment. The little we did get, however, was fantastically creepy and Derek Landy really seems to consistently excel at writing excellent horror segments. I loved the idea of the mind-wiping music box and the terrifying manifestation of the Nemesis, though I fervently wish we'd dwelled more on these, and less time flitting around with Razzia, Sebastien, Temper etc. Gosh I haven't even touched on my issues with Razzia and Temper, and this review is already so, so long...
At this point sadly, I am considering bowing out reading the rest of this series altogether. I've become one of those odious people who wish Derek had just left Skulduggery Pleasant the hell alone. I know he's capable of better than this; I really enjoyed the first book in his Demon Road trilogy (though was admittedly devastated when his punishing publishing schedule ruined the other two). I'd have even welcomed an entirely new story focussing on Omen Darkly as a protagonist with his Chosen One brother Auger in the same world as this one with Skulduggery and Valkyrie completely absent. The original 9 Skulduggery Pleasant books followed such a complete and perfect arc... Why fix what isn't broken?
-Sigh-
November 28, 2020
Leider sind die Unterschiede zu den vorherigen Büchern so groß, dass ich nicht mehr viel von der ursprünglichen Reihe erkennen kann. Der LGBTQ-Plot fühlt sich gezwungen an (eventuell weil es ein Cis-Mann geschrieben hat?) und die Storyline hat mich so oft rausgeschmissen, dass ich den Plottwist am Schluss nicht als solcher wahrgenommen habe, sondern nur noch verwirrt war. Warum sollten Walküre und die andern sich nach einem 300 Seiten Kampf gegen eine genozidbetreibende Verrückte plötzlich mit ihr zusammenschließen, nur weil ihr precious Sohn ein bisschen verletzt wurde?? (Hat jemand Batman v Superman gesehen? Gleiches Spiel!). Skulduggery ist schon lange zu einer unbedeutenden Randfigur geworden, die der rachsüchtigen, dunklen und nun auch drogenabhängigen (seufz) Walküre nicht mehr viel zu bieten hat und kaum was zur Story beiträgt. Die Charaktere wirken wie Parodien auf Archetypen, allen voran Flanery. Ich denke, ich werde nicht mehr weiterlesen - dafür hat sich leider zu wenig getan seit dem Start der neuen Reihe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2020
„Всичко, което знаеш, е грешно”. Така гласи надписът върху корицата на „Бедлам” (изд. „Студио Арт Лайн”) – дванадесетия роман от поредицата „Скълдъгъри Плезънт” на Дерек Ланди. Безсрамна лъжа! Знаем, че Ланди няма да остави Скълдъгъри и Валкирия нито да скучаят, нито дори да си отпочинат. Знаем, че ни очаква поредното бурно приключение, изпълнено с битки и драматизъм. И знаем, че Ланди не пише по инерция, а с размах и вдъхновение. И така… излиза, че всичко, което знаем е ВЯРНО! Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
August 11, 2020
Валкирия влиза в лудница: https://knigolandia.info/book-review/...
Иначе Валкирия се е съсредоточила да търси как да върне душата на сестра си, която малко ѝ отне покрай всички драми в предната част. Същевременно открива нови и нови сили в себе си, които помагат в определени моменти, но от друга страна Ланди ѝ позволява да не е и всесилна, има мигове, когато отнася солиден пердах – а в тази част в една откачена лудница успяха да ѝ бръкнат и здраво в мозъка. За моя приятна изненада Даркесата не си е отишла съвсем и по две различни линии пак се промъква в действието, а и Безликите, с които беше свършено още в третата книга уж, се мяркат – а един магьоснически д-р Менгеле се опитва да ги открие в обикновени хора с необикновени гени.
Artline Studios Publishing (офис)
https://knigolandia.info/book-review/...
Иначе Валкирия се е съсредоточила да търси как да върне душата на сестра си, която малко ѝ отне покрай всички драми в предната част. Същевременно открива нови и нови сили в себе си, които помагат в определени моменти, но от друга страна Ланди ѝ позволява да не е и всесилна, има мигове, когато отнася солиден пердах – а в тази част в една откачена лудница успяха да ѝ бръкнат и здраво в мозъка. За моя приятна изненада Даркесата не си е отишла съвсем и по две различни линии пак се промъква в действието, а и Безликите, с които беше свършено още в третата книга уж, се мяркат – а един магьоснически д-р Менгеле се опитва да ги открие в обикновени хора с необикновени гени.
Artline Studios Publishing (офис)
https://knigolandia.info/book-review/...
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