Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Publisher: Razorbill
Pub Date: 11/01/2011
Genre: YA science fiction
Pages: 398
Rating: 3.5

Blurb: 
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder. 

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

I've been waiting to read this book for ages, after seeing Aylee recommend it over at Recovering Potter Addict years ago. This one I went into knowing it’s a trilogy, even though I’m so, so sick of series and trilogies in particular. I think it’s similar to downloadable content for gamers – I don’t want to pay extra just to finish the story. Of course, this depends – something like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games couldn’t really have been in one book, but a lot of YA books suffer from second-book syndrome, where nothing happens in the second book of the trilogy because it’s essentially just a placeholder.

Anyway, it remains to be seen whether that’s the case with the next two books of this trilogy, so I’ll just focus on the one I’ve actually read for now. That would probably help.

OKAY.

So, seventeen-year-old Amy’s parents are boarding a generation ship, which is heading on a 300-year interstellar voyage to Centauri-Earth for some reason. Her father is sixth-in-command of the military, and her mother is a bioengineer, so those two are essential for the mission. She decides to accompany them even though she’s “non-essential”, so is flash-frozen alongside them and put into the ship, Godspeed to sleep through the next 300 years.

But she’s woken up by an attempted murder 250 years later and defrosted. She can’t go back to sleep or she might never wake up, so she’s on the strange ship without anyone she knew. Only – surprise! – since this is a generation ship, there are (I think) 2,312 people living and reproducing there. She makes friends with the leader-in-training, Elder, and his friend and painter, Harley.

Then lots of shenanigans happen and many secrets are revealed.

The story is told in first-person, rotating between Elder and Amy every second chapter. It’s interesting to see their different perspectives, and the secrets they keep from each other.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Across the Universe. The world-building is very impressive, but still lacking in some ways (e.g. I still don’t know why the ship left Earth).

It’s way too YA-romantic, with insta-love and everything. I could’ve done without the romance.

Still, there’s an entire world inside that ship, and good explanations are offered for everything. The secrets are interesting, but only one of them made me physically react – maybe I wasn’t bonded enough to the characters. There’s a sense of the universe’s apathy, as sad things happen without reason. Also, if you’re sensitive about rape or suicide, you may want to give this one a miss. But that’s not really a spoiler, and the two topics are approached in unique ways that made them fascinating (though sad) to read about.

Themes of filial piety, destiny and coming of age are explored, all coalescing in the last couple of scenes. I’m having difficulty explaining why, but I felt like it was sort of Shakespearian, the climactic scene. I guess it makes sense, since the author is an English teacher. Just like with the last book I reviewed though (If I Stay) I was dissatisfied with the ending. I’m not as angry with this one as I was with the last one, because it was a lot longer so that cushions the fall, but the ending was still fairly open.

Also, THERE WERE NO PAGE NUMBERS. Now, this could just have been in my edition, but that makes me mad. How was I supposed to remember where I was if I left the book down? Hey, maybe it was a ploy to make the book unputdownable.

Still. I didn’t quite form attachments as deep as I would’ve liked to the characters, and it just feels like there was something lacking. But I will probably read the sequels, and I have to admit that it’s an impressive and imaginative book. 

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Publisher: Speak
Pub Date: 01/01/09
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 210
Rating: 3.5 

Blurb:

On a day that started like any other, Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices.

 In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.

This review could’ve been different. It didn’t have to be this way.

I was really enjoying If I Stay by Gayle Forman. The writing was exquisite, the characters unique, and I was driven close to tears at points. I was so engaged, compelled to wonder what would happen next and how the narrator’s dilemma would be resolved.

And then the author screwed me over.

Let me backtrack a bit.

So, teenage cellist Mia is on a snowy drive with her parents and little brother when a truck crashes into them. The parents die instantly, and she and her brother Teddy are taken to hospital in critical condition. Mia is in a coma, but her spirit/ghost/soul is aware and follows her body around, though she can’t interact with the world. I guess that’s comforting for those with friends in a coma.

The whole story takes place over a couple of days with a lot of flashbacks and introspection, so most of the action is Mia’s body having various operations and panic stations, and all the people she knows coming in to talk to her and ask her to come out of the coma. Mia’s spirit can wander wherever, so she sees her best friend Kim and boyfriend Adam planning ways to break into the ward and sees the outside world that way.

I really liked the flashbacks. With that short a timeframe, they were necessary to have a book-length work (more on that later). They mostly focus on her boyfriend, her family and music (specifically the cello and her growing proficiency at it as she picks it up as a kid, then goes to classical music summer camps – while Kim is at Jewish camp – and finally auditions for Juilliard). Hang on, I just realised that if she survives, she might be so mangled she’ll be unable to go to Juilliard. That’s sad.

She has a really good relationship with her parents (maybe a bit unrealistic, but nice to read). Her parents both used to be rockers, but her mother is now a housewife and her father an English teacher. We see another iteration of Ditzy Father Syndrome – he didn’t learn to drive until the second child (Teddy). It is a charming family, though.

Anyway, soon enough after the accident, she realises that this spirit of hers has the power to decide whether or not she stays. She weighs up the options – live with her friends but as an orphan, or die with her family? There’s a very touching moment nearish the end where Kim whispers to her that all her friends and non-immediate relatives are waiting downstairs and that “You still have a family.” We see her being swayed different ways by hearing different people talking, and this really got me thinking and seriously trying to figure out what she should do given the available – well, not evidence, but information. Sort of like an emotional detective story.

Here’s where the screwing over comes in. When I’m really enjoying a book but I’m nearing a bit where I’m afraid the author might choose to end it, I take a quick look to see how many pages are left. I was reassured here because there was around a fifth of the book left … and then I turned the page and it said THE END.

You know what was behind that page? Acknowledgements! And background information like the reasoning behind music choices, which I was too insulted to read! For like forty pages! I’d expect to see that sort of thing in fanfiction, not in a published novel.

What had just happened was what might happen 60% of the way through a novel, going by classic techniques or whatever. A sign of hope that doesn’t give away the ending.

It’s absolutely inappropriate for an actual ending!

The book is a measly 210 pages, and the worst part is that the story isn’t even remotely finished. Even as a reader, I could say (broadly) what should happen next.

Oh, and surprise surprise – there’s a sequel. A sequel called Where She Went. Okay, not only is that a massive spoiler, it’s totally inaccurate and doesn’t follow the first book, which is – I’m pretty sure – the entire point of a sequel.

Then again, it’d be difficult to follow the total non-ending of that book.

Look, it might not be the author’s fault. The writing was beautiful, and it does seem like something a publisher might choose to do for commercial purposes (especially going by the movie). But I can’t think of anything that could’ve happened in the book that would have pissed me off more.

Review: Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2013

Pages: 387

Genre: Contemporary

Source: Library

Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Harriet Manners knows a lot of facts.

·         Humans have 70,000 thoughts per day.

·         Caterpillars have four thousand muscles.

·         The average person eats a ton of food in a year.

·         Being a Geek + Model = a whole new set of graffiti on your belongings. But clearly she knows nothing about boys. And on a whirlwind modelling trip to Tokyo, Harriet would trade in everything she’s ever learnt for just the faintest idea of what to do next.

I read Geek Girl, the first in this series, a few months ago, and checked this one out of the library recently (it’s probably overdue now. Sorry, library). You can read my review of that here.

As you can probably tell from my very slow updating of this blog, I haven’t been reading much lately. Well, I’ve been reading, but I haven’t been finishing books – I have about four currently on the go. But just over a week ago, my internet went, and I won’t have it back for another week, so … I have a lot more time. I’m also super frustrated and unproductive without internet, and forced to cart my laptop to school, but still.

Back on topic.

I’m not going to bother with a spoiler warning for the first book because there’s not much to spoil. However, there are some delicious twists towards the end of this one (the second book in the series), so I’m not going to spoil those. It should be safe to read on.

Right, so the annoyances I had with the last book mostly remain. The stupid geek facts, for example – someone who knows a lot of trivia isn’t the only kind of geek, though I prefer to say nerd.  The very simple formulae that plaster the book cover just to give the impression of being smart.

They’re inside the book too. In an early chapter, she’s at a photoshoot when suddenly, shock horror, the photographer discovers that she’s stuck physics formulae all over her arm/shoe sole/ inside of jacket so she can study while modelling.

The formulae are:

“F = M x A”

“V = I x R”

“Ek = ½ x M x V2”

“W = M x G”

Now, not only are these all ridiculously simple formulae, they’re written in such a horrifically inefficient way. Also, I’m just going to give you the notation because I can. V = I x R I haven’t covered this year, but I *think* I know it.

F = ma means force is mass by acceleration. V = IR means voltage is current by resistance. E_k = ½ mv² means kinetic energy is half of mass by velocity squared (V2? Ugh). W = mg is mass by acceleration due to gravity, and I like this one because it fits exactly into F = ma (weight is force of gravity on an object, g is a type of acceleration).

 Other things that annoy me:

The astonishingly unlikely plot.

The fact that Harriet’s priorities are absolutely all over the place, and she seems to possess no maturity or common sense whatsoever. Like, a certain level of ditziness is cute, but this is just ridiculous. And she goes around saying she’s such a geek when the back of the book says her main problem is not knowing how to interact with boys. I mean, seriously? The blurb then goes on to say that she’d trade all her knowledge – which, may I remind you, is essentially her entire sense of self – to know how to handle boys and social life while in Tokyo.

Please get some nerd integrity.

The stalker – stalking is still condoned by the author. Toby is sweet, but he is still a stalker.

She obsesses over a boy for the entire book. I don’t understand people who do this, fictional or real.

They’re just one person! Don’t base your entire life around them!

So why the four stars then? Well, first you have to bear in mind that my rating systems are based on gut feeling, and despite the peeves I did really enjoy this book.

The humour can be Big-Bang-Theory-forced, but it’s still funny. Like, just after the irritating Physics formulae, there’s this:

‘”Harriet Manners, are you studying maths in the middle of my fashion shoot?”

I shake my head and look at the air above the photographer’s left ear. You know the crocodile and the bird? I think one of us is about to get eaten.

“No,” I answer in my littlest voice. Because a) It’s physics, and b) I’ve been doing it all the way through.” ‘

I think that quote captures Harriet’s character voice well. Also, why is she called Harriet?

The things I loved from the first book also stayed the same. I love Annabel, and Harriet’s silly Dad (there’s a quote I can’t find where her dad says something like “I’m afraid all the female Pants are Smarty in this house”, and he texts Harriet while she’s in Japan asking can he eat her chocolate. They’re very close and it’s sweet.

The modelling world described (e.g. the crazy designer Yuka Ito) is so much fun to read about, so it’s a rare contemporary that still has a surprising and intriguing setting. The author skilfully sets up lots of scenarios, building towards climaxes at different points in a textbook sort of way (you know, “Complication 1” “Complication 2” “Black Moment”). I know a story needs conflict, but I felt that thing again where I just want a character to gallivant in this cool new setting without running into problems when of course they inevitably can’t.

Holly Smale is really good at creating distinct characters, although I fear some may just be stereotypes (Wilbur is stereotypically gay and Rin is stereotypically Japanese/Asian/kawaii). Then again, the author lived in Japan for two years and I don’t actually know any Japanese girls (I don’t think?) so maybe. They’re very entertaining on the page, anyway.

My favourite part of this book, and the part that definitely pushed it up to four stars, was all the twists. Obviously I can’t go into detail without spoiling, but I definitely got some surprises.

I didn’t particularly like the resolution. Harriet makes a mature decision, much like the one Cath makes (off-screen) in Fangirl, and though I know it’s necessary for her character arc, it promises an end to a lot of what I found entertaining. Then again, there’s a whole third book to read, so there should be lots more in store.

Review: The Dying of the Light (Skulduggery Pleasant #9) by Derek Landy (SPOILERS)

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Okay, that's enough spoiler warnings. I've never had to put a spoiler warning in the title before. This is going to be a really hard review to write, and I can't do it justice without spoilers. So there are going to be spoilers for the whole series from here on out.

This review might not be entirely coherent, but it'll be cathartic.

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Publisher: HarperCollins Children's
Date of Publication: August 28th 2014
Pages: 605
Source: Christmas present
Rating: ?????

I'm so disappointed. As a whole, the book was thrilling and emotional and everything we expect a Skulduggery Pleasant book to be (almost), but I'm so upset by the ending. 

The book starts with some weird chapter from the perspective of this randomer called Danny living a boring, ordinary life in Meek Ridge. Periodically, he brings groceries to a girl called Stephanie who lives all alone in a mansion. The name is supposed to ring a bell with us (and it does, obviously) but we don't understand it. This subplot continues through the book, with Danny at one point being kidnapped as two killers chase Stephanie. The Danny chapters are just sprinkled throughout, and I hated them because I didn't care in the slightest about Danny or this mysterious Stephanie. 

All I wanted was Valkyrie's perspective.

For the majority of the book, that is not what I got. 

At the end of LSoDM, Darquesse took over Valkyrie. So for a large chunk at the start of the book, we get Stephanie's perspective. Skulduggery is sullen because he's lost his partner, and while this is entirely understandable I missed his wit. I really dislike the dark turn the last two books took. I mean, SP has always been gory, and that was okay. But there are all these real war casualties, and it's so sad. Then again, I'm glad I properly grew up with these books. The Harry Potter books are very special to me, but I pretty much missed the Hogwarts express, or only caught the tail end. The first book came out shortly before I was born, and so I read Fred's death when I was eight or nine so I didn't really get the emotional impact. 

I'm getting the emotional impact here.

And that's why I'm so annoyed with how Derek toyed with it. 

TV Tropes just told me Argeddion died. Fucking Argeddion, and I'd forgotten it, because there were too many other deaths. 

TV tropes also says Skulduggery beat Darquesse and Argeddion in LSoDM by giving them epileptic fits. I don't remember half of this stuff. I really need to re-read the books. 

I think I understand why Derek gave us Stephanie's perspective. It was really awkward for the characters because they had to sort out in their heads that she's now her own person, but that makes it awkward for the reader too. Derek probably liked that, but I didn't need that particular complication while reading through everything else in the million subplots. The book mentions her killing Carol, but that line isn't resolved at all. She's not even punished for it, as far as I can remember. I'm so mad. 

I was pretty apprehensive when I saw the cover (the titular character's skull is on the ground, burning), but that particular reality doesn't come to pass, as far as I know.

A plainly ridiculous amount of stuff happens in this book, and it's impossible to go through it all. I know I said there'd be spoilers here, but honestly describing the book would just be "x dies, comes back to life, dies again, y dies, z dies horribly, a betrays b, everyone dies". 

I get that the chapters were an artistic choice, but I hated them. I mean, I got the point later on in the book when they were just one line, but Derek would end chapters in the middle of a sentence and then finish that sentence in a new chapter in a different character's perspective. I shudder to think of how much editing this book must have needed. 

A ton of characters are brought back from the previous books to deal with Darquesse. It's really great to see Fletcher, who I love, but then you also have, let's think ... Wreath, Melancholia, Vile, vampires, Cassandra & Finbar (who have a surprisingly huge role after just turning up), the Dead Men, Billy-Ray Sanguine, Tanith, Mevolent, Serpine and more.

Tanith finally loses her Remnant, thanks to Darquesse. Darquesse has become really annoying in this book; rather than being playful and crazy with her power like in the previous books, she's now studying weird and arcane magic, trying to become The Most Powerful of All. Whereas in Death Bringer she and Lord Vile were pretty evenly matched, she goes up against Vile and Melancholia together and literally blasts both of them out of the park. 

I loved Scapegrace, Thrasher and Clarabelle's subplot. They're one group that has been consistently funny all through the series, and I'm so glad they get a happy ending. 

Valkyrie loses her magic partway through the book in a gutwrenching twist, but then we have yet another reversal and she gets her surge, giving her some weird, unsatisfying magic where she blasts beams of energy through her hands (but she's not an Energy-Thrower). So we don't get any of that Elemental good stuff or the cool/scary Necromancy. I'll admit, her heartbreak at losing her magic was one of the few twists I did appreciate (though it pained me).

I also quite liked the failure of the plan to suck Darquesse out of Valkyrie, because Darquesse goes along with it and actually has a moment where she considers being good. She also has a pretty awesome fight seen with what I'm remembering as a giant dog impervious to magic, which Valkyrie definitely wouldn't have survived. The fear on people's faces when they realise she's Darquesse is pretty great too. I also liked how Stephanie and Valkyrie have to deal with dirty looks because they look the same as Darquesse.

Then again, I've never really understood how Valkyrie always gets forgiven after Darquesse goes on a rampage. They may have different names, but Darquesse is Val's true name, remember? It's just uncomfortable to think that's who she really is. 

Look, I probably would have liked the book if not for that stupid ending. Everyone's losing in the fight to Darquesse, and then she kills them all gruesomely, including Val, Skul, Fletcher, everyone. She then torches the rest of the world, and flies off into the solar system, then into other universes, where she's bored so she solves quantum mechanics (I'm not kidding). I was sitting reading it with a friend and I didn't even consider that a spoiler because it's so bloody ridiculous.

And then we find out, oops, it was a dream organised by the psychics, Darquesse has now sent herself through a portal into the land of the Faceless Ones, everyone is alive (well, the few who were alive before this scene.)

Not only is that cheating, the conclusion of the Danny arc is so important and I hate it. It turns out the reason it's written in present tense is that it's set in the future. Val fights a random bad guy in a stupid, unsatisfying fight scene, and once she's rescued a mortal, it turns out she's been telling him this whole story.

Seriously. That's why the series is from her perspective. She's been telling some irrelevant mortal called Danny. It's extra-annoying because it shows that there's been no great conclusion; Val is still fighting run-of-the-mill bad guys, which is a bit of a let-down from Faceless Ones and Darquesse. 

Skulduggery pulls off a last-minute twist by (instead of sacrificing himself, like we thought he would), throwing Ravel into the Accelerator to save the world (again). It's a very Skulduggery thing to do, yes, but still.

After this it's just Val reminiscing to Danny. We learn she's been living in America for five years, taking time out, and don't know if she ever talks to Skulduggery or any other character we know and love. She just leaves it all behind. It reminds me of the ending of Fangirl; she's matured, but it's so unsatisfying and I'm not ready to mature that much with her.

Only, SP matters so much more to me than Fangirl because I grew up with it. I'm so disappointed it missed the mark on this one, but I will always love the series. Especially Death Bringer. Now that's the Darquesse I like. 

And there's always fanfiction.

Christmas Book Haul 2014!

This Christmas I got six books (and let's face it, I'm going to "borrow" some of my brothers' ones, because they have tons. The 7-year-old got like 17 from Santa.) At the moment I'm "borrowing" The Knife of Never Letting Go from my 7-year-old brother. Anyway.

Here's what I got from Mam. Just one book and it's historical fiction which I don't usually read, but sure I'll give it a go. My sister got me a gorgeous notebook too, and I LOVE notebooks. 

This is everything I got from my Dad. It pretty much exactly matches what I asked for, which is predictable but cool.

I also have the books I bought secondhand a while ago (already blogged about), plus my brothers', which include The Knife of Never Letting Go, Bad Science by Ben Goldacre (think I've read it before, but it's worth another re-read, it's pretty funny) and the entire Series of Unfortunate Events. I probably won't be reading that last one, but when you add in the review books I have (if they ever download properly), I'll have tons to read over Christmas. 

I've been waiting for this book FOREVER. Well, okay, since late August, but whatever. I'm on page 51 right now and apprehensive to see how the series will end. It's not encouraging that the cover has the protagonist's skull on a bonfire, but hopefully it's just Derek messing with us. 



This is the final book in Dan Wells' Partials trilogy (you can read my reviews of the first two, Partials and Fragments here and here). It's been so long since I read Fragments and unfortunately I got it as an e-ARC so I can't reread it, but hopefully going back over the reviews will help. Anyway, I adored Fragments so I'm looking forward to this.

Another sequel to a book I adored (and reviewed), this is the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. It's lucky I have Christmas and people to buy gifts for me, because otherwise I'd never bother to buy sequels. Anyway, this has phenomenal writing, stunning twists and an original plot, and I can't wait to get back to it.



Finally, the start of a series rather than a sequel! I've wanted this since I read a review by Aylee, and I finally have it. The plot seems compelling, and I really should read some hard sci-fi if I profess to be such a sci-fi fan. 



Honesty time: I got this because of the film that came out recently, because I didn't really know it existed before. I saw a Tumblr gifset of her boyfriend talking to her and it was just so adorable ... I'm only human, okay? I did find a pirated copy on the internet accidentally (I swear) but it's all good because it's been properly paid for now and I only read a couple of pages. I really dislike the apparent spoiler in the TITLE of the second book (Where She Went). I mean, honestly. Don't ruin it in the title. 



The book Mam got me is historical fiction about Lady Elizabeth, Henry VIII's daughter. It's not top of my priority list, but here's hoping it'll be an unexpected gem. 

I "borrowed" my brother's The Knife of Never Letting Go (don't worry, he's fine with it). I'll be honest, it's not really my thing so far. I can't stand phonetic spelling (at least there's only a little - it was AWFUL with Blood Red Road, I couldn't finish that one). But I'm two chapters in and I'll read it after Skulduggery Pleasant: TDOTL, if just because of all the rave reviews. 

Have any of you read these? Feel free to comment below with your Christmas book hauls

Review: Foster by Claire Keegan

A small girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is.

Publisher: Faber & Faber
Pages: 89
Rating: 2 Stars
Source: Borrowed

Given to me by my English teacher, on the recommendation that it won some book prize worth 100,000 euro or something. The rating is especially subjective with this one.

In Short: A prizewinner that I just didn't 'get'. At least, I assume so.

thoughts:

There isn't an awful lot to say. Foster is written from the POV of  a child, so Keegan has an excuse to do that thing literary writers love to do, as in write in a painfully innocent, astute way. I do it too, sometimes. But I'm convinced no kid is actually like that, it just looks impressive in a novel (and reads beautifully, yes). 

Keegan is very good at painting pictures using few words (and she'd want to be - the book is under 100 pages). She also captures rural Irish accents very well, though they're really rural, i.e. "bogger" accents, and I'm afraid outsiders (mainly Americans) will think all Irish people speak like that. I like the sense of love she communicates between the Kinsellas and the child (who is never named, as far as I can remember). You do see the relationship dynamics clearly, and the author chooses her words well (unlike me).

The low rating is because I just didn't get it. There's something that happens in the middle that sounds like it'll start an adventure, or at least be a mystery to solve, but it's never mentioned again. There is no exciting plot, it's all just nicely-described mundanity. The ending is far too ambiguous for my tastes, and I left feeling unsatisfied.

I also felt misled by the blurb; the "secret" isn't that big, and certainly doesn't threaten her "fragile idyll". With the great description and use of language, I can see why English teachers would love it, but it didn't engage me in the slightest.

Another example of literary novels not being for me.

I'll probably reread it at some point; hopefully I'll see more then. 

Thoughts: The Maleficent Seven - Derek Landy

This isn't a review as such, because I can't give any semblance of impartiality. Like I said in my YA vs. Adult post, I grew up with these books. So I finally got around to reading The Maleficent Seven and loved it. I've been trying to find time to read more and that was just the ticket (which suits, because I read it on a train. Get it? Ticket? I'll stop now.)





This time, the bad guys take the stage. 

Tanith Low, now possessed by a remnant, recruits a gang of villains - many of whom will be familiar from previous Skulduggery adventures - in order to track down and steal the four God-Killer level weapons that could hurt Darquesse when she eventually emerges. Also on the trail of the weapons is a secret group of Sanctuary sorcerors, and doing his best to keep up and keep Tanith alive is one Mr. Ghastly Bespoke.

When the villains around her are lying and scheming and plotting, Tanith needs to stay two steps ahead of her teammates and her enemies. After all, she's get her own double-crosses to plan - and she's a villain herself...

This wasn't the only time I rooted for the bad-guy protagonist, but it was definitely the most fun. I laughed out loud several times while reading it, and the rest of the time just had this stupid smile on my face. Every character is hilarious. All of them, even if it's unintentional. Even though they're all either sarcastic and witty or pathetic and laughable, the characters are still so well-defined and individual. It does help that Derek had seven books before this to flesh out these characters in a more detached way - I think that when you write from the perspective of a character they become more like you, so at least Tanith and co. already had their huge personalities from being described at a distance.

To be honest, I got a bit annoyed by Dexter Vex, Saracen Rue, the Monster Hunters, that whole team, stealing screen time from Tanith. I know the Maleficent Seven needed some obstacles to getting what they wanted, but I just loved Tanith's group so much. I think the Dead Men work best when Skulduggery is with them. Also, I loved how the characters lampshaded Saracen's ability (the elusive "he knows things"). It's played with a lot in this book, and we see him in action, but sadly still no explanation.

GOD there were so many bombshells. Not exactly spoilers, more just shocking backstory. So I don't feel too bad posting some of them. Near the start Sanguine's eyes would have done something "had he not scooped them out long ago". I can't be the only one who assumed he'd been born without eyes, or that he'd lost them in his hitman business. Now I want to know why he plucked his own eyes out. Then again, eye gore is the worst.  At one point someone says about Caelan, Valkyrie's vampire ex-boyfriend: "He stalked and he tortured and he murdered every woman he became enamoured with." Valkyrie and Caelan broke it off rather violently in Death Bringer (I think), the outcome worse for him than it was for her, but by that point he was already acting incredibly creepy and definitely stalking her. So you have to wonder what would have happened if he hadn't reached a timely end. Tanith gets a backstory too, which is fun and unexpected.

We're back to my favourite thing about great series: that they have whole world populated with real characters, so there are an infinite amount of stories possible in that world, both for the author and for fanfic writers.

The fact that the book is based on Tanith is interesting, considering that Derek said he planned to kill her off in the first book. I'm very glad he didn't; while she's evil now, she's still lovable. But oh wow, what an asshole. I can't go into detail because of spoilers, but I'll just expand on what it says in the blurb; Tanith does indeed double-cross people, and murder a few people we've come to like.

It's interesting to see how Valkyrie is seen by others. With the book normally told from her teenage perspective, you'd think that the world of sorcerers just constantly talked about her and Skulduggery, and that they're treated with some respect but not like they're the most important people in the universe. Valyrie and Skulduggery are both arrogant (the latter more so) and that tints the story from their perspective. I like to think about how Valkyrie's adolescence influences her view of the magical world, and how it influences the magical world's view of her.

The fact that Valkyrie is only mentioned a few times is also testament to the secondary characters' ability to prop up a story by themselves.

I'd have to say I prefer this book over Kingdom of the Wicked and Last Stand of Dead Men, but maybe not Death Bringer or Skulduggery Pleasant, just because it's so much fun. Definitely recommended if you're a Minion or whatever they're calling themselves these days, but tread carefully if not. You'll still love the jokes, but it's best to read up to Book 7 or 8 first so you have context.

I still haven't read The Dying of the Light. Getting that for Christmas.