Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked

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While the books are only getting bigger and more convoluted in storylines and delicious details and derails, the most brilliant thing about Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series is that it never ceases to retain a hold of its original plucky and fun timbre. The simple prose and exciting quest narratives make it the ultimate YA series… though by the time we get to Kingdom of the Wicked, I wouldn’t recommend binge-reading them with budding teenage readers; shits gettin’ pretty violent now!

In Kingdom of the Wicked magic has become something of a virus, infecting mortals and either sending them into panic or driving them to complete madness. Amongst the infected group are four unstable teenagers who quickly see their new abilities as a way of getting back at any and all authority. But never fear because detectives Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are on the case! Tracking the source to a crazy-powerful pacifist who wishes to bring magic to the masses and create a utopia, things become a little more complicated when Valkyrie gets shunted into an alternate dimension and the world’s other magical Sanctuaries start banding together to gain control of the Irish Sanctuary. Add to this a demanding head in a jar, various assassinations, and a Sanctuary official with their own agenda and it’s going to be a long day at the office!

Just as it sounds, by now things are getting pretty crazy in the world of Skulduggery Pleasant. We’re deep into the series with a multitude of different plots overlapping one another and keeping the story wired. Like with any series, details from the earlier books are starting to evolve into something much bigger and (sometimes) more sinister than imagined before and by the time you finish the last page, you feel as though the wind has been knocked out of you.

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Landy’s simple storytelling, changing perspectives, and always-exciting quest narratives infuse the book with a fast, adrenaline-pinching pace, but while the vibe of the book is the same as that of the introductory volumes, the world and its content have gotten bigger, bolder, and more violent. Be warned that things do become pretty intense and insane in this book, with the gruesome dial being ramped up to 11. It’s definitely telling that the intended audience is meant to grow with the characters rather than binge-read. The change is pretty intense.

But, as can be expected from such a captivating series, there is never a dull moment in Kingdom of the Wicked. Between panting with exhaustion at the battles that have just raged and losing your voice completely by yelling at characters who you can’t wait to see maimed and murdered, it’s another delightful reading experience. Bring on the next!

Kingdom of the Wicked is the seventh book in Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series. It was written in 2012 and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.