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I am on my second book in this series now and thought I’d post my thoughts on the first.

skul

The Skeleton character (Skulduggery) is, as you may imagine, dead. Set in Ireland, the story kicks off with the death of an author (who writes fantasy about ghouls and ghosts nonetheless) and his estate being left to his niece. She is propelled into a world where Skulduggery lives along with vampires and other wicked beasties.

It moves at a good pace with Skulduggery and the girl working to thwart the evil plans of Serpine, the person who killed her uncle and is none too fond of her either. A bit of backstory is revealed but not in any great depth.

I came away having enjoyed it but thinking that the characters could have been a little more rounded. None of the supporting cast are particularly memorable and the story suffers a little from being too action focused, leaving the character development a bit thin. Then again, this is a kids book and I’m sure most kids (boys particularly) will enjoy it. I can’t help feeling though that they’ve been left shortchanged.

It’s good, but could have been better with more memorable characters, more atmosphere and more detail in the world building.

The backstory is coming out in book two as I read it. Was that the plan all along? Or is it a fix for book one? Whichever, it’s a series worth sticking with.

Rating out of 5: ♦♦♦♦

Suggested age: 7-12