
Skulduggery Pleasant
Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Rupert Degas
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By:
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Derek Landy
About this listen
Get ready for the biggest NEW publishing phenomena of 2007!
“So you won't keep anything from me again?"
He put his hand to his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Okay then. Though you don't actually have a heart," she said.
"I know."
"And technically, you've already died."
"I know that too."
"Just so we're clear."
Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction.
Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.
When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture… Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.
©2007 Derek Landy (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UKCritic reviews
"The balance between humour and danger is well handled in Derek Landy's fun, fast-paced fantasy." (The Guardian)
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What did you love best about Skulduggery Pleasant?
The characters, storyline and narration kept me listening and entertained!What did you like best about this story?
The constant complications and resolutions kept me engaged and fascinated.What about Rupert Degas’s performance did you like?
Rupert's ability to adopt and adapt the various characters' voices was sensational and gripping. What a terrific narrator. Really made the story for me.!Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The meeting of Skulduggery and the key character at the outset will remain a powerful one for me.Any additional comments?
Best ever audio book I've listened to thus far.Gripping and fascinating audio book
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The story is fast paced and captivating. The action at times is non-stop and it is hard to "put it down" or in the case of an audiobook "turn it off". There is a couple of common fantasy themes as mentioned in the review above (notably the use of names to give power to people) but this is by no means detracting in my opinion but rather adds to the validity of a magic realm by having cross-over with other authors. The characters in the novel are the heart of the work and Derek Landy has demonstrated he is a master at character development.
I look forward to listening to the whole series.
Brilliant
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Amazingly Intriguing!
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Positively epic!
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On the good side, it has quite a few twists and turns, and the writer has used a lot of formulae (but not often used ones). The only criticism is that, it uses about the "true name" and "taken name" concept which has been mentioned in quite a few novels, whether it is Eragon series or Barthemeus the djinn's serries.
Apart from that, its a good read if you like Buffy the Vampire slayer type stuff (with a bit more humour and wit).
Dark Magic & a talking skeleton
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Would you consider the audio edition of Skulduggery Pleasant to be better than the print version?
Yes I do. Having all the characters played out with individual voices make the story come alive .What did you like best about this story?
My favourite part was all the witty one liners, they were very funny and I did laugh listening to them. The arguments between Skullduggery and Stephanie were also hilarious.What about Rupert Degas’s performance did you like?
He was excellent. His voice was perfect for Skullduggery.. It had the right amount of sarcasm and experience.. It was easy to imagine him as the older wiser person in their friendship. His voice could be very creepy at times which set the scene on more then one occasion. At other times his voice was very droll. Perfect for who he was playing. I was not sure at the beginning if I would like a man reading the parts of Stephanie but it really worked!, he was great at it.After a while I forgot that it was a man reading female voices.Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me laugh. The banter between the two main characters was played out very well and I would easily buy more books in the series just from listening to this book.Any additional comments?
A wonderful series for the young or the young at heart who like adventure and bad guys that get what is coming to them.Skullduggery Pleasant
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enjoyed every second of it.
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Rupert Degas has a brilliant voice that brought all the characters uniquely to life.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
Funny & Entertaining
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Amazing in every way
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Would you consider the audio edition of Skulduggery Pleasant to be better than the print version?
absolutely! Rupert Degas` performance is truly wonderful - I`d give him six stars. His ability to express the humor and his repertoire of voices and accents bring the characters to lifeDid you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
laugh and laugh and laughAny additional comments?
I think its classified young adults, my husband and I are old adults and we`ve enjoyed the book immensely.Very Funny!
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