Valkyrie has received some good news. She is no longer expected to be the Necromancers death bringer. Instead the new death bringer is her rival Melancholia. Problem is Mel is a bit unstable. She was forced into her power by fellow Necromancer Crave who carved symbols into her skin. So once again it's up to Skulduggery and Valkyrie to save the day. They must stop the death bringer from bringing about the passage which could lead to the death of millions.

This wasn't my favourite book of this series. In fact I was a little disappointed in it. It still had the snappy humour and the action but it just felt like something was missing. Mainly a lot of my favourite characters were missing. The focus was on the Necromancers this time and so none of the usual bad guys made an appearance (unless you count Scapegrace). It just wasn't the same. Some of her friends were also missing or didn't make much of an appearance. Going by the way this book ends there will be even more changes on that front.

What I really wanted to know was what happened to Tanith Low. What happened to her at the end of the previous book left me on edge and I couldn't wait for this one to find out what came next. Sadly Tanith was mentioned maybe a handful of times and the character herself didn't make an appearance. On that front I guess I will just have to wait for another book.

The story itself was a little slow going. I felt that quite a lot of it could have been edited. Mind you, I was reading this one at home so it could be it was slow going because I took my time reading it. There are a few surprises in there but no jaw dropping moment or revelation at the end as has occurred in previous books.

It sounds like I didn't enjoy the book. I did, it just was in no way as good as the others. I still liked the humour between Skuldugger and Valkyrie. They still make a great team and I am looking forward to the next one.

What's Next!

Lots more book releases to look forward to so I thought I would share some more. I'm not really intending to turn this into a weekly meme but certainly feel free to join in if you have new releases to share. Next week I have some non fiction titles to share.

Player One by Douglas Coupland released on 1.9.11. I must have missed the boat on this one because it's the paperback that's coming out. The hardback was apparently out last year. Waterstones doesn't even have it listed anymore. A little surprised at this as Coupland is normally an author I try to keep up on. I've read everything else and I usually can't wait for the paperback of his latest. In this case I don't actually have long to wait.

Skulduggery Pleasant:Death Bringer by Derek Landy. This is also out on 1/9/11. I love these books and can't wait for the next installment. Again it's got to the stage I buy the hardback as I can't wait for the paperback. I love them for their humour as well as the story. Plus it shows girls can fight the bad guys too. Was left on a bit of a cliffhanger last time. So I'm really looking forward to this.

11/22/63 by Stephen King out on 8/11/11. All this talk of King here on my blog it seemed only apt that he should be listed here. This one is a bit different from his more recent books as the main character is taken back in time. Okay confession time! I was so excited when Stephen King began to release books on a regular basis again after the Dark Tower series. However, I have been a little disappointed in them. They just aren't as good as his older books and I just didn't enjoy "The Dome" (still makes me think of the Simpsons film). It's put me off a little and I've still to pick up never mind read his most recent. This one sounds a little different but I think I can now wait for the paperback release.

I normally don't mention any goings on in the outside world here on my blog. It's not what it's for. However, the events over the weekend feel a little too close to home. Watching the news it feels a little hard to believe that it's happening in my own country. There have even been threats that it will spread to Scotland. Anyway, I'm happy to say all my friends in the effected areas have checked in and are safe and I hope they along with everyone else continues to be safe.