Sunday 19 August 2012

Hitting the Funny Bone: Derek Landy Does it Again!

Kingdom of the Wicked 
Derek Landy

Rating: 4.9999

Our favourite Skeleton Detective is back, with his not-so-sidekick-sidekick Valkyrie Cain - but not for a holiday or a casual investigation. Everyday mortals are starting to have paranormal powers; fat butterfly men being the prime example (yep, that mental image is more scarring than the scars on Ghastly's face). 

But this isn't the only problem. Old friends return to backstab, ex's become fond of muffins, Grand Mage's don't bother to read the manuals, headless zombies search for new bodies, true names are found and enemies believed dead make reappearances. Why can't the dead just stay dead anymore? 

Valkyrie and Skullduggery are on yet another race against the clock. Valkyrie still has to figure out the puzzle that is Darquesse. Does she want her? Does she like having that power? Or does she need to find a way of sealing away Darquesse for good even if it means harming Valkyrie herself? The difference between friends and foe blurs and the fights get gory in the latest instalment in the series which is sure to have you hanging onto every word and laughing to death.


Best quotes:

 - “He could be a butterfly dreaming he's a man."
"Well, he's not. He's a big fat man dreaming he's a big fat butterfly. What the hell am I supposed to do?"
There was another hesitation. "I'm not sure. You don't happen to have a large net handy, do you?"
"I want to hit him. I want to hit YOU, but I also want to hit him.”

 - “I had an uneventful few days," it told her. "The most exciting thing was an hour-long lecture from the headmaster on taking our studies seriously. He said next year's exam will arrive sooner than we think."
"No, they won't," Valkyrie said, frowning. "They'll arrive next year, exactly when we expect them."
"That's what I told him," the reflection nodded. "I don't think he's comfortable with logic, because he didn't look happy. He sent me to the Career Guidance counsellor, who asked me what I wanted to do after college."
Valkyrie stowed her black clothes. "What did you say?"
"I told her I wanted to be a Career Guidance counsellor. She started crying, then accused me of mocking her. I told her if she wasn't happy in her job then she should look at other options, then pointed out that I was already doing her job better than she was. She gave me detention.”

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