Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men

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Last Stand of Dead Men

Author	Derek Landy
Cover artist	Tom Percival
Country	Ireland
Language	English
Series	Skulduggery Pleasant
Genre	Children's novel, Fantasy novel, detective novel, comedy novel, adventure novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	29 August 2013
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	604 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	0-00-75343-61 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC	869549346
Preceded by	Kingdom of the Wicked (2012)
Followed by	The Dying of the Light (2014)

Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men is a young adult and fantasy novel written by Irish playwright Derek Landy, published in August 2013. It is the eighth of the Skulduggery Pleasant series and the sequel to Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked.

The story follows the sorcerer and detectives Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant as they team up with the Dead Men to uncover the conspiracy behind the war between Sanctuaries, while meanwhile, Darquesse is on the verge of rising to the surface. The book wouldn't be released in the US and Canada until 2018.^[1] HarperCollins Audio also publishes the unabridged CD sets of the books read by Rupert Degas.

In 2013, it won the award for Senior Irish Children's Book of the Year.

Plot summary[]

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Five years prior to the events of the main story, the unidentified man with the golden eyes meets with the Torment, who tells him that he is onboard with his plans. The man with the golden eyes sends several mortal mercenaries to kill Warlocks at a nearby camp. After the Warlocks are dead, the Torment sends three of the mercenaries away in the hope that they will boast about their mission. He kills the other two, leaving their bodies for remaining Warlocks to find, in the hope that this will inspire a hatred of mortals.

Three months prior to the events of the main story, a mechanical robot named The Engineer prepares to head to Ireland to shut down a machine, preventing it from leading to the probable destruction of the world. On the Engineer's journey to the machine, it gets hit by a truck, incapacitating it.

At the current time, Donegan Bane, Gracious O'Callahan and Valkyrie Cain head to a Witch's cabin to seek information about the recent disappearance of Skulduggery Pleasant. They meet the Witch's granddaughter Misery and succeed in convincing her to let them pass into the basement. They meet the resident witch, named Dubhog Ni Broin. It is revealed that Broin has been holding Pleasant captive. Through psychological trickery, Pleasant interrogates Broin over her previous conversations with a Warlock who later went on to attempt to kill both Pleasant and Cain. Broin reveals that the Warlock was trying to convince her and her sisters to join with the Warlock's leader, Charivari, to go to war.

During a meeting between the Irish Council of Elders, the governors of the Irish magical community, Ghastly Bespoke, Erskine Ravel and Madame Mist converse with English Elder Illori Reticent. Reticent attempts to convince the Irish Council to allow the Supreme Council, an international collective, to form a Council of Elders with nine members rather than three, citing fears that Ireland is unstable and vulnerable to further disasters. Reticent also attempts to convince the Council to shut down the Accelerator. Grand Mage Ravel refuses on both accounts, stating the Supreme Council has no right to dictate other Sanctuaries on how to conduct their business and that the Irish Sanctuary needs the Accelerator to power a cell to hold Darquesse.

Afterwards, Valkyrie and her family celebrate her 18th Birthday and her parents present her with an orange car which Valkyrie calls the "Oompa-Loompa". She and Skulduggery then meet Solomon Wreath. Wreath, a Necromancer in solitude after the events of Death Bringer, presents Valkyrie with a more potent ring to store her Necromancer power. Pleasant questions Wreath over why Bison Dragonclaw, a former colleague of Wreath's, convinced the Warlocks to kill the duo. Wreath reveals that Dragonclaw presented the Warlocks with the name of Department X, which Skulduggery states doesn't exist, saying that it's used as an excuse in case any mortals ask any questions over why magical creatures died. Wreath also says that five years ago Baritone, one of the necromancers during the Battle of Aranmore Farm, noticed three mortals boasting about how they faced warlocks. Baritone asked who hired them but they couldn't remember the man. Skulduggery recalls that Davina Marr couldn't remember who hired her to blow up the Sanctuary and Sean Mackin was released from his cell by someone who he couldn't remember.

Meanwhile, Elder Ghastly Bespoke is out jogging in the corridors of the Sanctuary. He is startled upon the realization that he is being tracked. He follows the trackers to the Accelerator, where Bernard Sult and other Supreme Council members are planting explosives to destroy the device. Sult says that if the Supreme Council cannot have the Accelerator then neither can Ireland have it. Bespoke manages to defeat the Council members but Sult detonates the bombs himself. The group survive but are astonished that the Accelerator wasn't destroyed or even damaged. Ravel and the Cleavers arrive to arrest Sult and the mages.

Valkyrie visits China Sorrows to discuss who the unidentified man with the golden eyes could be and how he manages to hide himself from other people's memories. Sorrows tells her that a type of amethyst crystal exists which could induce a level of amnesia so the thoughts can be erased, saying that most of the crystals are locked away carefully. Sorrows remarks that one could be present in the Sanctuary building in Roarhaven. Upon being asked why she really came to visit, Valkyrie tells Sorrows about her dilemma over her family and life choices, with her mortal parents expecting her to live a normal life. Sorrows tells Valkyrie about the existence of the Second Lifetime Syndrome, where sorcerers live longer lives and watch their friends and family die around them, advising Valkyrie not to tell her parents about the existence of magic.

Scapegrace, now in a woman's body, trains under Grandmaster Ping. He insists that he is still a man, while his servant Thrasher acts strangely towards him, seemingly developing romantic feelings towards him. They return to Roarhaven in the hopes of thwarting evil, becoming vigilantes.

Back at the Sanctuary, Valkyrie meets Saracen Rue. The two converse with Ravel, who reveals that a robot called the Engineer was the only machine capable of deactivating the Accelerator. Ravel also informs them that the Supreme Council are demanding the release of Sult and arresting Irish mages all over the world, using the accusation that they are spying. The list of mages arrested includes Dexter Vex. Skulduggery and Valkyrie head to the Repository, hoping to find the amethyst crystal mentioned by Sorrows. On the way, Valkyrie mentions that she was talking to Sorrows about the Second Lifetime Syndrome. Skulduggery responds by that saying that he wants her to be happy, with whatever way she can achieve that being fine. They locate the crystal, with Skulduggery realizing that the Crystals are so rare that the man with the golden eyes could have been using the Sanctuary's crystal, meaning the man could be a Sanctuary Mage. They receive a message from the Sensitive Cassandra Pharos who informs them she is going to have a vision.

Dexter Vex is arrested in America alongside fellow Irish mage Caius Caviler. Caius is distraught about his imprisonment, claiming that he did no crime to deserve it. He is being escorted by Grim - the ex-bodyguard of former Grand Mage Strom, who lost his job following Strom's assassination. Grim beats Caius by shoving him against the wall. Caius responds by mocking Grim, saying that he is 'a big, tough man' while beating someone with shackles on. Grim takes this as a challenge and goads Caius into taking his shackles off. Caius lunges at Grim, but Grim easily overpowers Caius, and puts him in a chokehold. Vex attempts to convince the pair to stop, but Grim kills Caius. The death of Caviler further inflames tensions between the Irish Sanctuary and the Supreme Council, who do not directly apologize, claiming that he could have been an Irish spy. The Irish mages find that Bernard Sult is not in his cell, and that the guard on watch is unconscious. The Supreme Council's channel, which is broadcast internationally, is hacked by Syc and Portia - the Children of the Spider. They murder Bernard Sult on live TV, saying that if the Supreme Council harms any Irish Mages, it will be a 'life for a life'. Madame Mist is mysteriously calm on this matter, firmly stating she had no control over them.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Pharos' house to witness her new vision. In this vision, Bespoke, with a new scar on his forehead, kisses Tanith Low, implying that Tanith is free of the Remnant. However, Tanith is injured on her lower torso. They also see Ravel, in his Elder robes, in unbearable agony, with his hands shackled behind his back. They see Valkyrie, pleading not to watch something again, while holding an unrecognizable object in her hand. They witness Darquesse, wearing a black suit, kill Desmond, Melissa and Alison Edgley using black flames. They also see Darquesse kill Skulduggery, kissing his skull. Pharos alerts them that people are outside, with a mission to kill them. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go outside Cassandra's house, meeting a man who Skulduggery recognises from the war with Mevolent. They are told of Bernard Sult's murder and that the Supreme Council are assassinating potential threats, with Skulduggery and Valkyrie at the top of the list. The duo successfully subdue their enemies, realizing that they are at war. A shield is established over Ireland.

The Supreme Council meet to discuss the Irish Sanctuary's actions. The German Grand Mage, Wahrheit, informs the Council that the Irish have set up a force-field dome to prevent new entries of mages. The Council discusses the possibility of Australia and Africa, the two other Cradles of Magic, allying themselves with Ireland. This possibility is dismissed. They plot to assassinate prominent Irish mages such as Sorrows, many of the Sensitives in Ireland and Fletcher Renn, who will likely ally himself with Ireland.

Fletcher Renn is targeted. Myra, his girlfriend, turns out to be a mortal assassin. Two Australian mages sent to protect Fletcher are murdered by Myra and Myra tasers Fletcher, rendering him momentarily incapable of teleportation. Before she can kill him, he manages to escape, and then teleports to the Irish Sanctuary. Anton Shudder is targeted at the Midnight Hotel. All his guests are revealed to be Supreme Council soldiers who attack him, but he manages to escape through a hidden exit. An assassin attempts to kill Finbar Wrong, but through a sly conservation, Wrong reveals that his powers are slowly returning after his Remnant possession. He foresaw the assassin coming and had poisoned the handle of a mug of tea, killing the man. China Sorrows is targeted by Vincent Foe's gang. She escapes, but they continue to chase her.

Following his arrest, Vex is being relocated with an escort of three Cleavers. One is female, an infrequent occurrence due to the Cleaver training process. The female Cleaver kills the other two, revealing herself to be Tanith Low. Tanith abducts him.

After arriving in Ireland, Scapegrace and Thrasher continue their vigilante mission trying to find Silas Nadir through their disguises as the Dark and Stormy Knight and the Village Idiot respectively. Tanith and Billy-Ray Sanguine hand over Vex to Skulduggery, Bespoke and Valkyrie and express a desire to join the Irish. After a brief scuffle between Bespoke and Sanguine, the three agree and send Tanith and Sanguine with Donegan and Gracious to disable the Midnight Hotel, to prevent the Supreme Council avoiding the shield.

The Supreme Council recruit General Mantis - one of the best generals of all time, being regarded as a 'secret weapon' against Mevolent. Mantis is sent with 80 other sorcerers into the Midnight Hotel and into Ireland. Sanguine manages to disable the Hotel, with him and Tanith being captured. Tanith is later freed by Aurora Jane and the four escape successfully.

At the Irish Sanctuary, the Dead Men reform, with Skulduggery, Erskine Ravel, Ghastly, Anton, Saracen Rue and Dexter Vex. Valkyrie is recruited to the Dead Men as the seventh member. Their mission is to retrieve the Engineer, currently held at the French Sanctuary. They tip off the Australian and African Sanctuary in the hope that they will assist and join the war. On their journey, the Dead Men encounter a ghost town plagued by Wraiths that invade in the evenings. They find the former French Grand Mage, Trebuchet, who helps the Dead Men infiltrate the French Sanctuary by informing them of an entrance. After a conflict, they retrieve the Engineer and bring it to Ireland, with the assistance of the Australian and African Sanctuary.

A Warlock kills several mages in the African Sanctuary, investigating links between the murders of Warlocks and Department X, a non-existent mortal organization. The Warlock, who declares himself to be Charivari, notes that someone is trying to play the Warlocks against the mortals.

The Irish Sanctuary places a decoy army of Hollow Men in the Keep, a disused military base, in the hope that Mantis springs the trap, allowing them to subdue him. The Keep is located in low ground, against a cliff side. By the time the army attacks, Mantis would realize the trap. Fletcher Renn would teleport the Sanctuary's forces to the high ground, allowing them to close in on the army. The Irish Sanctuary also have the aid of the vampire Moloch, with Skulduggery and Valkyrie promising him another building to recruit vampires. He provides 50 vampires for the Irish, commanding them to only attack Mantis' men. The Engineer is kept at the Keep as bait, but it is damaged. It is now revealed that it must shut down the Accelerator, which is on track to cause an explosion of magic which will supercharge the world's population and cause the end of humanity. The Engineer has, however, damaged its memory unit, meaning it cannot shut it down. The replacement is held at the English Sanctuary.

Elder Madame Mist appears to have set up a shield around Roarhaven while fellow Elders Bespoke and Ravel have been away as part of war missions.

The trap at the Keep is sprung. Fletcher and the Monster Hunters are stationed at the Keep, and as soon as Mantis takes the bait, they teleport away. A battle begins, but the vampires are not present. Valkyrie discovers that Moloch had them contained in a cage and would release them upon order. Moloch had, however, been decapitated by Dusk. Dusk refuses to open the cage as he broke the vampire code by killing another, meaning the vampires would kill him. He leaves letting Valkyrie know that Dusk knows a secret about her that she herself doesn't even know.

Valkyrie fights in the battle, but is captured, alongside Tanith and Gracious O'Callahan. Sensitives pry into her mind in an attempt to find information. Darquesse subdues the Sensitive, but remains contained in Valkyrie's mind. She frees Tanith and Gracious. They escape.

Valkyrie returns home, and speaks with her reflection. When the reflection goes inside the mirror, it gives Valkyrie certain memories - of her being tortured and of her killing Carol. A fight breaks out, with the reflection grabs the Sceptre of the Ancients. It destroys the mirror it came from, preventing it from returning. The reflection assumes the name Stephanie, the given name abandoned by Valkyrie. Valkyrie and the reflection continue to fight until their parents come home. Valkyrie is forced to flee her family, breaking through the window before her parents can see her face.

Valkyrie tells Skulduggery about what the reflection did, and Skulduggery promises that they will get her family back. Ravel stops Skulduggery and Valkyrie from investigating the murder in the African Sanctuary, sending the Monster Hunters and Fletcher instead. During their visit, Fletcher is kidnapped.

The Dead Men split up - Skulduggery, Vex, Saracen, Valkyrie, Tanith and Sanguine go to the English Sanctuary to get the Engineer's memory, while Bespoke, Shudder and Ravel go to the Sanctuary to investigate Mist's recent actions.

The mission to retrieve the Engineer's replacement memory unit is successful, and the English Sanctuary mages admit to wanting the war to be over. Most international Grand Mages have been assassinated.

Sorrows, after months of being on the run, goes to the Church of the Faceless to confront Eliza Scorn. Sorrows admits to being weak last time, but now states that she has nothing to lose and she is back in fighting form. She overpowers Eliza, but her assailants return. She escapes to the Irish Sanctuary.

Bespoke, Shudder and Ravel enter the Sanctuary, to discover that the Children of the Spider are there, with the Black Cleaver - the resurrected White Cleaver. Bespoke orders the Cleavers to attack Mist, but is prevented by the fact that an Elder cannot order an attack on another Elder. Mist sends a swarm of Cleavers to kill Shudder. His gist attempts to emerge but he is decapitated. Bespoke feels a blade entering his back, reaching for a scythe handle but grabbing the handle of a dagger. A firm hand grips the dagger and Bespoke falls to the ground, facing Ravel. Ravel kneels, raising the dagger high, with Bespoke too weak to stop him. Ravel stabs Bespoke in the throat, apologizing to him as he chokes on his blood. In his dying moments, Bespoke looks up into Ravel's golden eyes, realizing the truth.

Ravel states his plans for sorcerers to rule over mortals. In a moment of anger, he nearly kills Syc for insulting the now dead Bespoke, but he stops, deeming Syc unworthy of being killed with 'a blade stained with the blood of a great man.' He reveals his intention to use Kenny Dunne to reveal magic to the mortal world.

Scapegrace and Thrasher continue their search for Silas Nadir. The pair see someone shunt, attacking them. The shunter turns out not to be Silas Nadir, but is instead involved with Madame Mist. Scapegrace escapes.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie look for Fletcher's kidnappers - the Brides of Blood Tears. Valkyrie feels somewhat unstable after the Sensitives got into her mind, and Darquesse is now a clear voice in her head. They go to the Bride of Blood Tears place and Valkyrie changes into the clothes of one. She feels remorse in leaving Ghastly's clothes behind. She finds Skulduggery and Fletcher trapped, and she fights a Bride. The Bride is her physical match, so Valkyrie resorts to magic after her ear is bitten off. She intends to push the Bride away with air, but accidentally kills her will a spear of Necromancy. She hears Darquesse again, who presumably made this event occur.

Darquesse conflicts with Valkyrie's thoughts, and as they are escaping, Darquesse tricks Valkyrie into taking the wrong turn. Instead of escaping, she is stuck in a large room surrounded by hundreds of Brides of Blood Tears. They shoot beams of powerful energy, and Valkyrie's leg is blown off. Darquesse remarks that she can help. Valkyrie then loses an arm, and Darquesse tempts her again. Valkyrie loses another leg, and Darquesse manipulates her, telling her that if Valkyrie lets Darquesse take over, there is 'no more sharing'. Valkyrie gives in to Darquesse, and she obliterates all the Brides. Fletcher and Skulduggery turn back to rescue her, but Darquesse flies off.

Fletcher goes to the Reflection, unaware of what she had done; the Reflection states she does not know where Darquesse would have gone as she is not her. She talks to Fletcher about Valkyrie, which ends with her kissing him, and her saying "Valkyrie didn't love you. But I can."

The Reflection goes to Gordon's house, believing it to be her responsibility to stop Darquesse. She walks in to hear Dexter yelling at Skulduggery, disappointed that he knew all along but didn't kill her. Skulduggery is confident that he can stop Darquesse. The Reflection introduces herself as Stephanie, aggressively defending that she is now a real person, no longer an "it". Skulduggery immediately points his gun between her eyes, about to avenge Valkyrie and her family. Fletcher attempts to defend her, but learns about what she did. The Reflection claims as a defence that her emotions were not developed enough for her to understand what she was doing. Skulduggery lets her live because without her, her parents will get worried. The Reflection reveals that she has the Sceptre, and they discuss killing the Reflection to gain access to its power. Tanith nearly kills the Reflection, but is intercepted by Skulduggery. Fletcher takes her away and displays his disappointment in her actions. They return, and Skulduggery says his plan of breaking into Roarhaven.

Erskine delivers a speech to Roarhaven about overrunning the world. He also discusses his sorrow for murdering Anton and Ghastly. He ends with his Dimensional Shunter turning the town of Roarhaven into Roarhaven City - a fortress.

Skulduggery, Saracen, Dexter, the Monster Hunters and the Reflection get into Roarhaven and see China. It is revealed that Skulduggery forgave China at some point.

China is forced to tell Mist and Ravel that see spotted Skulduggery. She is forced to lure them into a trap - if she doesn't, they will kill her. Ravel then states how after the world is governed by Sorcerers, he will admit to his crimes and go to jail.

Although Skulduggery knows that it is a trap, he spring it anyway, allowing himself and the others to be captured by Ravel. Ravel attempts to talk to Dexter and Saracen, getting the response "You killed Ghastly and Anton, you son of a *****. There's no coming back from that". Erskine believes that he is not like Serpine or other villains. Skulduggery admits the Dead Men have fallen - only three out of seven remain.

The Warlocks attack Roarhaven. The Irish Sanctuary refuses to fight for Ravel, so Ravel lets Skulduggery take charge. The Battle of Roarhaven begins. Mantis attempts to send a small party with cloaking spheres to kill Charivari, but they, alongside Mantis, are captured and burned on the stake. Skulduggery orders the mages to shoot them to spare them the agony.

It is revealed that the Accelerator cannot be shut down quickly - it takes two weeks. Ravel sends some mages to use it, and they join the battle. However, it is shown that although they are powerful, they can be killed. The Monster Hunters, Saracen, Dexter and the Reflection engage Charivari in battle, which ends with the Reflection blasting him with the Sceptre. Darquesse enters Roarhaven, killing anything that comes in her path - using black fire for the first time.

Skulduggery and China work together, going after Ravel. They fight the Black Cleaver, and it brings Skulduggery to his knees. As it is about to decapitate him, Skulduggery mysteriously uses Necromancy to hit the Black Cleaver 'with enough force to break every bone in its body'.

Kenny and his friend, Patrick Slattery, are present during the battle filming its events until Slattery is killed and Kenny sees the Reflection disappear - saved at the last second by Fletcher - in Kenny's eyes, she appears to have died, and he flees the scene.

Skulduggery fights Ravel and China fights Madame Mist. Skulduggery lunges at Ravel, and they begin fighting. China shatters Mist's arm, but a torrent of spiders are unleashed on China and they begin to crawl down her throat. China accepts that she is going to die, and uses a last resort tattoo. She got it under Mevolent's suggestion, knowing that because Skulduggery came back, he was going to come after her and kill her, so she would die and kill him at the same time. Her body becomes 'a furnace' and she is engulfed in fire. All the spiders inside her die, and she feels her organs burning. She places her hands on Mist's shoulders and Mist dies before she can scream, her body a charred figure, barely recognizable as a corpse.

China begins to die. She tells Skulduggery that she deserves this for what she did to his family, but Skulduggery forgives her, because he knows that he has done terrible things himself. She hints that she finds Skulduggery attractive. Before she dies, Darquesse breaks through the ceiling.

Skulduggery approaches her and she flings him aside. Darquesse places a small ball of light inside Ravel, cursing him with 23 hours of unbearable agony every day, with the pain heighting if his body gets used to it. China has the ability to kill Darquesse, but she hesitates, seeing Valkyrie's face. China touches her, and the heat is transferred to Darquesse, who heals China. Darquesse, still wearing the clothes of a Bride of Blood Tears, ignites, and her clothes burn and her Necromancer ring is destroyed. However, she cools herself, and the shadows tighten around her, becoming like a second skin. Skulduggery attempts to negotiate with her, but Darquesse says that Valkyrie is gone, not even a little voice in her head. She says that she does not want to kill her parents, she just wants to be alive. Darquesse then flies off.

Afterwards, Saracen, Dexter and Skulduggery state that Roarhaven will become a prison and all people who were citizens are charged as being an accomplice of Ravel. It is mentioned that Ravel is taken to a prison, but nothing can ease his pain. They asked the Engineer to shut down the Accelerator, and it asks the group 'who will be contributing?'. This confuses them, so the Engineer explains that is the Accelerator is not shut down within the four weeks of activation, a soul must be willingly given to seal off the Accelerator from the source of all magic. If a sacrifice is not made within 23 days, the Accelator will self-destruct. China declares herself Grand Mage to no objection. She assigns Dexter and Saracen the task of stopping the 19 super-charged mages - courtesy of the Accelerator - and Skulduggery must stop Darquesse. Skulduggery recruits Reflection, on the condition that the Reflection can kill Darquesse if she must.

Kenny approaches Valkyrie's parent's house, abandoning his career, intending to inform Valkyrie's parents that she has died (knowing that Stephanie Edgley is Valkyrie Cain, but not that the Reflection exists). The book ends with Kenny knocking on the door, with Desmond asking 'Can I help you?'.

Characters[]

Valkyrie Cain[]

Skulduggery Pleasant[]

The Dead Men[]

The Dead Men were an elite group during both the war with Mevolent and the Sanctuary War, consisting of Skulduggery Pleasant, Ghastly Bespoke, Erskine Ravel, Dexter Vex, Anton Shudder, Saracen Rue and the now-deceased Hopeless and Larrikin.

The Monster Hunters[]

Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan, collectively known as the Monster Hunters, are former allies of Dexter Vex who assist the Dead Men in their cause.

The Man with Golden Eyes[]

The Man with Golden Eyes is the mysterious unknown leader of the conspiracy behind the War of the Sanctuaries and true leader of Roarhaven.

Charivari[]

Charivari is a dark sorcerer and French leader of the Warlocks whom The Man with Golden Eyes seeks to manipulate.

Madame Mist[]

Madame Mist is an Elder of the Irish Sanctuary and Child of the Spider, allied with The Man with Golden Eyes.

The Engineer[]

The Engineer is the robotic guard of the "Accelerator", a device capable of temporarily boosting one's magical capabilities.

Vaurien Scapegrace[]

A sorcerer and former zombie whose brain has been temporarily placed into a female body, who seeks to track down serial killer Silas Nadir.

Bernard Sult[]

Bernard Sult is the Administrator of The American Sanctuary who comes to the Irish Sanctuary, whose outdated report combined with the assassination of Quintin Strom led to the beginning of the War of the Sanctuaries.

Darquesse[]

Darquesse is the True Name of Valkyrie Cain, a being foretold to overtake her physical form and bring about the end of the world.

Reviews[]

• Craig Ng (Entrada Publishing):

Marketed as a children's book, this content is anything but childish. Themes, action and plots are far more sophisticated making this a great read for Young Adult or Adult readers.^[2]

• Alys Tandle (AlysTheBookWyrm.com)

[T]his book really deserves five stars, but it can’t be read and understood without the others, so it only gets four. Sometimes I really dislike Derek Landy. He seems to punish my favourite characters the most, but I suppose that means that they’re his favourites too.^{[3][failed verification]}

• Joseph Melda (The Book Zone):

This book is all about the war that has been brewing for so long (since the very first book, no less) and as such the narrative jumps around a lot, following different characters in different parts of the world as the action ramps up. As a result there are probably a good deal more action scenes in this volume that in its predecessors, but have no fear, all the other Landy trademarks are there, and the dialogue/banter between characters is as funny and engaging as ever, even at the darkest moments. In fact, the very first chapter contains some of the funniest banter that Derek Landy has written to date.^[4]

• Olivia Warren (ChildrensBooksIreland.com):

Last Stand of Dead Men is my favourite book of the Skulduggery Pleasant series so far. The writing is sharper, the plot more vast and complex, the characters gain more depth and darkness, and the twists will leave you utterly breathless.^[5]

• Vesuvius Blotch (Blotch's Reviews):

Last Stand of Dead Men is the ultimate Skulduggery Pleasant book. It’s the crown jewel of the series, exhilarating, agonising, spectacular and heart-shattering. It epitomises everything worth reading in Skulduggery Pleasant and more, more and maybe more after that. It is timelessness captured in around 600 pages of non-stop, battering-ram style quality.^[6]

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men

• Skulduggery Pleasant UK, Australia and New Zealand Official Website
• Skulduggery Pleasant US and Canada Official Website