Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

I was quite excited when I saw this book at Asda. It was coming up to my birthday and my in-laws were wondering what to buy me, so I asked them for this.

Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective. A dead detective. A dead, skeletal detective. When his rich, author friend Gordon dies and leaves everything to his niece, Stephanie, Skulduggery Pleasant and Stephanie become entangled in a plot that could see the end of the world as they know it if something isn't done about it forthwith!

Sounds exciting, don't it? And it is. There's plenty of action. Skulduggery cracks some excellent one-liners. Monsters and vampires abound, but there's just something lacking in it.

I'll put it down to it being a first book of an obviously projected series (but the awful bit with the Cleaver and the opening-for-a-sequel bit is really an unforgivable rush job). Skulduggery Pleasant had some very good bits and some seemingly rushed bit, which let the book down.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Published by Harper Collins
Price: £12.99
ISBN: 978-0-00-724161-3

The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Take Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist' and stick it into an Indian setting and you have The Conch Bearer. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, unlike the last Chicken House book I read, The Conch Bearer is a tale that I think one day will rival Paulo Coelho's modern classic.

It is the tale of Anand, a poor boy in India who dreams of escaping his mundane life. One day his dream comes true when an old man, who Anand takes pity on and feeds, convinces the youngster to go with him on a journey to a secret valley to restore a magical conch shell in its rightful place.

The characters are well thought out. Anand acts like a young boy, unlike the characters in the Craphole on Falling Star Hill. He gets jealous, frightened, upset, angry but he can also be brave. The little girl he befriends is also a welcome addition. Annoying Anand immensely, but also becoming one of the people he cares about the most.

The Conch Bearer can feel a bit loopy in places, but generally, this fantasy tale of trust, love and betrayal pulls the right heartstrings and is thoroughly enjoyable. And Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is hot! Really, really hot. :)

Rating: 4 out of 5
The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Price: well, I got it for a quid, but £12.99 hardback.
Publisher: The Chicken House
ISBN: 1-904442-11-0

The House on Falling Star Hill by Michael Molloy

This book is Crap.

Is that not enough?

Okay. This book is really crap.

I refuse to review this pile of dog's noses! The fact that I bought this for a quid at Poundland might give you some idea what the quality of this crud is.

On the back cover is "Read it! Try page 94." Very Private Eye.

Stay away! Unclean! Unclean!




The House on Falling Star Hill by Michael Molloy
Published by The Chicken House
ISBN: 1-904442-26-9
Price: £1 from Poundland. £12.99 elsewhere.

The Cup of the World by John Dickinson

I've read many, many fantasy stories in my time. I'd probably say that it's my favourite genre, so I was well chuffed to win a copy of The Cup of the World, the debut book from John Dickinson, as I had heard many positive things about it.

"Has the claustrophobic feel of a political and moral thriller that constantly surprises your expectations," says Books For Keeps.

They must have been reading some other book then. To put it bluntly, this book is boring. The first two parts (of three) boil down to a dull as it can get love story. Only in the third and final part is the action brought in, but by that time you're about ready to chuck it at the cat.

The Cup of the World started out really rather well, with witch trials, a girl who appears to have an angel as a companion, and a little bit of political wrangling that any half decent fantasy novel has to have. However, when you are shown who Phaedre's angel is, it goes downhill from there.

I suppose a quick synopsis is in order, for those out there who may want to read this dishwater.

Phaedra is the daughter of the warden of Trant, a frontier land in the kingdom. She has a companion that is only seen by her, who she can talk to in real life and meet its shadow in her dreams. Phaedra is very beautiful and is soon courted by the powerful barons and princes of the land, but her heart lies with the stranger in her dreams.

When it appears that she will be married off to the second in line for the throne, she contacts her dream bloke and he, who just happens to be real and ruler of another part of the kingdom, comes and rescues her, marries her, has a child and then starts an invasion of the kingdom.

Betrayal, faith and a girl's journey into womanhood follow. If you care enough.

The Cup of the World is the first book of what undoubtfully will become a stereotypical trilogy, and maybe the story will improve with the adventures of Ambrose, Phaedra's son, but I really doubt it.

Rating: 1 out of 5.
The Cup of the World by John Dickinson
Published by Random House
ISBN: 0-552-54886-3
Price: £5.99

Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools by Philip Caveney

Once every thousand years or so, there comes a book that is so unputdownable it beggars belief. Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools is one of them.

The storyline, in a nutshell, is quite standard affair - man seeks his fortune, rescues a princess, discovers princess' evil uncle is hellbent on her demise, rescues princess, saves the day.

But the characters are just ace! There's Sebastian himself, a jester who's not very good at telling jokes, Cornelius the midget hardcase, who's not afraid to beat the living crap out of the toughest and strongest of men. We've also got Max, the talking Buffalope beast of burden, who is very sardonic in nature but can kick plenty of butt. And there's also a hot princess who can hold her own too.

There's violence aplenty, which is always good in my book. The novel is also full of very funny scenes and some touching moments too. The jokes and action come thick and fast and there's never a moment when you are bored and flicking through.

This book rocks and gets my first 5 out of 5 score.

Score: 5 out of 5

Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools by Philip Caveney

Published by Bodley Head Childrens Books

ISBN: 978-0370329154

Price: £7.99