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A review by jenvile
Last Stand of Dead Men by Derek Landy
5.0
It’s my 10 Year Anniversary with Skulduggery Pleasant, the book series that changed my life. In this re-read, I’ll be doing something special. I’ll be rounding up my top 10 favourite moments from each book, and quoting the scenes that I love the most. Obviously this will come with spoilers, SO DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE SERIES.
Okay so we have reached, in my humble opinion, top tier with this book. This is probably in everyone’s top 3 and for good reason. Firstly, can we just take a minute and gush about the cover? Damn. Damn. Secondly - this title is just fantastic. Thirdly, this quote at the beginning of the book?
War is the business of barbarians.
– Napoleon Bonaparte
Perfect.
Now let’s get onto my top 10.
10. The chapters when our favourite characters are being hunted down are great but I think my favourite one might be Finbar’s:
“Laken Cross, you are an evil man,” said Finbar. “You are an evil man for coming here to kill me and you’re an evil man for forcing me to do what I’ve had to do. I hope you burn in whatever hell you believe in.”
9. THE DEAD MEN!!!!!
“The Dead Men still carry a certain amount of weight in the magical world at large. If the sorcerers of the Supreme Council view us merely as a Cradle of Magic making trouble, they’ll do their jobs and see it through to the end and it’ll be business as usual. But if they see the Dead Men back together, the same Dead Men who worked so effectively against Mevolent, the same Dead Men who saved their lives and the lives of their friends all those years ago … they’ll know to fear us. And the very fact that Ravel and Ghastly are part of it will tell them we are confident and powerful and no one will be able to stop us.”
“Right,” said Valkyrie. “So you’re basically hoping that your reputations will make them run away.”
8. When Val got accepted as the seventh Dead Man, I literally held my breath.
There were many things Valkyrie could have said to fill that silence, but she stayed quiet. This wasn’t her decision. It was theirs. There had always been seven Dead Men – no more, no less. Originally it had been the six men standing around her and a seventh called Hopeless. When Ravel himself had been badly injured and needed time to recover, his place had been taken by Larrikin. But Hopeless and Larrikin were long dead, and the Dead Men didn’t have time to hold auditions... The last person Ravel looked to was Skulduggery. Valkyrie turned her head away, giving him the freedom to agree or disagree without judgement.
“Well, OK then,” Ravel said at last, “it looks like we have a new Dead Man.”
7. The Dead Men’s journey in France and their war time stories. A lot of reflection... a lot of humour. I loved every moment of these chapters.
“It didn’t become official until Meritorious asked for volunteers to undertake a suicide mission,” Skulduggery said, the orange light from the fire bouncing off his skull. “My hand was the first hand raised.”
“Mine was the second,” said Ghastly. “I thought he had a plan.”
“I really didn’t,” said Skulduggery.
“I didn’t know that at the time,” Ghastly admitted.
“I just want it made clear that I did not volunteer for that mission,” Saracen said. “I was yawning. That raised arm was me stretching. But they made me go anyway.”
“By the end of it,” Vex said, “Meritorious had seven volunteers. They started calling us the Dead Men when they thought we were out of earshot. No one expected us to come back.”
6. Discussing the plan to sneaky sneak into the London sanctuary and this brilliant quote from Saracen.
“It’s Skulduggery’s decision,” Ghastly interrupted. “He’s got full operational control of this mission.”
“Agreed,” Ravel said. “Skulduggery? What do you say?”
Skulduggery looked up. “The mission is still a go, but we use non-lethal means to subdue these sentries.”
Saracen was the one to break the silence that followed. “Astonishing,” he said. “You’ve managed to find a solution that pleases absolutely nobody.”
5. The Man with the Golden Eyes.
Look, I’m not even going to say anything here or even have a quote. I won’t elaborate even though this review is s p o i l e r s but damn... this fucking chapter. Such a bold and *wicked* move by Landy.
4. When the reflection did a bloody 180 and just unleashed the truth. Another great scene, one that hurt, but was great nonetheless.
Valkyrie’s memories flooded into her, and she allowed her own memories to flood Valkyrie’s. She even added a few of the secret ones, the ones she’d been hiding.
3. Skulduggery and Valkyrie walking in the Saharan desert and basically this chapter’s whole exchange is hilarious, but also sad?
“You’re never going to learn if I always do these things for you. I’m not going to be around forever, you know.”
“You planning on leaving me?”
“Not if I can help it. But things happen.”
2. When Skulduggery revealed who Darquesse was to the rest of the Dead Men.
Vex looked back at Skulduggery. “We went looking for the God-Killers to stop Darquesse. We risked our lives.”
“And if you had told me what you had planned,” said Skulduggery, “I would have talked you out of it.”
Vex went to the nearest chair and sat in it heavily. He sighed. “There was a time when you wouldn’t have hesitated to kill her.”
“Yeah,” said Saracen, “you really picked a great time to soften up on us.”
1. Title drop. Damn. It hurts here doesn’t it?
”The Dead Men have had their last stand and we’ve fallen, Saracen. The three of us are all that remain.”
Honourable mention:
Skulduggery really said I love you in the most subtle and Skulduggery way didn’t he.
“You’re mad at me.”
“No I’m not.”
“Despite my handsome face, you are.”
She stopped before they reached the penthouse and turned. “Yes, I’m mad at you. People buy presents for people who are important to them. After all this time, I didn’t think I had to tell you to buy me a present.”
“And I didn’t think I had to buy you a present to prove that you’re important to me.”
And that’s a wrap on the second last book of phase 1! This one was incredibly intense, a lot, and I mean, A LOT, of things happened, including, among other things - a massive war. I’m so excited to read the next book, I know it’ll be a huge ride but I’m ready... I’m honestly ready. I think.
———
Excerpts from: Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men by Derek Landy. Copyright HarperCollins Publishing, review under fair use.
Okay so we have reached, in my humble opinion, top tier with this book. This is probably in everyone’s top 3 and for good reason. Firstly, can we just take a minute and gush about the cover? Damn. Damn. Secondly - this title is just fantastic. Thirdly, this quote at the beginning of the book?
War is the business of barbarians.
– Napoleon Bonaparte
Perfect.
Now let’s get onto my top 10.
10. The chapters when our favourite characters are being hunted down are great but I think my favourite one might be Finbar’s:
“Laken Cross, you are an evil man,” said Finbar. “You are an evil man for coming here to kill me and you’re an evil man for forcing me to do what I’ve had to do. I hope you burn in whatever hell you believe in.”
9. THE DEAD MEN!!!!!
“The Dead Men still carry a certain amount of weight in the magical world at large. If the sorcerers of the Supreme Council view us merely as a Cradle of Magic making trouble, they’ll do their jobs and see it through to the end and it’ll be business as usual. But if they see the Dead Men back together, the same Dead Men who worked so effectively against Mevolent, the same Dead Men who saved their lives and the lives of their friends all those years ago … they’ll know to fear us. And the very fact that Ravel and Ghastly are part of it will tell them we are confident and powerful and no one will be able to stop us.”
“Right,” said Valkyrie. “So you’re basically hoping that your reputations will make them run away.”
8. When Val got accepted as the seventh Dead Man, I literally held my breath.
There were many things Valkyrie could have said to fill that silence, but she stayed quiet. This wasn’t her decision. It was theirs. There had always been seven Dead Men – no more, no less. Originally it had been the six men standing around her and a seventh called Hopeless. When Ravel himself had been badly injured and needed time to recover, his place had been taken by Larrikin. But Hopeless and Larrikin were long dead, and the Dead Men didn’t have time to hold auditions... The last person Ravel looked to was Skulduggery. Valkyrie turned her head away, giving him the freedom to agree or disagree without judgement.
“Well, OK then,” Ravel said at last, “it looks like we have a new Dead Man.”
7. The Dead Men’s journey in France and their war time stories. A lot of reflection... a lot of humour. I loved every moment of these chapters.
“It didn’t become official until Meritorious asked for volunteers to undertake a suicide mission,” Skulduggery said, the orange light from the fire bouncing off his skull. “My hand was the first hand raised.”
“Mine was the second,” said Ghastly. “I thought he had a plan.”
“I really didn’t,” said Skulduggery.
“I didn’t know that at the time,” Ghastly admitted.
“I just want it made clear that I did not volunteer for that mission,” Saracen said. “I was yawning. That raised arm was me stretching. But they made me go anyway.”
“By the end of it,” Vex said, “Meritorious had seven volunteers. They started calling us the Dead Men when they thought we were out of earshot. No one expected us to come back.”
6. Discussing the plan to sneaky sneak into the London sanctuary and this brilliant quote from Saracen.
“It’s Skulduggery’s decision,” Ghastly interrupted. “He’s got full operational control of this mission.”
“Agreed,” Ravel said. “Skulduggery? What do you say?”
Skulduggery looked up. “The mission is still a go, but we use non-lethal means to subdue these sentries.”
Saracen was the one to break the silence that followed. “Astonishing,” he said. “You’ve managed to find a solution that pleases absolutely nobody.”
5. The Man with the Golden Eyes.
Look, I’m not even going to say anything here or even have a quote. I won’t elaborate even though this review is s p o i l e r s but damn... this fucking chapter. Such a bold and *wicked* move by Landy.
4. When the reflection did a bloody 180 and just unleashed the truth. Another great scene, one that hurt, but was great nonetheless.
Valkyrie’s memories flooded into her, and she allowed her own memories to flood Valkyrie’s. She even added a few of the secret ones, the ones she’d been hiding.
3. Skulduggery and Valkyrie walking in the Saharan desert and basically this chapter’s whole exchange is hilarious, but also sad?
“You’re never going to learn if I always do these things for you. I’m not going to be around forever, you know.”
“You planning on leaving me?”
“Not if I can help it. But things happen.”
2. When Skulduggery revealed who Darquesse was to the rest of the Dead Men.
Vex looked back at Skulduggery. “We went looking for the God-Killers to stop Darquesse. We risked our lives.”
“And if you had told me what you had planned,” said Skulduggery, “I would have talked you out of it.”
Vex went to the nearest chair and sat in it heavily. He sighed. “There was a time when you wouldn’t have hesitated to kill her.”
“Yeah,” said Saracen, “you really picked a great time to soften up on us.”
1. Title drop. Damn. It hurts here doesn’t it?
”The Dead Men have had their last stand and we’ve fallen, Saracen. The three of us are all that remain.”
Honourable mention:
Skulduggery really said I love you in the most subtle and Skulduggery way didn’t he.
“You’re mad at me.”
“No I’m not.”
“Despite my handsome face, you are.”
She stopped before they reached the penthouse and turned. “Yes, I’m mad at you. People buy presents for people who are important to them. After all this time, I didn’t think I had to tell you to buy me a present.”
“And I didn’t think I had to buy you a present to prove that you’re important to me.”
And that’s a wrap on the second last book of phase 1! This one was incredibly intense, a lot, and I mean, A LOT, of things happened, including, among other things - a massive war. I’m so excited to read the next book, I know it’ll be a huge ride but I’m ready... I’m honestly ready. I think.
———
Excerpts from: Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men by Derek Landy. Copyright HarperCollins Publishing, review under fair use.