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Review: #295
Title: Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant - 5th book
Author: Derek Landy
Read Before: no
My Comments: You could say that this is more of the same, if you liked Skulduggery Pleasant before, you’ll like him now, but if you had any doubts, this book won’t change your mind. I just find that the amount of violence and death dulls the impact of them. It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s just that it seems the author doesn't use them to its full effect. They’re the deaths of nobodies, these characters get introduced just for the sake of dying, and you don’t feel any loss for them, no emotion at all. It also has the unfortunate side effect of when someone important (and I use the term loosely, as it’s not part of the main cast) does eventually die, the effect is lessened coz you’re so used to deaths by now. In terms of plot, it’s just another stock standard save the world type of thing, but what I found unusual was the fact that it seemed there were like two major plots, like the book felt cut in half. You get the first half where the protagonists try and find Tesseract and fix up the mess from the end of Dark Days, then there’s the second half where Remnants escape and try to take over the world. Those two major sections felt so distinct from each other, that it feels like it’s completely different when you get to the end of the book. I guess the long length doesn't help any matters. Once again, the characters are fairly selfish, and most of the wisecracking here is actually funny. The story is fairly straightforward, with some twists, but they’re predictable and you get a sense of “oh no, please don’t let this happen, not because I care for the characters, but because it kills the mood and makes for an annoying situation”. It’s interesting enough in its own right, but it just doesn't feel to leave any impact on its readers.
Rating: 6.5/10