“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Sunday, July 1, 2007

The Monday Review II: What Fresh Skulduggery Is This?

We’ve never seen anything like it before, folks – the reviews for Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant are coming in like late votes in a Belfast by-election, so we’ve had to give him a separate Monday Review. To wit: “Snappy dialogue, ridiculous action sequences and a cheery, refreshing flippancy make this highly readable,” says Deirdre Baker at The Toronto Star … “Skulduggery Pleasant targets the young adult market but its humour, character complexity and charming dialogue make it an enjoyable experience for the adult reader as well,” reckons Books For A Buck … “It delivers just the right amount of witty dialogue, sarcasm and humour – mixed with equal portions of fright, horror and imagery – to keep children laughing and cringing from one page to the next. Adults also will be reading this book long after the wee ones have gone to bed,” according to Simon King at kidsread.com … “A fun and enjoyable read, Skulduggery Pleasant has something for everyone,” says Lindsay Beaumont at Blog Critics … “It’s an action movie of a book,” claims Leila Roy at name-of-the-day Bookshelves of Doom. “All that really matters is whether or not it’s fun. It is … It’s very violent – you’ve got your torture, your multiple murders – deaths galore, really. That said, I think there are a lot of middle school boys out there who'll like it a whole lot. Specifically Artemis Fowl fans …” Crikey! It’s even getting the Artemis Fowl comparisons … “Skulduggery Pleasant is an exciting adventure with a fun plot, well drawn characters and a great sense of humour … like Harry Potter, but with more humour and far less angst … If you can get hold of it, do read it – it’s such fun!” says Michele at Scholar’s Blog … Finally, Jessica at Active Voice breaks out the cupcakes: “Skulduggery himself is delightful, as a witty, urbane Irish skeleton detective sorcerer in a good suit almost has to be … Skulduggery Pleasant gets five cupcakes. I absolutely loved it, and can’t wait until the next one comes out!” All of which would be very nice indeed if it wasn’t already so wonderfully Pleasant …

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm glad you found so many good reviews for Skulduggery. I've just heard so many people sneer, that I was almost beginning to think I was on my own liking it.