Landy Ho!

I do like the subtitle / strap-line to Derek Landy’s latest Skulduggery Pleasant novel, DEATH BRINGER, which runs thusly: ‘Kicking Evil Very Hard in the Face’. Nice.
  Skulduggery Pleasant, of course, is the dead / undead / skeletal private eye who takes on all comers in the battle between Good and Evil, aided and abetted by his feisty sidekick, Valkyrie. At least, that was the story in the first book in the series, SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT, which established Derek Landy as a genre-busting writer of YA crime novels par excellence, and which I thoroughly enjoyed, not least for its subversive black humour.
  I’ve been busy in the intervening couple of years, so I haven’t really been keeping track of Skulduggery Pleasant, but it would appear that I’ve been nowhere as busy as Derek Landy, whose DEATH BRINGER is the sixth in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. Yep, sixth. Quoth the blurb elves:

The sixth instalment in the historic, hysterical and horrific Skulduggery Pleasant series. Think you’ve seen anything yet? You haven’t. Because the Death Bringer is about to rise … The Necromancers no longer need Valkyrie to be their Death Bringer, and that’s a Good Thing. There’s just one catch. There’s a reason the Necromancers don’t need her any more. And that’s because they’ve found their Death Bringer already, the person who will dissolve the doors between life and death. And that’s a Very, Very Bad Thing …

  So there you have it. Given the way my mind works, and that Skulduggery Pleasant and Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl tend to play both sides of the Good / Evil line, I can’t help wondering who would triumph in a YA literary smack-down. Hell, I may even toddle along to the Mountains to Sea Festival on Sunday, September 11, when Derek Landy will be holding forth on all things Pleasant and Skulduggerish, and ask that very question. For all the details on the event, clickety-click here …

Pleasant Tally Monday

Well, the votes are tallied, and the winner has been announced: Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT has won the ‘Irish Book of the Decade’ award. No mean feat, when you consider that the novel was up against the likes of John Banville, John Connolly, Anne Enright and Sebastian Barry, to name but a few. And pretty damn amazing, to be frank about it, when you consider that Landy’s novel is a YA title featuring a dead / skeletal private eye. A hat-tip to Irish Publishing News for the nod …

And Another Thing: Hurrah, It’s AND ANOTHER THING …!

One or two snippets you might have missed about the Irish YA brigade who have been known to dabble in the dark arts of crime fic, the first courtesy of the BBC:

Children’s author Eoin Colfer [right] has been commissioned to write a sixth instalment of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy series.
  MOSTLY HARMLESS, the last Hitchhiker book, was written by its creator, the late Douglas Adams, 16 years ago.
  Now Adams’s widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval to bring back the hapless Arthur Dent in a new book entitled AND ANOTHER THING ...
  Eoin Colfer, 43, is best known for the best-selling Artemis Fowl novels.
  He said he was “terrified” by the prospect of creating a new Hitchhiker book almost a quarter of a century after being introduced to what he described as a “slice of satirical genius” in his late teens.

  Crumbs! Eoin Colfer writing Hitchhiker material? Truly our cup runneth over … Meanwhile, Love Reading 4 Kids brings us the news that Siobhan Dowd has been posthumously nominated for the Guardian’s Children’s Fiction Prize shortlist, with the Guardian’s big-up for BOG CHILD running thusly:

“One of the joys of this book is its willingness to confront big themes . . . BOG CHILD explores political conflict, personal heroism, human frailty, love and death. As a writer, Dowd appears to be incapable of a jarring phrase or a lazy metaphor. Her sentences sing - each note resonates with an urgent humanity of the sort that cannot be faked. BOG CHILD sparkles with optimism and a deep passion for living.” – Meg Rosoff

  The winner will be announced next Wednesday, September 24, and we’re all rooting for BOG CHILD. Finally, news wings our way that Derek Landy’s sequel to SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT, the eagerly anticipated PLAYING WITH FIRE, will get all kinds of jazzy, interwebby marketing strategies, in particular a virally marketed game called The Munchkin Army. Does that make Sir Landy the Munchking? Erm, no. Quoth Tom Conway, marketing boffin at HarperCollins Children’s Books:

“With the Munchkin Army we wanted to create an experience that would enrich the world of Skulduggery for our 20,000 registered users, whilst encouraging them to share their passion with potential new readers. We worked closely with Hyperlaunch to create a unique game that continues even after you’ve turned off your computer. The Munchkin Army rewards existing fans with a rich, fun and exciting adventure whilst introducing newcomers to a strange and intriguing new world.”

  Folks? Get Munchkining …

Firing On All Cinders

It just gets pleasanter and pleasanter for Derek Landy. First up is the news that the sequel to SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT will be SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT: PLAYING WITH FIRE, which is slated for release on April 7 next year. Quoth the blurb elves:

Just when you think you’ve saved the world!
“You will kill her?” the Torment asked. Skulduggery sagged. “Yes.” He hesitated, then took his gun from his jacket. “I’m sorry, Valkyrie,” he said softly. “Don’t talk to me,” Valkyrie said. “Just do what you have to do.” Valkyrie parted her tunic, and Skulduggery pointed the gun at the vest beneath. “Please forgive me,” Skulduggery said, then aimed the gun at the girl and pulled the trigger …
With Serpine dead, the world is safe once more. At least, that’s what Valkyrie and Skulduggery think, until the notorious Baron Vengeous makes a bloody escape from prison, and dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland. With Baron Vengeous after the deadly armour of Lord Vile, and pretty much everyone out to kill Valkyrie, the daring detective duo face their biggest challenge yet. But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home!?

Yep, we’re loving the sound of yon Baron Vengeous. Meanwhile, HarperCollins have introduced their first 15 titles available to download on your mobile phone, and SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT is in the vanguard of the radical new technology. Reading novels on a cell phone? It’s big in Japan, of course, but it’ll never catch on over here. Like, y’know, that whole karaoke malarkey … Finally, the news that Landy has been long-listed for the 2008 Carnegie Prize comes courtesy of Bookwitch (a list which also includes Eoin Colfer for THE LEGEND OF THE WORST BOY IN THE WORLD and the late, lamented Siobhan Dowd for THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY). Crumbs – now that’s what we call a damn good week …

The Weekly Yearly Round-Up

Yon Derek Landy is having a particularly good week. First came the gong at the Richard and Judy Kids’ Books bunfight, then the all-important review on Crime Always Pays (see below), and now SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT has fetched up on the Publisher’s Weekly Books of the Year, which comes to us via Becky’s Book Reviews. Also on the list is the late, lamented Siobhan Dowd for A SWIFT PURE CRY (right) – a poignant reminder of her wonderful talent, especially as there is a memorial service for Siobhan being held in Oxford today. No Irish crime writer made it onto the PW ‘Mystery’ list, although kudos to a long-time friend of Crime Always Pays, Richard Aleas, aka Charles Ardai of Hard Case Crime, who did with SONGS OF INNOCENCE. One other point of note: James Lee Burke’s THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN got the PW big-up, but in the more literary ‘fiction’ list, rather than the ‘mystery’ list. A sign of things to come in terms of crime fiction being absorbed into the mainstream, or simply a reflection of Burke’s inimitable way with a quill? YOU decide!

Nobody Move, This Is A Review: SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT by Derek Landy

Devastated by the death of her eccentric but beloved uncle Gordon, 12-year-old Stephanie is bewildered to discover that she’s been bequeathed his rambling old mansion in his will. But she’s far more astonished when she discovers that one of Gordon’s old friends, Skulduggery Pleasant, is a private detective who happens to be dead. A walking, talking, wise-cracking skeleton, Skulduggery battles the forces of evil on behalf of the mysterious but benevolent Elders, and even manages to win once in a while. But with Serpine Mevolent plotting to draw a veil of darkness over the entire universe, Skulduggery is going to need a little help on his latest case – and Stephanie, although little in stature, is just busting out all over with attitude. Comparisons are odious, but fans of Eoin Colfer’s off-beat Artemis Fowl capers are likely to find Derek Landy a kindred spirit. Skulduggery Pleasant is a hugely likeable character, one part Philip Marlowe to generous dash of skeletal Don Quixote, but while adult readers will enjoy the knowing references to classic hardboiled dialogue, younger readers will be more impressed by the savvy and self-contained Stephanie, who more than holds her own in adult company. For a debut novel (Landy was previously a screenwriter, with two comedy-horror flicks under his belt), SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT is remarkably assured, offering a seamless blend of mystery, humour and fantasy-inspired magic and mayhem. Dotted throughout with pithy, laconically understated lines (“The moon was out and the stars were twinkling and it really was a beautiful night for pain.”), this imaginative and effortlessly charming reworking of the private eye template really is a gift for kids of all ages. – Declan Burke

But Lo! What Fresh Skulduggery Is This?

Three cheers, two stools and a resounding huzzah! As not-quite-predicted here on Monday by the Crime Always Pays elves, Derek Landy’s SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT nabbed a gong on the one-off special Richard and Judy Kids’ Books show on Channel 4 last night, securing a joint first place in the ‘Confident Reading’ section. Given that the show has had ‘the Oprah effect’ on adults’ books, with titles featured selling in excess of 25 million copies in 2004 alone, expect to see SKULDUGGERY on a metaphorical Wonkavator in the coming weeks as it soars upward and outward through the glass ceiling into super-sellerdom. Hurrah! Could it happen to a nicer chap? Wethinks not …

Pleasant Valley Monday

We told you ages ago about Derek Landy’s hook-up with the Richard and Judy Show’s Best Kids’ Books bunfight, and now it’s coming time to start chucking around the custard-topped muffins. Yep, the awards will be announced this coming Thursday at 8pm on Channel 4 (UK), with the terrific SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT nominated in the ‘Confident Reading’ section. If you happen to find yourself near a TV today around 3.30pm (GMT), you can catch Derek having a chin-wag with Richard and Judy on Channel 4, where he’ll no doubt be explaining how he came to (ahem) flesh out the bare bones of his skeletal hero. And if you can’t get to a TV, check out the promo vid below – we’re loving the tag-line “He’s Coming. A Little Thing Like Death Won’t Stop Him …”

Landy: Of Hope And Glory

Yet more good news for Derek Landy, folks. According to The Bookseller, Skulduggery Pleasant has been chosen as a contender in a one-off Richard and Judy children’s books special, to be aired on October 28th as part of Channel 4’s literacy season. Nominated in the third of the ‘Early’, ‘Developing’, ‘Confident’ and ‘Fluent’ reading sections, and with two winners to be announced from each section, the broadcast should see Skulduggery Pleasant go huge in the UK, where the Richard and Judy Show has become arguably the most important opinion-former. The full list of nominees is available at Beattie’s Book Blog. Meanwhile, Landy will be putting in an appearance at the Children's Book Festival, which takes place in County Clare from October 3rd-26th. To paraphrase Robert Louis Stevenson on Treasure Island: “If this don’t fetch the kids, they’ve gone rotten since I knew ’em.”

Mmmm, Pleasanter and Pleasanter …

Here’s a mouth-watering / eye-popping / teeth-grinding (delete as applicable) quote for wannabe writers, courtesy of Stephen Galloway’s piece ‘Studios are hunting the next big property’ in the Hollywood Reporter:

“That hunger for potential franchise material is something London-based literary agent Michelle Kass experienced firsthand when she came to Los Angeles in May with her client Derek Landy’s novel Skulduggery Pleasant, a fantastic tale of a young female detective who teams up with a wisecracking ghost. Kass and Landy were wooed by several major studios, even meeting with Steven Spielberg, before executive Kevin McCormick persuaded them that Warners was the right home for the project with a deal that gave Landy around $1 million, along with the right to script the film and be involved with creating his own video game.”

Still, at least yon Landy isn’t dating Nicole Kidman and Keira Knightley, eh?

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 …

The Monday Review: It’s Nice To Be Nice, Although It’d Be Nicer To Be In Nice

That stalwart friend of Irish crime writers, Myles McWeeney at the Indo, is back on the case again, this time trawling the mean streets of Arlene Hunt’s latest, Missing Presumed Dead: “A very enjoyable, neatly worked mystery, packed with deft characterisation. Read it on the beach but keep an eye on the kids.” … Over at The Book Bag, Jill Murphy likes Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant: “It’s pacy, it’s funny, it’s irreverent … a humorous badinage going on that’s reminiscent of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton or even Doctor Who … the plotting is a little bit loose. The villain isn’t really much more than a cardboard cut-out. But the humour, the high-spiritedness and the wonderful interaction between the two main characters more than make up for it.” Mmm, lovely … Not to be outdone, Julia Eccleshare at Love Reading 4 Kids is bigging up the other major current kiddie crime release, Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery: “This may only be Siobhan Dowd’s second novel but it’s clear her talent as a superb storyteller is beyond question. Her first novel A Swift Pure Cry was short-listed for nearly all the major awards last year and although this second novel is very different it has that same page-turner feeling to it.” But stay! I hear you cry – what news of Alex Barclay’s The Caller? “Written with a depth of feeling for the characters that is sometimes lacking in the genre from her colleagues … a fast-paced and sometimes ugly serial killer novel. The characters are richly described with a sense of humour at times that makes you smile, and a touch of the cruel and sadistic where needed …” reckon the folks at Woyano … They’re still coming in thick and fast for John Connolly’s The Unquiet: “One of the finest reads of this or any year, from the man with the darkest imagination. I was enthralled and terrified at the same time, but it’s the wit Connolly employs that prevents this dark tale from becoming too malevolent,” says Ali Karim at Books ‘n’ Bytes, while The Observer is no less impressed: “The Unquiet is more contemplative and affecting than some of the earlier novels, but the violence, when it comes, is vicious. Hard to put down, harder to forget.” Just about gorgeous … Staying with The Observer, for The Artist Formerly Known as Colin Bateman’s latest: “Exuberant also describes I Predict a Riot, the latest diverting entertainment from ‘Bateman’ … what follows is sometimes brutal, often blackly humorous and always terrific.” Meanwhile, Neil Dowling at Totally Dublin is middling-to-fairly impressed with The Big O, from inky-fingered urchin Declan Burke: “The Big O is a fairly standard crime caper with some implausible turns in the plot. Burke’s great achievement, however, is to give a typical genre storyline some real flavour through his skilful use of dialogue and imagery.” Neil? The snakebites are on us … Finally, you know you’re in business when the Indo’s arts editor, Sophie Gorman, gives you the hup-ya: “With Julius, [Donovan] has created a man who exists beyond society and a story that magnetically absorbs you with every page turned … You know that you are having one of those special reading experiences when you find yourself rationing the final chapters, in an attempt to prolong the experience for as long as possible,” she says of Julius Winsome, while The Guardian reckons that, “History may judge it to be less than the perfect modern classic it aims to be, but it is a memorable tale, distinguished by masterful prose, an intriguingly peculiar sensibility, and something hard to define that many great works of art have: a kind of dignity. Such books are rarer than publishers’ hype encourages us to believe.” Publishers’ hype? Shurely shome mishtake ...

Captain Kirkus Boldly Goes

By way of Maxine Clarke's very funky Petrona blog comes news of the influential Kirkus Reviews ’07 First Fiction Spotlight, aka ‘Promising Debuts From Important New Voices’. Gene Kerrigan gets the hup-ya for The Midnight Choir, the follow-up to Little Criminals being his debut in the States: “Kerrigan has crafted an incisive portrait of contemporary Ireland through the matter-of-fact perspectives of officers on its legendary police force, the Gardai.” Which is nicer than nice … Meanwhile, two children’s authors get the big bump from Captain Kirkus. Eoin McNamee’s The Navigator is described as “… a crafty first piece of young-adult fiction …” while Derek Landy (see more down below somewhere) is the rave du jour: “Skulduggery Pleasant, his smart, stylish young-adult debut novel, has both substance and velocity, giving the story – a modern-day tale of sorcery, murder and menace, with a couple of sharp-tongued leading characters – a frightful excitement.” Okay – but yon Landy still isn’t dating Nicole Kidman, right?

This Landy Is Your Landy

With a Harry Potter-sized hole to fill, HarperCollins have turned to Derek Landy (right) and his skeletal anti-hero Skulduggery Pleasant, a dead wizard-type private eye who haunts the mean streets of Dublin with his 12-year-old sidekick, Stephanie. Word around the campfire is that Landy, a first-time author with screenplays (Dead Bodies, Boy Eats Girl) in his back pocket, received a seven-figure advance for a three-book deal. Nice work if you can get it, etc. So – is it any good? “A very tasty mix of the cinematic and the novelistic against which a cast of vivid heroes and villains play out the rip-roaring storyline,” says Publishing News. We like the sound of the villain plotting world domination, Nefarious Serpine, and so does Warner Bros: the Harry Potter franchise earned them some decent kicking around money, and now they’re taking a punt on Skulduggery Pleasant, with Landy to adapt the novel for the big screen. Are we jealous? Hell, it’s not like he’s dating Nicole Kidman or anything … he isn't, right?