Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil is a young adult fantasy novel written by Irish playwright Derek Landy and published in September 2010. It is the fifth of the Skulduggery Pleasant series and the sequel to Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days, marking the first time two novels in the series had been released in one year. The story follows the sorcerer-detectives Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant as Valkyrie fights to prevent her dark destiny and Remnants seek to fulfil it. The book would not see release in the US and Canada until 2018.[1] HarperCollins Audio also publishes the unabridged CD sets of the books read by Rupert Degas. Plot summaryA group of necromancers agree that Valkyrie Cain is the prophesied Death Bringer, also known as Darquesse, and decide to read the future to learn more about her fate. Skulduggery and Valkyrie capture the traitor Davina Marr, who destroyed the Sanctuary in the previous book. Valkyrie then visits her dead uncle to ask how to control her True Name, Darquesse, and is advised to visit a banshee. When a necromancer uses a Remnant to possess a fortune-teller and see Valkyrie's future, the Remnant realises the importance of Valkyrie becoming Darquesse and goes to gather more Remnants, with the goal of controlling her. Meanwhile, Valkyrie visits vampire Caelan, who has a romantic interest in her. At Christmas, Valkyrie sneaks away from her family to board a black carriage, as she was instructed by a banshee. Once in the carriage, her body dies, and she is taken to the mysterious Dr Nye who gives her the ability to control her True Name by carving symbols into her heart. Nye refuses to let Valkyrie return to the land of the living, but she escapes using necromancy. Afterwards, she reveals to Skulduggery that she is Darquesse. As more allies and enemies are possessed by Remnants, Valkyrie and her friends plan to activate a Soul-Catcher to capture the Remnants. They find the Soul-Catcher's key, but are gradually possessed and fight among themselves. When Valkyrie is possessed she momentarily becomes Darquesse, embarking on a killing spree until Skulduggery convinces her to destroy the Remnant inside her. The Soul-Catcher is activated and all the remnants are captured except for one, which possesses Tanith Low and flees the scene. Valkyrie's boyfriend Fletcher apologises for attacking her while possessed, but Valkyrie continues to be interested in Caelan. Later, the possessed Tanith visits Valkyrie to tell her that she plans to help Valkyrie reach her destiny as Darquesse. CharactersValkyrie CainSkulduggery PleasantRemnantsRemnants are beings of anger and hate that dream of a world of death where they do not have to hide in human bodies. They worship Darquesse as their messiah. Dr. NyeDr. Nye is a genderless creature that assists Valkyrie in sealing her True Name. DarquesseDarquesse is the True Name of Valkyrie Cain, and the foretold cause of the end of the world. ReviewsSkulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil opened to largely positive reviews by critics.
The latest instalment in the Skulduggery series is everything Landy's fans have come to expect: tense, funny and – this is the crucial thing about the writer – magical[,] Landy is above all a superb storyteller with an imagination as full of glittering nuggets as King Solomon's Mines, and Mortal Coil is as thrilling, compelling and downright smart as its four predecessors.[2]
References
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