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| Skulduggery Pleasant: Midnight | |
| Skulduggery Pleasant: Midnight | |
| Author | Derek Landy |
| Cover Artist | Tom Percival |
| Date Published | June 1, 2018[1][2] |
| Date Set In | |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| No. of pages | 436 |
| ISBN | ISBN-10: 0008303932 ISBN-13: 9780008303938 |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection |
Followed by Skulduggery Pleasant: Bedlam |
- "We're going to play a little game, Valkyrie. Do you like games? I hope you do. I call it Let's Save Alice. The rules are: you have to do this alone..."
- — Cadaverous Gant to Valkyrie during Midnight.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Midnight[3] is the eleventh book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. It was announced by Derek Landy via Twitter on December 15th 2017.[3] The book was released on June 1st, 2018.
Official Synopsis
For years, Valkyrie Cain has struggled to keep her loved ones safe from harm, plunging into battle — time and time again — by Skulduggery Pleasant’s side, and always emerging triumphant.
But now the very thing that Valkyrie fights for is in danger, as a ruthless killer snatches her little sister in order to lure Valkyrie into a final confrontation. With Skulduggery racing to catch up and young sorcerer Omen scrambling along behind, Valkyrie only has twelve hours to find Alice before it’s too late.
The clock is ticking…
Plot
Seven months after the events of Resurrection, the Arbiters break into Dr Nye's lab, who was broken out of Ironpoint Gaol by Eliza Scorn. Abyssinia visited the lab two days ago, looking for her son Caisson, who was experimented on there for sixty years by Quidnunc, a scientist who evacuated with Caisson a week ago. Nye tells them Quidnunc suffers from liquefactive necrosis before being rescued by it’s Necromancer bodyguard, Whisper.
Thousands of mortal refugees arrive in Roarhaven from the Leibniz dimension, aided by Temper, now a City Guard.
Omen, who has since been consumed with looking for more adventure, asks out Axelia, who he has recently befriended, but is rejected. He is called to meet Jenan’s dad, the Bulgarian Grand Mage, who tries to have him expelled but his parents defend him while telling him to do more with his life, prompting him to volunteer to help the refugees with Axelia.
Abyssinia, using Coldheart Prison as a base and accompanied by Nero, Razzia, Destrier, Cadaverous and some convicts who chose to stay, tracks down Caisson as being held by Serafina. Discontent spreads amongst her followers over the focus on finding Caisson instead of the power and purpose she promised them. She executes one of First Wave for trying to leave.
Valkyrie begins to see Abyssinia in her head with her Sensitive powers. Skulduggery and Valkyrie have dinner with her family and track down the man who treats Quidnunc’s condition, Gravid. They find Quidnunc who tells them he's working for Serafina, Mevolent’s wife, who’s people have Caisson on the run, and that Vile is Caisson’s father. Abyssinia arrives with Nero, kills Quidnunc and reveals that she is descended from the Faceless Ones. Her father was the Unnamed, King of the Darklands and Mevolent’s mentor who was betrayed by him. After rejecting a truce, Valkyrie sees into Abyssinia’s head, finding that Abyssinia was pregnant and changed her mind about the mutiny when Vile killed her. Nero teleports Abyssinia away.
Valkyrie wakes up in Reverie’s clinic and meets and flirts with Militsa. She babysits Alice but leaves her with Omen to visit China, who passed the Religious Freedom Act for the Church in exchange for investment in her bank. She admits she raised Caisson secretly after making a deal with Abyssinia when they captured her during the war and that her affection for him was the reason she defected from the Diablerie. Caisson tried to kill Skulduggery but was injured and nursed back to health by Solace, one of Serafina’s handmaidens, and they fell in love. Caisson went to rescue Solace after Serafina recaptured her, and took the opportunity to kill Mevolent, after which China gave him up to Serafina.
Cadaverous finds and captures Caisson – he also kidnaps Alice, telling Valkyrie she has to find her before midnight or she dies. He sends her to have sigils carved in her eyes that allow him to see what she sees. He then tells her to kill Omen which she fakes with help from Kes. Finally she is sent to a pair of cannibals who give her a bracelet that binds her magic and unsuccessfully try to kill her, and takes part in a hunt where she learns Cadaverous has Alice in the Midnight Hotel.
Temper threatens Creed over the Church's practice of human sacrifice – he was to be sacrificed before he left the Church. He discusses reopening the portal with Skulduggery as it was closed with 10,000 refugees still on the other side. Abyssinia arrives with a truce to save Caisson and Valkyrie and they trace clues to the Hotel.
Inside the hotel, Cadaverous has created a replica of his childhood town. Valkyrie fights off many of Cadaverous’ obstacles and escapes his domain, returning with a seed to grow a new hotel which she stamps on, appearing much larger in the current hotel. Cadaverous still manages to overpower her but Skulduggery gets the bracelet off, allowing Valkyrie to overwhelm Cadaverous with her lightning and Sensitive powers. She then grows another hotel into which Alice reaches to kill Cadaverous. Abyssinia finds Caisson and is teleported to safety by Nero. Valkyrie realises Alice can’t feel sadness or fear as her soul was damaged from when she temporarily died.
Omen befriends and later successfully asks out a Leibniz refugee, Aurnia, though she later rejects him as she is dating another mortal. Axelia cheers him up that people like him more than he realises. The Sanctuary gives the Leibniz refugees housing in a part of Roarhaven called the Humdrums.
Sebastian and the Darquesse Society plan to track Darquesse through Faceless Ones blood which they steal from the Dark Cathedral, aided by Tanith who has returned to the Knives in the Darkness and is going to assassinate China. Sebastian stops her as it interferes with his plan and fights off an attack from Tantalus, who is then voted out by the rest of the society while Sebastian is made leader.
Flanery orders Wilkes to move forwards his and Abyssinia’s plan and threatens Magenta’s family to keep her in line. He later discovers Wilkes is a sorcerer spy for Abyssinia. Crepuscular arrives, killing Wilkes and vows to kill Skulduggery.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Publication date announcement on Twitter. Retrieved 12/15/17
- ↑ Exact date announcement on Twitter. Retrieved 12/17/17
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Title announcement on Twitter. Retrieved 12/15/17.
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