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| Skulduggery Pleasant: Seasons of War | |
| Skulduggery Pleasant: Seasons of War | |
| Author | Derek Landy |
| Cover Artist | Tom Percival |
| Date Published | 2nd April 2021 |
| Date Set In | Spring 2020– Spring 2021 |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Children's Books |
| No. of pages | 551 |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-838625-2 |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by Skulduggery Pleasant: Bedlam |
Followed by Skulduggery Pleasant: Dead or Alive |
- "I'd give a speech," China said, "but I'm late for another speech I have to give about something I don't care about. Kill Mevolent for me, my Dead Men, and save the world. That's all."
- — China Sorrows to the new Dead Men during Seasons of War.
Skulduggery Pleasant: Seasons of War[1] is the thirteenth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. It was released on the 2nd of April 2020.
Description
- "The thirteenth thrilling novel in the internationally bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series, SEASONS OF WAR will test the Skeleton Detective and Valkyrie like never before…
War is coming. To avert catastrophe, Skulduggery and Valkyrie are sent on a secret mission that takes them away from everything they know, to a forsaken land of magic and grim, unrelenting terror.
It is here that Valkyrie will have to fight the hardest — not only against the enemies who want her dead, but also against her own self-destructive impulses.
It’s only by crawling through darkness that she’ll be able to once again stand in the light…''"
- — The official synopsis from the Skulduggery Pleasant Website[2]
Summary
SPRING
The book starts with Valkyrie talking to Kes about Alice and Valkyrie maybe traumatising her. Kes reassures her that it's going to be okay.
Valkyrie Cain is seen in a dark dungeon with red candles, held hostage by Victoria Leigh and Jason Randal, who plan to sacrifice her to Satan. They wait until midnight and their Master, or the 'Dark Lord', which Valkyrie mistakes for Voldemort, to arrive. When he does, the Master says that he's seen her before. She tells him that if he saw a picture of her destroying the world, it wasn't her, it was a god who looked like her. Valkyrie then proceeds to attack the actors and the Master, with the help of Skulduggery Pleasant, dressed in rags to disguise as one among many of the other skeletons lining the halls. Victoria asks Valkyrie if she's one of the sorcerers. Valkyrie says she is. Victoria tries to shoot her, but Valkyrie activates the Necronaut suit. Victoria asks Valkyrie to please not punch her, but she does it anyway.
Omen Darkly visits Jenan Ispolin in prison. Omen tries to chat to Jenan, but he simply asks Omen what he's here for. Omen says he just wants to understand why Jenan stabbed him. Omen has recovered from the wound, but Auger is still healing in hospital. Jenan says he was the leader of Abyssinia's First Wave. They were going to change the world, but Omen and his friends stopped them. So obviously, he wants to kill Omen. Omen says that isn't true, since Abyssinia was just using First Wave - they were going to be framed for killing mortals. Enraged, Jenan tries to attack Omen, but fails. A guard walks in, asking if everything is alright. Omen says Jenan just wanted a hug, and proceeds to leave.
Valkyrie sets her phone to a timer of sixty seconds and opens the music box. She closes it a bit late then remembers that it is Fergus's birthday and she has to visit her family. They talk and Beryl arrives, but she has a change of heart and she apologises for the way she treated her family who she was younger. Even Valkyrie hugs her.
Skulduggery tells Valkyrie they've been receiving letters from their mysterious friend, warning of an imminent invasion by Mevolent from the Leibniz Universe. They walk to a pub where their mysterious friend told them to meet. Valkyrie realises that it's Nefarian Serpine from the alternate dimension. He says that he left the Resistance without a leader and mingled with the mortals so he could get into Roarhaven City. Serpine tells Skulduggery and Valkyrie that Mevolent wants them both dead and he wants to kill them himself. Mevolent said he'd invade their dimension just to kill them both. Serpine says that there's a sickness in their world, and he'd heard reports before he went to Roarhaven. Before he'd left, they'd lost entire continents to the disease. After telling Valkyrie and Skulduggery all this, he says he wants to have a house and be a Roarhaven Citizen. He says that he wants a puppy, and they're delicious. Valkyrie then asks Skulduggery if she should hit him or he will.
Sebastian Tao is with his team of The Darquesse Society to discuss matters about Darquesse. Bennet Troth says that Sebastian found her, which makes him the First Apostle(s) of Darquesse. He then reveals his name to the others as Sebastian Tao. They chat about Darquesse and states that she'll be protecting them, hopefully. Then Forby says that the last time Darquesse was here, she tried to murder the entire planet. Lily calls him a blasphemer, but it was true. they say they've been trying to talk to her, but all she's been doing is staring at the wall. Sebastian tries, but Darquesse ignores him.
Valkyrie and Skulduggery are in the High Sanctuary. Skulduggery says that Valkyrie's a million miles away in her own thoughts. Skulduggery begins to talk, saying that he always liked to think of himself as a pacifist, but Valkyrie highly doubts him. They meet up with Supreme Mage Sorrows. She asks if they will accept the mission to go to the alternate universe and kill Mevolent to stop invasion from happening. Skulduggery and Valkyrie accept this mission, but they will need a team.
Valkyrie and Fletcher Renn meet up and go to the roof of the Flatiron Building. They teleport there and Valkyrie gets surprised by Tanith Low. Fletcher proceeds to ask Tanith out, but he is then rejected because Tanith is seeing Oberon Guile. Fletcher begins to waffle since he is embarrassed, so Valkyrie tells him to stop talking. Fletcher nods and walks off to calm down. Meanwhile, Valkyrie explains the mission to kill Mevolent to Tanith and asks if she will join. Tanith agrees.
Martin Flanery is in his office, thinking about killing Crepuscular Vies. Crepuscular then appears behind him and they have a brief conversation. As Crepuscular leaves, it ends with Martin thinking that when Crepuscular was giving one of his condescending little speeches, a man wearing black gloves would shoot him in the back of the head, and Martin would watch.
Meanwhile, Sebastian goes into the room with Darquesse again. There she makes the first movement in three months by exhaling. Sebastian tries to convince Darquesse to help them, but it ends with Darquesse vanishing.
In a private room of the High Sanctuary, Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Tanith and Dexter Vex discuss the mission to the Leibniz Universe. They argue over whether they should bring Serpine along. Tanith and Dexter want to kill him, but Skulduggery argues that he will be useful. He attaches a device to Serpine's wrist which will short out his nervous system, in case he tries to escape. Reluctantly, Tanith and Dexter agree. Skulduggery introduces them to the shunter who will take them to the Leibniz Universe, whose name is Luke Skywalker. Tanith and Dexter complain that they can't call him that. Skulduggery tells them to respect Luke's name. Finally, Skulduggery says that there will be one more person coming, to form a group of 7. Dexter guesses that it's Saracen Rue and prepares to leave, but before he can, Saracen walks in.
Tanith tells Luke and Serpine to leave the room, since this is a conversation between old friends. Valkyrie asks Dexter and Saracen how they fell apart. Dexter says it's because Saracen wouldn't tell him his magical ability, which meant that Saracen didn't trust him. Therefore, Dexter couldn't trust Saracen. Saracen says he's here to tell him now. Tanith suggests that before Saracen reveals what his ability is, they should all have a guess. Valkyrie thinks it's something psychic. Skulduggery, however, says he already knows. He questions Saracen about the incident where he told Ravel his ability. Saracen was dying, so revealed what his ability was to Ravel. However, immediately afterwards, he was cured. Skulduggery says that Ravel must have been poisoning Saracen since he was afraid of him reading his mind, but after Saracen revealed his ability, it wasn't a psychic ability, so Ravel let him live. Saracen is surprised and angry at Ravel. Skulduggery concludes that he must be a Lynceus (X-Ray Vision). Everyone is disappointed. Saracen explains that when he chose his discipline, he was still a teenager. He chose X-Ray Vision because he wanted to see through other's clothes. Dexter teases him relentlessly, talking about how if he was an Elemental he could have been flying. Saracen tells them to bring Serpine in, because he wants to punch somebody.
Omen visits Auger in hospital. Auger asks Omen how his visit to the prison went. Omen says it could have been better. Auger says Jenan's too far gone. They talk about Auger's wounds and Omen's school life.
Sebastian calls an emergency meeting of the Darquesse society. He tells everyone how he 'lost' Darquesse. The other members say that they have seen Darquesse everywhere, in queues and walking down the street. Sebastian decides to try and find her.
Valkyrie is saying goodbye to Militsa Gnosis, when Militsa's ex-girlfriend, Arabella Wicked, comes. She says that she made a huge mistake ending her relationship with Militsa, and wants to win her back. Valkyrie doubts her chances. Before the argument escalates any further, Militsa steps in and stops them. Valkyrie says goodbye to Militsa and joins the rest of the team. Tanith asks if she's alright. Valkyrie thanks her for the concern, but says she's quite secure in her relationship. Skulduggery interrupts them and tells them that they are almost ready to go, and all they needed was weapons.
Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Tanith, Serpine, Saracen, Dexter and Luke meet up in a darkened room, where they gear themselves up with various weapons, such as guns, rifles and knives. Skulduggery dresses in his war clothes, the outfit he wore during the War of the Sanctuaries. He attaches a glove to Serpine’s right hand, preventing him from using his Necromancy and leaving only his Energy Throwing to get by with.
Chima enters, and presents them with the five God-Killers. She gives the Sceptre to Valkyrie, the sword to Skulduggery, the bow to Saracen, the spear to Dexter and the dagger to Tanith. From there, they were ready to enter the Leibniz Universe. Just before Luke shunts them, Valkyrie goes to the nearest bathroom to say goodbye to Kes. Then they are shunted into the Leibniz Universe and their journey begins.
To be continued, please add to this!
Known information
- Seasons of War is 551 pages long.
- It takes place over the course of about a year, with each season getting its own section.
- The theme of the book is healing.[3]
- Omen survives Bedlam and returns in Seasons of War.[4]
- Saracen reveals his discipline.[5]
Gallery
Trivia
- Seasons of War is the first book of the final trilogy.
- The cover was revealed on February 6th.
- The book's tagline is "Same Trouble. Different World."
References
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