Mortal Coil

Written by Derek Landy

Narrated by Brian Bowles

Following the shocking revelations of DARK DAYS, get ready for the fifth instalment of the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series – guaranteed to contain at least 40% humour, 50% action, and 100% thrills…

"The blonde girl with the black lips turned to Valkyrie. 'We know,' she said. 'We've seen the future. We know you're going to kill the world…'"

Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain are back – just in time to see their whole world get turned upside down…

While they struggle to protect a known killer from an unstoppable assassin, Valkyrie is on a secret mission of her own. This quest, to prevent her dark and murderous destiny, threatens to take her to the brink of death and beyond. And then the body-snatching Remnants get loose, thousands of twisted souls who possess the living like puppets, and they begin their search for a being powerful enough to lead them. Facing such insurmountable odds, Skulduggery, Valkyrie, Ghastly and Tanith can trust no one. Not even each other…

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007377305

Derek Landy

Derek Landy lives near Dublin. Before writing his children's story about a sharply-dressed skeleton detective, he wrote the screenplays for a zombie movie and a murderous horror film. "I think my career-guidance teacher is spinning in her grave," he says, "or she would be if she were dead."

Reviews for Mortal Coil

[bookbrig-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Still a great series, but it's getting bleak. It feels like any victories are tiny and all the bad is extra bad. And have I mentioned how this totally doesn't belong in the J area at our library? Because: GORE. So much of the gore. Great Halloween read, actually.

[hopeevey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Arg! Want next book NOW.

[wickedshizuku · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have to say that this has been a most pleasant read. *giggle* Pardon the pun. This one has been fairly humorous, and I've enjoyed it more than the previous four books. This book Valkyrie has found herself in somewhat of a pickle, and she doesn't know how to come to terms with her mom having a new baby.
A few more problems arise as the big baddies concoct new dastardly schemes. I really enjoy Billy Ray's part for some sinful reason. He has me in stitches whenever he's in a scene.

[karenduff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I have to say for what is supposed to be a childrens book it has a very high body count.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I got very emotionally invested and tense while reading this, which to me means a good book! Im both looking forward to and dreading getting my hands on the next in the series.

[sageness · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Gah. So much explicit gratuitous violence and gore. The series started out as a fun kid's book, but this book mostly just made me queasy. Disability tag for the evil bad guy using a cane and the elderly man getting killed; meanwhile, everyone else who gets critically injured on every third page is magicked better (literally). Also, there's criminal assault happening in front of normal people (i.e. muggles) and only the ostensibly stupid girls thinking it at all *bad*.

Also, if you took out all the narrating of the martial arts, the book would be half its present length. Previous books in the series involved a lot more investigation and talking and a lot less fight scene porn. (I never read Fight Club, but I wonder if there are similarities there. I mean, this book has fight scenes like erotic novels have an overabundance of sex scenes.)

But, honestly, do we need to see a 16-year-old girl magically punch a guy's brain out of his head? Really? /o

Book 6 is due out sometime this year and I wonder if it'll pull back on the violence any, or if it'll go full bore End of the World. Still, some of the other plot threads have me hooked, so I guess I'll read it eventually, just to find out how it goes.

[smg0mjones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i love derek landy's novel collection of Skuldugery pleasent.The 5th book was really good with the 4th one leaving you staned with an exiting new plot on the main character Stephinie Egelby also know as valkyrie cain knowing that she is know the killing machine of the world.the one thing i didn't like about the book is sometimes when i was reading one sentence then the next sentence was a completly differn't thing going on. Say Skuldugery was fighting someone anyone, then the next sentence Valkaryie is on the toliet. That is just a joke Valkarie does not take a dump in the story.

[kanav guppta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s a lovely novel part of an amazing series!

[riida_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i was going to give this book 4 stars...but by the end of it, i was so upset by the turn of events in the story, i decided to give another half star...i think a series that's able to disturb and stir you after 4 books deserves an extra half star :) dont wanna spoil what got me upset tho...i must say...i will be sad when this series ends. its not Harry Potter, but they're currently my favorite young-adult-though-totally-adult-friendly books at the moment :) i dare say...i enjoyed it more than twilight or the hunger games (and i quite enjoyed those).Such fun!

[magiccapslock · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Despite the turn of events in the end, this is my favorite SP novel (so far).

[jugglingpaynes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The fifth book of the series, Mortal Coil will not disappoint fans of Skulduggery Pleasant. The book is action-packed, and I found that there were many chapters that demanded I read the next chapter. I enjoyed the nods to Monty Python and The Princess Bride that were cleverly woven into the story, the dialogue is as witty as ever, and the characters, both old and new, are well written. Mr Landy ties up some loose ends from book four while creating new havoc for Skulduggery and Valkyrie to face. This book also finds Valkyrie facing some very normal (boy trouble) and not-so-normal (cheating destiny) issues. All in all, this book is a nail-biting, edge of your seat page turner with its fair share of scenes worthy of Tim Burton animation. I admit that I denied the book a full five stars for a purely selfish reason--the ending. It left me wishing Mr Landy would write faster so I can find out what happens next.