Premise of Novel


The premise of the novel is that magic is real and those with the ability to wield it live among us. Magic is split into many "Schools" or disciplines, the two main groups being Elementals (which concentrate on magic involving the classical elements of fire, earth, wind and water) and Adepts (which is split into many other disciplines, some more obscure than others, examples being Sensitives (similar to traditional psychics or mediums), Teleporters, Shapeshifters, Necromancers etc.). Many years ago an evil sorcerer named Mevolent attempted to conquer the world and was opposed by a resistance movement led by a powerful magician named Skulduggery Pleasant who was later killed by Mevolent's forces but came back to life as a living skeleton and then defeated Mevolent. In the book Skulduggery meets a strong-willed girl named Stephanie Edgley whose uncle, an old friend of Skulduggery has died under mysterious circumstances and together the two of them must defend the world from various evil beings who seek to destroy it. Stephanie subsequently adopts the name Valkyrie Cain which she retains for the rest of the series. She and Skulduggery have a good relationship