Scepter of the Ancients

 No matter how scary the name seems (The series name is Skulduggery Pleasant series), I assure you that this trilogy is more fantasy humor and action than horror.

                           

I found this in fifth grade when  I was browsing through the library. I picked up a book called The Faceless Ones and started reading it as soon as I came home. It was very interesting, but they kept on referencing to things that I hadn't read yet and I didn't understand.

So now a few years later, I remembered that name and looked it up again. I found the first book and read it, finding it catching my attention.

I read the re-print edition (the original title was Skulduggery Pleasant).

When her Uncle Gordon passed away, Stephanie inherits his strange mansion and everything in it.

At first she doesn't know what to do with it until she is attacked by two strange men demanding a black crystal and a scepter from her. Stephanie has no clue what they're talking about and tries to fight them until she is saved by a man in a tan overcoat who later appears to be a skeleton named Skulduggery Pleasant.

Long ago in a war among the magical world, the great Lord Melvolent was killed and his three generals were driven into hiding. Now one of them, Nefarian Serpine wants to get the Scepter of the Ancients and let dark magic rule the world.

Legend has it that when the world was ruled by the Faceless Ones, all the mortal sorcerers rebelled against their rulers. The Scepter of the Ancients was the Faceless Ones' most powerful weapon and it sung to them whenever someone was near. But when the sorcerers tried to steal it, the Scepter did not sing, so it was taken and hidden in the ground.

It's a race for power between Skulduggery and Nefarian and who will be the one to control the Scepter and let all the Faceless Ones rule the Earth once again?

My thoughts- (this time it contains spoilers)

It had very well-written descriptions and the action scenes were beautifully played. There wasn't too much fighting and too much laughter either.

I have to say that the conclusion was a little strange though. So the power of the Scepter eventually takes over and kills Serpine. It was just disappointing.

It may have been  more interesting if Serpine had gotten ahold of the power and fought Skulduggery and Stephanie. He seemed like a worthy opponent and it may have held a reader's attention better if they had some sort of battle instead of our hero and heroine doing nothing at all.

Although the ending wasn't very good, I found it a little hard to believe that an average teenager like Stephanie would be talking as smart as she was with Skulduggery and Tanith. I think that was a little far-fetched because they are both so much older than her (I mean by hundreds of years) and are so much wiser.

I did however like this quote- "Exactly a week ago I was an average high school student. Now I'm sitting in a yellow Bentley, trading comebacks with someone without a body."

This is a real good read for fans of fantasy and mystery because it combines both elements to create an amazing story and unforgettable characters.