Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer

Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer, the sixth book in Derek Landy’s series, came out in September 2011. It follows Mortal Coil and features sorcerer-detectives Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant dealing with the Death Bringer, Darquesse, and Lord Vile’s return. The book was released in the US and Canada in 2018, and HarperCollins Audio puts out unabridged CD sets read by Rupert Degas.

Plot summary

In the plot, Valkyrie goes to her sister Alice’s christening. During a fight while looking into a string of murders, she briefly turns into Darquesse, the prophesied world-destroyer. Necromancers debate whether Valkyrie is meant to be their messiah, the Death Bringer, but one of them has secretly trained a disciple named Melancholia St Clair for that role, revealing her new powers.

On her way home, Valkyrie sees Caelan, a vampire she’s cheating on her boyfriend Fletcher with. Back home, she struggles with feelings about her Reflection, a double that lives her normal life while she’s off adventuring. Later, Melancholia attacks Valkyrie viciously.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie learn the necromancers plan to kill half the world’s population to stop both death and birth. It also comes out that Skulduggery became the evil Lord Vile shortly after his death, not a few years after his resurrection as a skeleton. Valkyrie nearly kills a man who mugged her mother; when he’s released and tracks her to her house, her Reflection apprehends him, surprising Valkyrie.

She forgives Skulduggery for his Lord Vile past, and they attend a ball at her uncle’s mansion. Meanwhile, the necromancers prepare their plan. Skulduggery challenges Melancholia to a battle and becomes Lord Vile. To stop him, Valkyrie convinces Melancholia to try killing her, awakening Darquesse.

Darquesse and Lord Vile fight a long battle before reverting to Valkyrie and Skulduggery. Valkyrie breaks up with both Fletcher and Caelan, and is forced to kill Caelan when he fights Fletcher. A reporter watches, slowly gathering evidence of the magical world.

Characters include Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery Pleasant, Melancholia St Clair (a necromancy disciple wanting to be the Death Bringer), Lord Vile (a powerful necromancer thought dead, originally said to be the Death Bringer), Darquesse (Valkyrie’s True Name and the cause of the world’s end), and Caelan (a vampire obsessed with Valkyrie since tasting her blood in Mortal Coil).