Armageddon Outta Here

Derek Landy's Armageddon Outta Here is a collection of Skulduggery Pleasant stories for 11 year olds, full of zombies, gunfights and very dry jokes.

What happens

If your reader already knows Skulduggery Pleasant, they'll know he's a detective, a sorcerer and a living skeleton who keeps his hat pulled low. This book gathers his short stories and two longer novellas together in one place. For fans, it's a treat.

One story is a Western. Skulduggery rides across South Dakota with the Dead Men, a band of sorcerers hunting a runaway enemy who's teamed up with a Necromancer. There are saloons and livery stables, a dusty town called Forbidden, and a hillside graveyard where the corpses start clawing their way out of the ground.

Another jumps somewhere completely different. Gordon Edgley, a horror writer, is at a very odd party for authors with Skulduggery. A famous novelist announces that his books secretly drain his readers' energy to keep him young (with fifteen per cent to his mysterious helper, naturally).

That mix is the whole appeal. Big action, then a joke dropped right into the middle of it. The Dead Men bicker like brothers even while they're surrounded by zombies. One of them decides a prisoner's odd eyebrows might be magical and should be shaved off for experiments.

It fills in gaps too. Readers get to see much-loved characters in other places and other times, which is exactly what a devoted fan wants.

Be warned, this is the scary end of the shelf. Zombies are shot in the head and one head comes clean off. There's gunfire and blood, and an injured horse is put out of its misery. Expect some mild swearing too, and a bit of grown-up talk at that writers' party.

It's also best read AFTER the main books. The stories assume you know who everyone is and what they've been through. A newcomer will be a bit lost, and might bump into things the novels save for later.

For a confident older reader who loves horror with a grin, though, it's great fun.

What to read next

If they haven't met Skulduggery yet, start with the main Skulduggery Pleasant novels. The first one opens at Gordon Edgley's funeral, where his niece Stephanie notices a stranger in a hat, a scarf and enormous sunglasses.