Skulduggery Pleasant/YMMV


 * Alternate Character Interpretation:
 * Melancholia.  Or did she just go Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers?
 * Awesome Ego: Skulduggery.
 * Alas, Poor Villain:
 * is given a rather poignant final moment at the end of Mortal Coil.
 * Hilariously subverted, since he doesn't actually die.
 * Anvilicious:
 * Religious fundamentalists and cults are bad. However, while most of the religious people in the books are freaking insane, Valkyrie's family is Christian and a big deal isn't made out of it.
 * The War On Terror thing.
 * There are some Randian/Objectivist themes, though they're somewhat more subtle.
 * Landy obviously thinks that the relationship between Bella and Edward in Twilight is dangerous and unhealthy and viciously satirises it.
 * Complete Monster: Quite a few. There's Nefarian Serpine, Baron Vengeous, Dreylan Scarab, Dusk, Mevolent and Davina Marr. The Faceless Ones make them all look like pretty nice guys.
 * Crazy Awesome: Skulduggery refuses to give an answer on whether or not he is insane. Making that decision, he says, is the job of a psychiatrist. He is not a psychiatrist; he just punches people.
 * Die for Our Ship: Fletcher is considered by some Valduggery shippers to be either a complete moron or evil incarnate. Caelan on the other hand, is mercilessly mocked by just about everyone. Including the author.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Almost every single non-main character counts, although Ghastly and Sanguine seem to be the most popular.
 * Foe Yay: China Sorrows and Eliza Scorn.
 * Holy Shit Quotient:
 * Towards the end of Dark Days, it starts trending upwards and just keeps going.
 * Death Bringer. That is all.
 * Magnificent Bastard:
 * China Sorrows is a prime example of this trope. And in heels too!
 * Nefarian Serpine.
 * Narm Charm: A chunk of the series has some of this starting out due to rampant Awesome McCoolname syndrome, though justified because everyone chooses their own name. The names "Valkyrie Cain" and "China Sorrows" sound more like Dick Tracy characters, but they make it badass. And the name Lord Vile sounds really Narm-y...
 * Squick:
 * It's a piece of Hollow Man skin - in your hair.
 * Valkyrie certainly seems to think so.
 * Even moreso when you think about it.
 * On a somewhat more light hearted note,
 * The end of Death Bringer has Valkyrie biting that... thing to get it off her while they try to get away from . Even Melancholia stops being mean to her for a moment.
 * Wangst: Caelan, although it's quite deliberate.
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: This series is advertised for children 9 and up. This would utterly shock the people who have read the series without knowing this.
 * The Woobie:
 * Fletcher in Death Bringer.
 * Ryan.
 * The Woobie:
 * Fletcher in Death Bringer.
 * Ryan.