Guess who read a book a month and a half ago and hasn't reviewed it yet? That would be your slightly tired and long-suffering book lass over here. I swear I meant to review The Whispering Skull with speed, but then I left to see the eclipse and then school started and... Oh dear. Well, it seems fitting, doesn't it, that there should be an unholy gap between reading this book and reviewing it, considering that there was also an unholy gap between reading the first and second books in this fine series.
If you haven't read the first book in this series, allow me to direct you to my review of that one first.
Six months after their mission in The Screaming Staircase, Lucy, Lockwood, and George have taken a job sealing the coffin of a Victorian doctor who may have communicated with the dead. In the process, a vicious ghost is unleashed and a dangerous artifact stolen and loosed upon the city. The Lockwood agents, along with their rivals from Fittes, are ordered to find the missing artifact and recover it before it kills again.
Lucy, Lockwood, and George enter into a surreptitious competition with their Fittes colleagues, taking them across London from grand parties to unsavory riversides. Before too long, the agents find themselves turning to the skull in the ghost jar.
Stroud is back again with his customary dark wit and extra-spicy characters. His writing is, as usual, sharp and thoroughly enjoyable. Lockwood books still feel relevant to me as a teenager; I'm rather afraid to revisit Bartimaeus because I might not find the exploits of that salty djinni as hilarious as I did when I was eleven ("not five times on the same pebble, once each on five different pebbles"; my paraphrase of a particularly memorable funny footnote in The Amulet of Samarkand--I used to have an entire conversation between Bartimaeus and Faquarl memorized). I think that Bartimaeus is intended for a slightly younger audience than Lockwood. I'm perfectly fine with that, having finished all four Bartimaeus books but only two Lockwoods. Stroud's Lockwood writing is darker, creepier, and more muted than his Bartimaeus writing, but it's still definitely him. Flourishing away with his comical mini-scenes, careful word choice, vivid descriptions, and one-line killer quips. And several-line Quill Kipps. And sentence-fragment punchlines.
I feel like lately I've been hearing a lot from various sources about how unpredictability in a plot is not necessarily a mark of quality, and how the surprises should be the details of the middle and not the entirety of the resolution. I think that Stroud does an admirable job of this. Of course you know that our heroes will survive and defeat the ghosts (at least the ones most immediately at hand), but it's all the unexpected backrooms and concealed identities and tense chases that make the story worthwhile. Stroud keeps the tension high and neatly balanced with humor; however, there was one moment that, while unexpected and seat-edge-sitting-inducing (had I not been leaning against my bed at the time), was implausible--our heroes truly should have died then and there. Otherwise, the mystery is deep, exciting, and ends with a whopper of a climax that is just as intriguing as the rest of the story--and ends exactly as it should (and HOW ABOUT THE VERY END, EH). The climax is one of the best I've read in a while: It features daring acts, astonishing revelations, intense emotion, an extreme setting, bluffing, walloping, rescuing, and character development. So good, friends. So good.
On a side note, the scene in Winkman's shop strongly reminded me of a scene from The Graveyard Book, which I read just a couple months before. I wonder if Stroud was inspired by that particular chapter of Neil Gaiman's novel.
Shall we delve into those spicy characters now? Lucy is magnificent as ever, and as tired as me finishing a chapter of Government by the People. I love her. She has such a clear voice that is reminiscent of Kitty from the Bartimaeus books, but is still her own. Lockwood is also great, but, reading the second book two and a half years after the first, I sense that his mystery is a bit over the top. In The Whispering Skull, said mystery pays off in the resolution of several bits of foreshadowing (that ending, eh), and he's becoming more human. Still, he is far from the most believable character. I have to wonder if he was inspired by someone our author had a crush on in high school. That's not necessarily a problem, but it can lead to some rather weird characters. At least it appears that Lucy is gently drifting towards some kind of solid romantic feeling for him (which, being me, I have things to say about, but we can come back to that later). Lockwood's portrayal would therefore make sense. George also gets some good old-fashioned character development in this book; I'm beginning to like him more and more. He's a nerd. I'm a nerd. What can I say? Stroud is skilled at good old-fashioned character development that doesn't hit readers over the head, which I appreciate. His characters are in their mid-to-late teens, so it makes sense that they subtly learn enormous things, exactly as he writes them. His side characters are also fairly solid; they don't always have a lot of personality, but that isn't necessary for a book that is both humorous and focuses heavily on just a few main characters.
Oh, did I mutter something about the looming romantic subplot? I think I did. Let's inspect that momentarily, in the bit that I seem to keep putting in my reviews of fiction and that would be appropriately termed An Annoyed Queer Reader Recommends Representation. If Stroud is indeed heading for a romantic subplot, then I appreciate his glacial speed. It is a good deal more realistic this way. Hopefully he doesn't suddenly rev the relationship engines in successive books. I'm going to be moderately obnoxious and complain that, if there is to be any pairing at all, it ought not to be Lucy and Lockwood. Why? There are indications that George experiences some jealousy regarding his two associates. That could simply be distress at the prospect of having his two friends distance themselves from him to Go Be In Love. It could also be that he has some kind of romantic feelings for one of said friends. I have to say I don't think that Lucy and George would be a great couple. I could actually see George and Lockwood working, though. But would Stroud ever go that route? I have little confidence. Or we could just have no romantic subplots! I can easily see Lockwood as aromantic! Or we could just have them all be in a romantic relationship together! That could be neat too! All right, I'm done.
I suppose that was my only problem (?) with the book. Therefore, we are nearing the end, dear readers.
In short, I would recommend The Whispering Skull to anyone who has read and enjoyed The Screaming Staircase. Maybe I'll read the third book in another two and a half years.
(I don't think you'll hear from me until mid-to-late November, which is when I expect to finish the titanic brick that is volume one of Tad Williams' To Green Angel Tower. See you then, lads.)
(Do you know how many freaking times I started typing The Screaming Staircase instead of The Whispering Skull? So many times. Why are they the same?)
(HOW ABOUT THE VERY END, EH)