Skulduggery Pleasant vs The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Magicians, Wizards, Magic, Fantasy fiction, Fantasy, Children's fiction
Skulduggery Pleasant
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Meet the great Skulduggery Pleasant: wise-cracking detective, powerful magician, master of dirty tricks and burglary (in the name of the greater good, of course). Oh yeah. And dead. Then there's his sidekick, Stephanie.…
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
“There was once a kindly old wizard who used his magic generously and wisely for the benefit of his neighbors.”
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A collection fairy tales for young wizards and witches, with each story followed by observations on Wizarding history, personal reminiscences, and information on the story's key elements by Hogwarts headmaster, Albus…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 7 for Skulduggery Pleasant.
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard has the widest readership — 829 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Skulduggery Pleasant | The Tales of Beedle the Bard | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.1 (17) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (216) | 3.8 (829) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 4.0 (4) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (92) | 4.5 (312) |
Reception
| Skulduggery Pleasant | The Tales of Beedle the Bard | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 216 | 829 |
| Editions | 26 | 44 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 10633 | 3424 |
| Pages | 392 | 142 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Skulduggery Pleasant or The Tales of Beedle the Bard?
Skulduggery Pleasant has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Skulduggery Pleasant 4.1/5, The Tales of Beedle the Bard 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Skulduggery Pleasant or The Tales of Beedle the Bard?
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Tales of Beedle the Bard (142 pages, ≈ 2 h 38 m); Skulduggery Pleasant (392 pages, ≈ 7 h 16 m).
Which is harder to read: Skulduggery Pleasant or The Tales of Beedle the Bard?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Skulduggery Pleasant: Easy; The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Light.