Book Review: The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events #10)

Release Date: September 23, 2003
Author: Lemony Snicket
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Length: 337 pages
Source: Purchased Book

Dear Reader,

Like handshakes, house pets, or raw carrots, many things are preferable when not slippery. Unfortunately, in this miserable volume, I am afraid that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their harrowing journey up--and down--a range of strange and distressing mountains.

In order to spare you any further repulsion, it would be best not to mention any of the unpleasant details of this story, particularly a secret message, a toboggan, a deceitful map, a swarm of snow gnats, a scheming villain, a troupe of organized youngsters, a covered casserole dish, and a surprising survivor of a terrible fire.

Unfortunately, I have dedicated my life to researching and recording the sad tale of the Baudelaire orphans. There is no reason for you to dedicate your-self to such things, and you might instead dedicate yourself to letting this slippery book slip from your hands into a nearby trash receptacle, or deep pit.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

    

Review:

Protagonists: As the last installment left off, 2/3rds of our heroes headed toward certain doom, I will ease your suffering now and tell you that they survive the start of this most unfortunate journey. However, this tale of the Mortmain Mountains and what the Baudelaire's discovered there, like so many installments before, isn't a happy tale. In this installment, our heroes are still struggling between right and wrong, or more accurately, between selfish deeds and selfless ones.  As with other installments this late into the series that attempt to provide some actual character development into the story, I have to say that I appreciate the attempt, but the struggle feels hollow when it's not fleshed out more and explored. It ends up feeling more like a large game of chicken rather than a struggle with a hard choice. I will admit that it was nice seeing them interact with someone around their own age as they haven't really had a chance to do that since the Quagmire triplets had to escape.

World Building: Taking place in a dark and dangerous mountain range and probably one of the most secluded locations the Baudelaire's have visited,  this installment starts to flesh out the world a lot more. While many questions still remain, this installment begins answering questions on the mind of readers since Duncan and Isadora were kidnapped by Count Olaf shouting three letters at the Baudelaires. This is actually sort of the beginning of the end, as this is the start of as much clarification on this world, and these mysteries that have been brewing for many books, that we will get in this series. I will bring up again though, that I wish there was more depth to the world that we get. I know this series is supposed to be absurdist and out there and a more concrete world could conflict with that style, yet the Netflix series adds depth to the stories while still keeping the absurdist and dark comedy that made this series so popular in the first place. Granted I shouldn't be comparing the two since this came out first and because so it has not exactly aged very well.

Predictability: I actually forgot a good deal about this installment. However, that didn't stop me from knowing most of the important information and twists that this story held, mainly because there aren't many. Due to the nature of these stories, it's not hard to predict what turmoil the story will take next and what small reprieves the children may be given. There is a pretty big twist in this tale for those who haven't read this book before and it's a really great twist too, but it's probably the only surprising thing in the entire story.

Ending: So, honestly, while there are a few insane things that happen at the end of this story, there's nothing to make the twists feel like they count. I guess when you have a series of unfortunate events, another unfortunate event, no matter how unpredictable, though this one is pretty predictable, doesn't hold as much weight when stacked up against other unfortunate events. The final climax was pretty good, and there are a few changes to the typical formula of this series, but at the end of the day, while the ending is pretty exciting, compared to the other ending in this series so far, it feels a tad underwhelming.

Rating:

So, while this is the beginning of the end, and answers are coming, at least a few answers are coming, and things are getting more intense, but still as with the other installments in this series it feels that the depth of the story is sacrificed for the absurdist comedy and "brand" of this series.

Book Review: The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events #9)

Release Date: October 17, 2002
Author: Lemony Snicket
Publisher: HarperCollins
Length: 286 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Library Audiobook

Dear Reader,

The word "carnivorous," which appears in the title of this book, means "meat-eating," and once you have read such a bloodthirsty word, there is no reason to read any further. This carnivorous volume contains such a distressing story that consuming any of its contents would be far more stomach-turning than even the most imbalanced meal.
To avoid causing discomfort, it would be best if I didn't mention any of the unnerving ingredients of this story, particularly a confusing map, an ambidextrous person, an unruly crowd, a wooden plank, and Chabo the Wolf Baby.
Sadly for me, my time is filled with researching and recording the displeasing and disenchanting lives of the Baudelaire orphans. But your time might be better filled with something more palatable, such as eating your vegetables, or feeding them to someone else.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket.

    

Review:

Protagonists: So, for a while there I was really doubting if I actually read any character development with the three Baudelaire children later in the series. I mean, I know that Sunny has a bit of development in the later books, first foreshadowed in this one actually, but I wasn't sure if as I child I had just filled in the blanks in my head or not. Luckily, when I reread the previous installment, I was happy to finally find some internal conflict with these characters, though part of me doubted if it would continue, and luckily again, it does. In this story, the Baudelaires face a lot of internal conflict as they've sort of turned the tables on Count Olaf, and are now the ones following him and dressing up in disguises. However, the parallels are not lost on them and they are forced to make many difficult decisions, which, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for me, forces them to look at their own morality and wonder if they've crossed a line. I was happy to get more internal conflict with these characters, and while I do wish there was more individuality among them, other than their personal talents, I did enjoy seeing some real character development with them.

World Building: So, while I gave the series a lot of flack for its underdeveloped world in previous reviews, and that is sort of true here, I did feel we got a bit more world-building in this story, a lot more actually, now that I think about it. In the past things would just sort of feel vague and hand waved and just a bit too simplistic, however in this book we do learn more about the world, or I guess we learn more about VFD and a lot of the mysteries that have been building up for some time, we learn answers to questions that I'm sure many a reader has had since as early as The Wide Window or  The Miserable Mill. That all being said, I wish I understood better how this world worked, I wish we knew where this story takes place, if it even takes place in our world, or just one like it lost to time. I just feel like the world itself could have been handled a bit better.

Foreshadowing: So, I didn't really notice that much foreshadowing for future books in this installment. I mean sure there are questions brought up that I know will be answered later, but I couldn't pick up on any Easter Eggs for future books like I could with The Hostile Hospital. As for foreshadowing for this specific book, well Lemony Snicket does a fantastic job once again of telling just enough of the story ahead of time to give you fair warning, but at the same time keep enough suspense to drive you further along in the series.

Ending: Once again things are shaken up a bit here at the end. With a rather riotous finale that I was excited to see had callbacks to previous events in the series, followed by more and more unfortunate events, the climax really ended with a bang. There is a small cooldown period where things look a bit dicey but mostly safe, only to find the Baudelaires in their most unfortunate ending yet. This ends the arc that Season 2 of the Netflix series will cover, and with it, and based on the end of the first season, I have an idea about how it will end using my knowledge of the rest of the series, and if it ends how I think it will, it'll have those not in the know freaking out!

Rating:

I thought about giving this story 5, or even 4.5 stars, and while I really enjoyed this installment upon a reread, I just can't help but feel like we aren't getting enough. I mean, we finally get more character development and more world-building, but after looking it over we don't get that much, it only felt like a lot at the time because there wasn't that much in the beginning of the series, and it didn't feel right giving this book a higher star rating, on par with a lot better books, just because it's incrementally getting better.

Book Review: The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events #8)

Release Date: January 31, 2001
Author: Lemony Snicket
Publisher: HarperCollins
Length: 255 pages
Source: Purchased Book/Library Audiobook

Dear Reader,

Before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible, you should probably know why. This book is the only one which describes every last detail of the Baudelaire children's miserable stay at Heimlich Hospital, which makes it one of the most dreadful books in the world.

There are many pleasant things to read about, but this book contains none of them. Within its pages are such burdensome details as a suspicious shopkeeper, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about a fire. Clearly, you do not want to read about such things.

I have sworn to research this story, and to write it down as best I can, so I should know that this book is something best left on the ground, where you undoubtedly found it.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

    

Review:

Characters: Okay, so I've been really bummed that the Baudelaires were extremely underdeveloped in the previous books. One of my biggest problems with their characters is that all of their conflicts come from an external source. We don't get to see them really struggle with certain things or have a large range of emotions, a lot of the time they're either scared, happy, or just content. Also, going along the lines of the fact that they are severely underdeveloped, we don't get to see a range of interests, it's gotten to the point where, when we are reminded of the children's individual talents, I sort of just groan and go, "I get it, Violet's an inventor, Klaus is a researcher, and Sunny likes to bite things!" That all being said about previous installments in this series, this book does slowly, and honestly not that much but I'll take all I can get, develop the kids and we finally get to see a bit of internal conflict with them as, now that they are on the run, and apparently live in a world full of idiotic adults, they make some morally gray decisions to understand what's going on.

World Building: Have I talked about how bland and boring the world building is yet. I mean in the series overall. I liked the sort of timeless or I guess a more apt description is old-timey, not timeless, feel to the world when I first started rereading the series, but it's just sort of gotten boring at this point. I get that this is a series for children, but I've read plenty of "children's" books that don't dumb things down, or resort to the "children are smart, adults are idiots" trope. Actually the more I think about it the more I feel that it would be amazing if the author rewrote the series for an older audience, expanding the stories and adding a sense of authenticity to the plot. He could flesh out the characters, build out the world, and really dive deep into the fascinating lore of the world. Though I guess the Netflix series does a pretty good job of that, so maybe not.

Foreshadowing: So, I never really noticed this in the previous installments, and maybe this installment is just a turning point for the series as a whole, but there's a lot of foreshadowing in this book. Not just for this particular installment, but for most of the rest of the series as a whole. There are little things that, if you're rereading the series like I am, they kind of make you pause and think about certain plot points for the rest of the series that you wouldn't think about before. Certain descriptions, similes, or anecdotes the author provides in this book really caught me by surprise and made me smile in that nostalgic way when I read them/or a guess listened to them since I read the audiobook (which I highly recommend as Tim Curry is a brilliant narrator for these books.)

Ending: This has got to be one of the best endings for the series as more so than ever the formula is shaken up, We see the children take some agency in their story and it leads them to a very interesting shelter, or I guess makeshift shelter. The final climax of the book was rather typical and honestly didn't have a lot of real-world authenticity to it, but again it's a kid's book, I just wish some of it was grounded in reality because if children reading this book tried to recreate something that happens at the end it could lead to some very serious injuries. The ending is a fantastic cliffhanger as the children find themselves in the most dangerous situation yet.

Rating:

I'm honestly surprised that I'm giving this book as high a rating as I am. I always thought that The Austere Academy was my favorite from this series and I do believe that there are a lot of great things about that book, particularly the setting, but in terms of finally feeling like this series is going somewhere and shaking things up, this might be the best one. Woah!