mandimartin's review
3.0
I don't know what the purpose of this book was or what thought went into it. I enjoyed it and it had some wonderful Snickety humor, but it wasn't brilliant. I suppose the charm of his books wears off quite a bit with age. I would love to read this through 12 year old eyes, but most unfortunately can't. I think it deserves a 3.5.
littlemustard's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sandraagee's review
4.0
It's hard to know what to make of this latest Lemony Snicket effort. Mostly I like it.
The Good:
1) I love Snicket/Handler's writing style. Wordplay! Literary references! Weird noir style!
2) Just as with A Series of Unfortunate Events, it's lots of fun to see child characters rise up above adult stupidity.
3) Have I mentioned the weirdness? The whimsy? It's what I love best about Snicket/Handler's style.
The Not-So-Good:
1) It's a little lacking in the closure department. Yes, this is what sequels are for. But since we have to wait so long for the next book a little more closure might have been nice.
2) There is almost no reference at all to characters or events from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Even Snicket's mysterious organization - which we can only presume to be VFD - isn't mentioned by name. Didn't really bother me, but I can see this being a disappointment for some ASoUE fans.
Compared to ASoUE (and how can you not compare the two?) this book falls a bit more strongly into the classical mystery genre. Where ASoUE was gothic, [b:Who Could That Be At This Hour|13477819|Who Could That Be At This Hour?|Lemony Snicket|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333060600s/13477819.jpg|19008874] is more noir. But it totally works. I want the next few volumes right now because I'm dying to know where exactly Snicket will be going with this.
The Good:
1) I love Snicket/Handler's writing style. Wordplay! Literary references! Weird noir style!
2) Just as with A Series of Unfortunate Events, it's lots of fun to see child characters rise up above adult stupidity.
3) Have I mentioned the weirdness? The whimsy? It's what I love best about Snicket/Handler's style.
The Not-So-Good:
1) It's a little lacking in the closure department. Yes, this is what sequels are for. But since we have to wait so long for the next book a little more closure might have been nice.
2) There is almost no reference at all to characters or events from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Even Snicket's mysterious organization - which we can only presume to be VFD - isn't mentioned by name. Didn't really bother me, but I can see this being a disappointment for some ASoUE fans.
Compared to ASoUE (and how can you not compare the two?) this book falls a bit more strongly into the classical mystery genre. Where ASoUE was gothic, [b:Who Could That Be At This Hour|13477819|Who Could That Be At This Hour?|Lemony Snicket|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333060600s/13477819.jpg|19008874] is more noir. But it totally works. I want the next few volumes right now because I'm dying to know where exactly Snicket will be going with this.
thunderstorms_books_and_cats's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lucifer_the_cat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
luciovalencia's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
wombat_88's review
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
talia1353's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
arminkhojir's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
alreadyover's review
3.0
The word may be overused, but here's the thing about this book: it lives on vibes and vibes alone. Yes the location is cool as hell, the characters are all interesting and unique, and Snicket's writing is great, but all these factors fundamentally rely on The Vibe. The Vibe of a small eerie town and a loose cannon of a detective and a central mystery clouded over with a dozen other mysteries. The Vibe of streetlights in dark alleyways and empty libraries and men who lurk in the shadows. The. Vibe.
If memory serves, future books give more character and relationship development meaning The Vibe does not have to carry the whole thing, but for now it's all the book really has outside of nostalgia and it's connection to ASOUE. I'd probably rate it higher for the mystery, but knowing the disappointing ending the very good foundations are dampened somewhat.
Tl;dr. If you have ever read a Raymond Chandler book and thought "MAN do I wish this were targeted towards children" this is the series for you babe!!
If memory serves, future books give more character and relationship development meaning The Vibe does not have to carry the whole thing, but for now it's all the book really has outside of nostalgia and it's connection to ASOUE. I'd probably rate it higher for the mystery, but knowing the disappointing ending the very good foundations are dampened somewhat.
Tl;dr. If you have ever read a Raymond Chandler book and thought "MAN do I wish this were targeted towards children" this is the series for you babe!!