kgbooklog

Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril
Harper Collins, (2005) ISBN: 0-06-441015-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-441015-1
Score: 5

Twelfth book in the Series of Unfortunate Events, this is not a good place to start the series (books 2-4 are the only ones that can be read out of order). Practically every character (who's still alive) from the previous books is mentioned, and most also appear in this book. This is not a good thing. And the orphans go undercover to try to figure out who is a volunteer and who is a villain. This isn't good either. In fact, this book is a bit grimmer and more morally ambiguous than the previous ones (we see the consequences of the setting's lack of competent adults). It answers many questions no one thought to ask, such as: "What was Mr. Baudelaire's first name?", "How did Olaf's parents die?", "Why did Mrs. Bass rob a bank?", "Is the Poe family the only one that doesn't have three kids every generation?", "What do the man-with-a-beard-but-no-hair and the woman-with-hair-but-no-beard do for a living?", and "Who is the father of Kit's child?" None of the answers are pleasant.

Here's a quote that I'm sure james_nicoll can find a use for:
"I suppose I'll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies."

Next Book: Lawrence Watt-Evans, Ithanalin's Restoration