Customer Reviews

The Slippery Slope By Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10)

5 star:		(175)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Though this book was very anticipated, it doesn't meet certain expectations and in my opinion, not really the best of the series.

I think Violet's inventions in this book weren't very fascinating as in the other books... or Klaus' researchings... and I didn't like the fact that Sunny and the elder Baudelaires were separated so much of the time. Definitely not one of the best...

But still, it is Lemony Snicket.

I read this book in a hour and my head was spinning after it. First someone the orphans hoped never to see again returns (No, it's not Count Olaf, though of course, he's still there.) Then a surprisng survivor of the fire... very shocking indeed. Additionally, 2 new VERY mysterious characters... and "the last safe place."

SO MUCH of V.F.D's secrets are revealed in this book, but not all of them.

If you haven't read the earlier books of the series, you really want to read THOSE first before this one. If you HAVE read the other books of the series, BUY THIS BOOK NOW! I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Okay, I'm ready for Book the Eleventh now. The mystery of V.F.D. is killing me.

This book is amazing! Not only does it have the usual dose of the incomprable Snicket's wit, but quite possibly the best-crafted and most exciting plot so far in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Its infinate twists and turns are sure to give immense delight to anyone, as they did to me, and leave the reader anxious to find out what happens next. There's a shock near the middle of the book that is absolutely mind-blowing--unexpected yet logical. And it shines further light into VFD, and FINALLY, we're getting a clearer picture of what the thing is, what it does, and what has happened to it. Also, where I felt the other books were short and over far too quickly, this one (though it still has the same ridiculously large font) actually seems novel length and gives justice to the story. I can't recommend this book enough! Read the others first, don't take the "unfortunate" aspect too seriously, and enjoy this one as I did!

With all due respect,
A Lemony Snicket fan

The Slippery Slope is the latest installment--the tenth thirteen-chaptered book in a series that will eventually comprise thirteen books--in Lemony Snicket's *Series of Unfortunate Events.* The books are the product of Snicket's tireless research into the wretched lives of the three Baudelaire orphans, fourteen-year-old Violet, an inventor, her well-read brother Klaus, and their preternaturally accomplished baby sister Sunny. The siblings are orphaned in the first book in the series: as they are later informed by the apparently well-meaning but ineffectual Mr. Poe, the executor of their parents' considerable estate, a terrible fire consumes the children's home one day while they are off at the beach. The circumstances of the fire are, one must conclude, highly suspicious.

Mr. Poe's efforts to place the siblings with a guardian land them first in the squalid home of a distant relative, a uni-browed actor by the name of Count Olaf, who begins scheming at once to make off with the Baudelaire fortune. Olaf's villainous activity continues throughout the series and very often involves his employment of outlandish disguises which no one but the Baudelaires is capable of seeing through. ("Some people called this man wicked. Some called him facinorous, which is a fancy word for 'wicked.' But everyone called him Count Olaf, unless he was wearing one of his ridiculous disguises and making people call him a false name.") As Olaf's girlfriend puts it in The Slippery Slope, "money and personal satisfaction" make Olaf's relentless efforts to seize the Baudelaires' fortune worth the trouble: "Once we have our hands on the Baudelaire fortune, we'll have enough money to live a life of luxury and plan several more treacherous schemes!"

Olaf's villainy is a constant throughout the series, and so is the author's linguistic playfulness--his clever aphorisms ("Taking one's chances is like taking a bath, because sometimes you end up feeling comfortable and warm, and sometimes there is something terrible lurking around that you cannot see until it is too late and you can do nothing else but scream and cling to a plastic duck") ; his amusing verbal tics ("a phrase which here means..."). There are also hints throughout the series about the enigmatic, rarely photographed Snicket's curious life. References to his "pulling aside a bearskin rug in order to access a hidden trapdoor in the floor", for example, or to spending months on a mountain with "only a lantern and a rhyming dictionary for company" slip into the narrative. Snicket is evidently on the run--from whom it is not clear--and so he wisely employs as his legal, literary, and social representative a certain Daniel Handler, who is himself, as coincidence would have it, the author of novels for adults.

I should confess that I am half in love with Mr. Snicket, and I would pledge myself to him eternally were it not for a previous commitment of my own and Lemony's apparent devotion to the deceased Beatrice, to whom he dedicates each of his books (for example, "To Beatrice--darling, dearest, dead"). But I *can* pledge myself to the task of promoting his research into the Baudelaires' lives, and urge you to buy Snicket's books, however filled with horrors they may be, and however much your possession of them may imperil you.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Where the last book in the Series of Unfortunate Events (The Carnivorous Carnival) left off Violet and Klaus were hurtling down a mountain in a caravan while their baby sister Sunny was in Count Olaf's clutches. Violet and Klaus manage to stop the caravan and start to walk up the mountain, where they encounter snow gnats and the Snow Scouts. They meet up with Quigly Quagmire, who was thought to be dead, and find the V.F.D. that has been burnt to a crisp by a raging fire. There Quigly, Violet, and Klaus start planning how to save their sister.

This book, like the others in this series, is one that adventure lovers will treasure, because Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have many adventures, including hiking on a mountain, crawling through a rocky passageway, and climbing up a frozen waterfall. I do not recommend it to people who love books with happy endings and people who love books where the villain is defeated.

In this book, unlike the others in this series, Klaus and Violet almost become villains themselves to save their sister, but stop just in time. Lemony Snicket's suspenseful novel will have readers hooked even after it ends, and they will be waiting anxiously for the next book to see what happens to Violet, Klaus, and Sunny.

Some people may find themselves even more frustrated at the end of this tenth and longest installment in the series. Once again this book is more great fun as Sunny is held captive by Olaf, and Klaus and Violet set out to rescue her. Some new characters are introduced, and some more secrets are revealed regarding VFD. It seems strange to say that I missed reading about their misery, but I did, and it's glad to have them back. One can only hope that by the end of this planned thirteen book series, the orphans will find a very fortunate ending.

I bought these books originally for my son, but I became hooked immediately. I thought this was one of the better of the series. The main story line is more developed in this book giving tantalzing clues to the ultimate denouement. I continue to enjoy Sunny's baby language and my son and I have spent some time with this book looking up the meanings of her "gibberish". He was astounded to learn that most of her utterings actually mean something. Lemony Snicket is a clever author and weaves poetry and other liteary generes into his books. I also appreciate that this is a finite series that is building to a climactic ending.

The slippery slope(Book the Tenth) is probably one of the best books out of the series of unfortunate events. I do have to admit that at the end it doesn't answer all your questions and leaves you with new mysteries. There are a lot of suprising parts in this book and I bet you anything that there is going to be another book coming out soon. This book is worth every penny and is great I read it in less than a month and it is the longest book out of the series so far.

Imagine that you were kidnapped by Count Olaf and had to do all the chores like cooking, and pitching tents, while you watched him and his accomplices do nothing except try to think up a scheme to steal the Baudelaire fortune. This is just of what the youngest of three siblings has to face in this book which is called, a Series of Unfortunate Events: the Slippery Slope, by Lemony Snicket. It is a story with little bit of everything

First the most important reason that this book is so great is that it feels like the things are really happening in it. The author has mentioned that he has been to some of the places that the Baudelaire's have been to. Also that it is his job to record the story of the Baudelaire children. The author Lemony Snicket writes about them as if they are real people. I think it sometimes can be very really realistic

Also my second most important reason that this book is the best book is that it is very adventurous. They have so many good adventures in this book, like sledding down a half frozen waterfall. They also climb up a very long Vertical Flame Diversion, which acts as a chimney and a passageway. In addition this book is so interesting that you couldn't help but enjoy it. When you want a good book to read that has a lot of excitement you need to read this book.

Next, the third most important reason that this book is the best book that you could read is that it really helps you understand some hard words, and words that they just invent. If the baby in the story talks the author translates. If you are confused about some big words you don't usually have to worry because it will define some of the harder words. Since this book helps with defining words it also helps you expand your vocabulary. There may be some difficult words, but don't let that discourage you from reading this amazing book.

Furthermore, the last reason that this book is the best book I've read is because it is very detailed. It expands with words and what happens in a scene in the story. It has quite a few pages but it isn't really hard to read once you get into it. All those pages Just make the story all the more detailed. Because of this book being so detailed it will keep you entertained.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that this really is one of my favorite books out of all the books I've read because the author makes it seem as if the things that the Baudelaire's have been to seem very real. The age for this book would probably be 10 and above because it has some words younger children may not understand. The average interest group for this book is probably people who like adventurous books because there is so much goi g book.ng on that you will never want to put it down. If you did happen to get kidnapped by Count Olaf how might you manage all that work, especially if you were a baby? Find out how sunny did in this captivating book. You will find that the excitement and suspense in this book will make you wish it were longer so you could read more. Everybody should want to read this amazin

Reading through the other reviews for this book, there seems to be a common complaint that the latest installment in the "Unfortunate Events" series has not lived up to readers' expectations. I actually found the book very absorbing, and I appreciated the small changes the author had made to his writing style and the book's structure.

Although the series is known for its stream of depressing events and its dark humour, when I read the books in the series back-to-back I get very sick of my heart dropping lower and lower and the twist in my stomach getting increasingly tighter as the Baudelaire orphans experience disappointment after disappointment. Reading the series becomes almost painful. It also becomes very frustrating when no mysteries are solved and apparent clues lead to dead ends again and again. The novelty only lasts for so long. I feel that in this book, the author FINALLY moved away from this predictable structure and instilled some hope back into readers, and thus some interest back into the story. Yet he did not abandon the writing style that makes this series so loved. The same funny definitions and word games, and the author's uniquely despondent writing style, still liven up the story. I particularly loved the Snow Scouts Slogan and, as usual, Esmé Squalor's antics.

One criticism I have, though, is that although this book was much longer than those that came before it, I think less actually HAPPENED. The characters pretty much remained in the same situation throughout the tale. This is similar to the Harry Potter books, which get increasingly longer as they get increasingly popular, yet the added length is only due to a more long-winded writing style, which makes reading the later books in the series more tedious.

I got this book the day after it came out, and i must say I couldn't put it down. I read it in 3 days flat. It's 300-something pages and very thrilling and at the end leaves you hanging. If you liked the other books in the series, you'll LOVE this one!!!
PS Have you noticed all the books have thirteen chapters? Hmm...
PPS This is the best!!