From the back cover:
To: My Kind Editor

Top secret—only for readers deeply interested in the Baudelaire case. How I pity those readers.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
Cons? Rather pointless and reminds me of the Griffin & Sabine series with its obscure epistolary nature. Pros? Short!

No answers are forthcoming in this series of letters, but we do get some tiny hints as to what occurred after the events of The End. This book could very easily be skipped, and definitely shouldn’t be approached with any expectation of clarity.

From the back cover:
Dear Reader,

You are presumably looking at the back of this book, or the end of THE END. The end of THE END is the best place to begin THE END, because if you read THE END from the beginning of the beginning of THE END to the end of the end of THE END, you will arrive at the end of the end of your rope.

This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably can’t stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents.

It has been my solemn occupation to complete the history of the Baudelaire orphans, and at last I am finished. You likely have some other occupation, so if I were you I would drop this book at once, so THE END does not finish you.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
Unfortunately, I found the final volume of A Series of Unfortunate Events to be somewhat of a disappointment. The first half is dull, and one feels that time that could’ve been used to settle some mysteries has been squandered. A couple of things are finally formally clarified, but a lot is left up in the air or, as the book puts it, in the Great Unknown.

At the same time, though, the point is made in the book that we seldom do get answers to all of our questions, which is certainly true. The orphans conveniently discovering all of the answers in the final volume would be satisfying, but it would also be too simple for a series that has spent the last few volumes dwelling on life’s ambiguities. I’m still annoyed, but perhaps not as much as I would be under other circumstances.

From the back cover:
Dear Reader,

If this is the first book you found while searching for a book to read next, then the first thing you should know is that this next-to-last book is what you should put down first. Sadly, this book presents the next-to-last chronicle of the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, and it is next-to-first in its supply of misery, despair, and unpleasantness.

Probably the next-to-last things you would like to read about are a harpoon gun, a rooftop sunbathing salon, two mysterious initials, three unidentified triplets, a notorious villain, and an unsavory curry.

Next-to-last things are the first thing to be avoided, and so allow me to recommend that you put this next-to-last book down first, and find something else to read next at last, such as the next-to-last book in another chronicle, or a chronicle containing other next-to-last things, so that this next-to-last book does not become the last book you will read.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
I found the first half of this book not to be very interesting. About midway through, however, a character appears and spurs a new direction. The last half was great, expounding on the themes of moral ambiguity and less-than-perfect loved ones that were introduced in The Grim Grotto. The Baudelaires are again compelled to act in a manner less noble than they would wish. One thing in particular, though it had been alluded to in an early chapter, completely stunned me.

This book is the darkest yet in the series. Although it doesn’t answer any new questions, there is nonetheless the feeling of wrapping up some things, leaving the way clear for the final resolution in the concluding volume. My enthusiasm had kind of waned for this series (I read the previous volume two months ago), but this installment successfully rejuvenated it.

From the back cover:
Dear Reader,

Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater.

In fact, the horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn’t want me even to mention the worst of it, which includes mushrooms, a desperate search for something lost, a mechanical monster, a distressing message from a lots friend, and tap dancing.

As a dedicated author who has pledged to keep recording the depressing story of the Baudelaires, I must continue to delve deep into the cavernous depths of the orphans’ lives. You, on the other hand, may delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being dampened.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:
This installment was really fun. The orphans actually fall in with some pleasant company, and the whole underwater atmosphere was really neat. I suppose the main plot ultimately did not advance much, though the ending kind of made up for that.

What I specially liked were the bits about moral ambiguities. How V.F.D. isn’t entirely this faultless organization. How it’s hard to acknowledge that someone you love isn’t perfect. And how no person is ever going to be entirely virtuous or entirely villainous. Here’s a great quote:

People aren’t either wicked or noble. They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.

The only false note I really noticed is that if someone swallows a spoonful of a certain condiment swallowed in this book, one is going to react a lot more violently than a mere shudder.

From the back cover:
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 trap, 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 yourself 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:
Hooray, lots of stuff happened! We get answers to some questions, make progress on others, and encounter a few new mysteries, to boot. Also, it seems like my prediction of what V.F.D. stands for might actually be correct.

Besides plot-related things, there’s also some interesting character growth this volume. Violet and Sunny in particular go through a few changes, and the older kids very nearly fight villainy with villainy. They have a bit of angst about possibly becoming villains themselves, what with having worn disguises the previous volume and been a bit deceitful, etc. It really gives a strong double-meaning to the title.