Before you read this review of the first book in the new series by Lemony Snicket, ask yourself these questions:
1. Did you read Lemony Snicket's previous book, WCTBATH?
a) Yes.
b) What bath?
2. Can two people be in the same place at once?
a) No, of course not!
b) Wait, who's the person?
3. Can you make invisible ink?
a) With a good amount of lemons, yes.
b)
4. What does a failing company, several missing people, and a biting tadpole have to do with anything?
a) Um... 2 more books?
b) Spoilers.
WDYSHL, or When did you see her Last, is the sequel to WCTBATH, and follows the story of Lemony and Theodora trying to track down Cleo Knight, a chemist whose family runs the ink business in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Lemony and Theodora visit the Knight's house, but find out the Knight parent's apothecary has drugged them to the point they are practically incoherent. From there, Lemony gets two leads: one from Polly Partial, the grocer, and another from Jake Hix, who works at the diner in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Both Polly and Jake claim to have seen Cleo that morning, Polly without her fancy Dilemma, (a car) and Jake with. The Bellerophon brothers, nicknamed Pip and Squeak, give evidence that Jake's witness is correct when they tell Lemony that Cleo did not ride their taxi. He asks them for a ride to the Mallahan Lighthouse, where he asks Moxie to give him a haircut. Confused, Moxie complies. Through a series of events which include foreshadowing for the next book, Snicket gets arrested, which leads to the Mitchums lining up Stew, Lemony, and Moxie and asking Polly Partial to pick the thief. When Polly thinks Stew is the thief, the Mitchums are enraged. This confirms that not only is Polly a terrible witness, but the Mitchums won't arrest their son, no matter what he does. Therefore, it is set in stone that Jake's witness was the true one. Lemony then goes to the library with Moxie. There, Moxie learns about Colonel Colophon (Hey look! ASOUE alliteration!) a teetotaller who was a hero in a war, then hospitalized due to a terrible bombing over a dispute about a statue. Lemony finds a suspicious figure lurking outside the library an goes to investigate. She leads him to a building where he finds Ellington, who is disguised as Cleo Knight. Lemony offers to help her escape, which takes time to involve another piece of foreshadowing for the 4th book. They meet up at Black Cat Coffee, where Lemony gives her the Bombinating Beast again. The Mitchums catch up to them, and Stew reveals that he is working with Hangfire. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Moxie is furious with Lemony as Lemony promises to explain everything while they go to Hungry's again. Jake reveals all he knows to Lemony, that he and Cleo are dating, and that Cleo went to Handkerchief Heights to continue her research on invisible ink, but he tells Jake that Cleo never arrived there. Moxie and both go to Colophon Clinic, where he runs into Colonel Colophon himself, who turns out to be Hangfire. Hangfire almost throws Lemony out a window, but Jake bursts in with Cleo's Dilemma, causing the building to almost collapse. Lemony and Jake both find Cleo, who has cornered the Knight's apothecary. He had Nurse Dander, who wounded Moxie with a knife, are both arrested.
The summary was super long, I know, but I'm going to make this short because, well, I don't feel like I have much to add to my previous review. Jake is a lot like Moxie, supportive but not a pushover, Ellington is as dubious as ever, and Theodora is as ignorant as she was in the last book. Cleo was a bit different, and making her strong, and clever (and not just in chemistry, either!) is a reversal on social norms. In fact, this book does make an effort to hone that in. Theodora mentions many times how "un-man-like" Lemony is, with his interest in a clue in the form on Cleo's clothes and his loyalty to Ellington. Jake, the man, is given the kitchen duties, and Cleo is the person that does her job outside. This continues ASOUE's trend of inserting serious issues into kid's books (responsible consumption of media, grey ethics, discrimination of disabled), this time addressing gender roles, but not for the first time. ("My sister is a nice girl, and she knows how to do all sorts of things." —Klaus Baudelaire, The Reptile Room)
Stew gets a major leap in this book, heck all of the Mitchums do. Stew has his parents wrapped around his finger. The Mitchums outright refuse to acknowledge that Stew can do any wrong. You know what this reminds me of? Ishmael and the islanders from The End. Ishmael has the islanders under his control, and everyone agrees with him, no matter what. (Or at least, until the Baudelaires show up) The islanders, if they really want to, can mutiny and force Ishmael off the island (which they almost do), just like the Mitchums can turn Stew in. The one thing that's hindering them from doing so is the islanders' attachment to a safe haven, like the Mitchums' attachment to Stew. As for Stew's huge dip down, here we learn that Stew is working with the Inhumane Society, calling another parallel to Carmletia Spats, who joined Olaf. As Lemony himself put it, "We are all told to ignore bullies. It's something they teach you, and they can teach you anything. It doesn't mean you learn it. It doesn't mean you believe it. One should never ignore bullies. One should stop them."
In conclusion, I really liked this book. Is it as good as ASOUE? How will this connect to the rest of ASOUE? What's caviar? You might say that those are All the Wrong Questions.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
All the Wrong Questions: Who could that be at this Hour? by Lemony Snicket
Before you read this review of the first book in the new series by Lemony Snicket, ask yourself these questions:
1. Did you read Lemony Snicket's previous series, A Series of Unfortunate Events?
a) No.
b) Why do you ask?
2. Did you enjoy Lemony's writing style in his previous books?
a) Yes.
b) Yes, a word which here means, "I enjoyed Mr. Snicket's report on the Baudelaire orphans very much.
3. Do you believe the world can be portrayed in black and white?
a) It depends on how you look at it.
b) No, it should be shown in blue as well, with the occasional orange.
4. Who should you trust and who should you not?
a) Wait, wasn't this answered in the 12th book in the last series?
b) No one.
WCTBATH is the first book in ATWQ, a four book series documenting the story of young Lemony Snicket's time in Stain'd-by-the-Sea as an apprentice to VFD. In the beginning, his apprenticeship is supposed to take place in the city with his sister Kit. However, his real chaperone is S. Theodore Markson, and his actual chaperone takes place in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a run-down town no longer by the sea—the sea has been drained to save the last of the octopi to squeeze ink. The first case they tackle is the theft of the Bombinating Beast, which Sally Murphy claims to have been stolen by the Mallahans. However, when Lemony and Theodora investigate, it turns out the statue actually belonged to them. Moxie, the Mallahan's daughter, even shows the statue to Lemony herself, among various other trinkets related to the beast. Theodora, still unconvinced, insists on sneaking in late at night into the Mallahan Lighthouse and stealing the beast. They do just that, while escaping using a rope suspended in the air. Lemony falls but is rescued by a girl named Ellington. When Lemony tells her about the statue, Ellington suggests she mail it to him at the Lost Arms, the place he and Theodora were staying at. However, this turns out to be a lie, as Ellington mailed it to herself at the Black Cat Coffee, a cafe in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Lemony catches her in time and asks why she tricked him, which she replies that it was the only way to save her father. Lemony gives the statue back to Moxie, but it turns out to be a bag of coffee, and Ellington has the statue now.
If you've read WCTBATH, you'd know that I'd left out some somewhat crucial scenes here: the butler at the Sallis Mansion, who turns out to be Hangfire. We also learn here that he is able to imitate voices. He's actually the largest frame on the front cover, actually. I think it's a shame we didn't get much insight on him as a villain. Oh well, that's what the 3 books are for!
Another important character I didn't mention was Dashiell Qwerty. (Okay, Snicketverse has really weird name) He's not the average librarian, I think, with the leather jacket with metal pieces and scissor-carrying maniac encountered hair. He's actually a bit like Prosper Lost, who I think Lemony kind of scoffs a bit at whereas Qwerty he respects because he is a librarian. They're both vague and have good intentions, though Prosper does come off as a rather nosy person, but, once again, without any malicious intent.
A less pleasant character we get introduced to after we meet Dashiell Qwerty is Stew Mitchum. He's like the Carmeltia of ASOUE: nasty, short-tempered, the bully character. There are a few differences, though. In Carmeltia's case, she's basically a spoiled little brat, whereas Stew seems downright evil. His two-sided personality, however, is probably what makes them most different. (And makes me hate Stew more) Carmeltia, down to her last page, was, as I've said, a spoiled little brat. On the other hand, Stew is an adorable little angel (*throws up in a toilet bowl and comes back*) when his parents are around. Instead of becoming annoyingly spoiled, Stew seems to be cleverer than that, taking the Mitchum's doting to his advantage.
Continuing with ASOUE's trend of having idiot adults *cough* Mr. Poe *cough*, here we get the Mitchums and Theodora both looking down at the children. While admittedly, the Mitchums look down at everyone who isn't their kid, including their own spouses. Theodora looks down on everyone who isn't a full-fledged member of V.F.D. The Mitchums and Theodora, not to mention the aforementioned Mr. Poe are all similar in the regards that they seem to think that they are excellent at their jobs (which they are not) and that children are silly and stupid (which they are not).
Moxie is great. She's supportive but not a pushover, and is very smart to a level in which Lemony himself respects. I'm also supposed to assume that she's a Duncan Quagmire parallel with the journaling. Like with Hangfire, she doesn't have a lot of character development, but we'll get to see some more of her in the later books.
Ellington is... a grey area, really. She's sneaky, determined, and has a solid reason for doing the things that she does. This plays on the actions vs. intentions, akin to the inner conflict the Baudelaires have in the later part of the series. Sure, Ellington did trick Lemony, but so did the Baudelaires to Hal. That doesn't make the Baudelaires villains, but it definitely makes the reader and themselves question their morality. To be honest, the grey morality is what makes the Snicketverse great, and I'm glad ATWQ didn't lose it.
Now... to Lemony Snicket himself. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised at this pointed that each Snicket book leaves me with more questions and answers. In ASOUE, Lemony is almost a cowardly, melancholy person that never got over Beatrice. Here, he's about as innocent as a member of V.F.D. can get, snarky, prideful, and sarcastic, yet every snarky/sarcastic comment is actually a bit humorous, and is always meant to drive a point. This really makes readers want to know, What happened? Was Beatrice's death enough to turn a boy like this into a state like Lemony's? Or did something else happen?
It seems like we'll never know in Snicketverse, which is... okay, really. That's pretty much the Snicketverse's motto: We'll never know. (Along with it's secondary motto: Logic? What's that? Seriously, in what universe you do not just grab a stolen item that was handed to you on a sliver platter?)
1. Did you read Lemony Snicket's previous series, A Series of Unfortunate Events?
a) No.
b) Why do you ask?
2. Did you enjoy Lemony's writing style in his previous books?
a) Yes.
b) Yes, a word which here means, "I enjoyed Mr. Snicket's report on the Baudelaire orphans very much.
3. Do you believe the world can be portrayed in black and white?
a) It depends on how you look at it.
b) No, it should be shown in blue as well, with the occasional orange.
4. Who should you trust and who should you not?
a) Wait, wasn't this answered in the 12th book in the last series?
b) No one.
WCTBATH is the first book in ATWQ, a four book series documenting the story of young Lemony Snicket's time in Stain'd-by-the-Sea as an apprentice to VFD. In the beginning, his apprenticeship is supposed to take place in the city with his sister Kit. However, his real chaperone is S. Theodore Markson, and his actual chaperone takes place in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a run-down town no longer by the sea—the sea has been drained to save the last of the octopi to squeeze ink. The first case they tackle is the theft of the Bombinating Beast, which Sally Murphy claims to have been stolen by the Mallahans. However, when Lemony and Theodora investigate, it turns out the statue actually belonged to them. Moxie, the Mallahan's daughter, even shows the statue to Lemony herself, among various other trinkets related to the beast. Theodora, still unconvinced, insists on sneaking in late at night into the Mallahan Lighthouse and stealing the beast. They do just that, while escaping using a rope suspended in the air. Lemony falls but is rescued by a girl named Ellington. When Lemony tells her about the statue, Ellington suggests she mail it to him at the Lost Arms, the place he and Theodora were staying at. However, this turns out to be a lie, as Ellington mailed it to herself at the Black Cat Coffee, a cafe in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Lemony catches her in time and asks why she tricked him, which she replies that it was the only way to save her father. Lemony gives the statue back to Moxie, but it turns out to be a bag of coffee, and Ellington has the statue now.
If you've read WCTBATH, you'd know that I'd left out some somewhat crucial scenes here: the butler at the Sallis Mansion, who turns out to be Hangfire. We also learn here that he is able to imitate voices. He's actually the largest frame on the front cover, actually. I think it's a shame we didn't get much insight on him as a villain. Oh well, that's what the 3 books are for!
Another important character I didn't mention was Dashiell Qwerty. (Okay, Snicketverse has really weird name) He's not the average librarian, I think, with the leather jacket with metal pieces and scissor-carrying maniac encountered hair. He's actually a bit like Prosper Lost, who I think Lemony kind of scoffs a bit at whereas Qwerty he respects because he is a librarian. They're both vague and have good intentions, though Prosper does come off as a rather nosy person, but, once again, without any malicious intent.
A less pleasant character we get introduced to after we meet Dashiell Qwerty is Stew Mitchum. He's like the Carmeltia of ASOUE: nasty, short-tempered, the bully character. There are a few differences, though. In Carmeltia's case, she's basically a spoiled little brat, whereas Stew seems downright evil. His two-sided personality, however, is probably what makes them most different. (And makes me hate Stew more) Carmeltia, down to her last page, was, as I've said, a spoiled little brat. On the other hand, Stew is an adorable little angel (*throws up in a toilet bowl and comes back*) when his parents are around. Instead of becoming annoyingly spoiled, Stew seems to be cleverer than that, taking the Mitchum's doting to his advantage.
Continuing with ASOUE's trend of having idiot adults *cough* Mr. Poe *cough*, here we get the Mitchums and Theodora both looking down at the children. While admittedly, the Mitchums look down at everyone who isn't their kid, including their own spouses. Theodora looks down on everyone who isn't a full-fledged member of V.F.D. The Mitchums and Theodora, not to mention the aforementioned Mr. Poe are all similar in the regards that they seem to think that they are excellent at their jobs (which they are not) and that children are silly and stupid (which they are not).
Moxie is great. She's supportive but not a pushover, and is very smart to a level in which Lemony himself respects. I'm also supposed to assume that she's a Duncan Quagmire parallel with the journaling. Like with Hangfire, she doesn't have a lot of character development, but we'll get to see some more of her in the later books.
Ellington is... a grey area, really. She's sneaky, determined, and has a solid reason for doing the things that she does. This plays on the actions vs. intentions, akin to the inner conflict the Baudelaires have in the later part of the series. Sure, Ellington did trick Lemony, but so did the Baudelaires to Hal. That doesn't make the Baudelaires villains, but it definitely makes the reader and themselves question their morality. To be honest, the grey morality is what makes the Snicketverse great, and I'm glad ATWQ didn't lose it.
Now... to Lemony Snicket himself. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised at this pointed that each Snicket book leaves me with more questions and answers. In ASOUE, Lemony is almost a cowardly, melancholy person that never got over Beatrice. Here, he's about as innocent as a member of V.F.D. can get, snarky, prideful, and sarcastic, yet every snarky/sarcastic comment is actually a bit humorous, and is always meant to drive a point. This really makes readers want to know, What happened? Was Beatrice's death enough to turn a boy like this into a state like Lemony's? Or did something else happen?
It seems like we'll never know in Snicketverse, which is... okay, really. That's pretty much the Snicketverse's motto: We'll never know. (Along with it's secondary motto: Logic? What's that? Seriously, in what universe you do not just grab a stolen item that was handed to you on a sliver platter?)
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I know I should really do my review on The Midnight Star of the Young Elites Trilogy, but that book is in my dorm room that is a full plane ride from where I am typing this one, so I'll just post a new book and then get back to The Young Elites. For now, I present to you:
Ready Player One is a science-fiction/dystopian novel, featuring a young boy named Wade obsessed with finding James Halliday's Easter Egg hidden deep inside the virtual reality game the OASIS. In 2044, the real world is a mess, and most of the population spends their time in a video game developed by James Halliday and his partner Ogden Morrow. James Halliday, who was in charge of the entire video game, set up a hunt for an Easter Egg that could be found using 3 keys; copper, jade, and crystal, which opened gates named after the same materials. The first person to find he egg earned Halliday's entire fortune and complete control over the OASIS. Wade Watts is one hunter among many searching for the egg (nicknamed "Gunters"). He competes and eventually allies with, Aech, his best friend and another gunter, Art3mis, a blogger whom Wade had a crush on (and dates at the end of the book) and Shoto, a Japanese stranger whom he becomes friends with. Their biggest enemy, however, is the IOI, a corporation planning to take advantage of the OASIS to make a profit. Together, they beat the IOI, and Wade's avatar Parzival ends up winning the game.
Overall, I enjoyed this book A LOT. The conflict with the IOI makes for decent villain with it's constant death threats that keep the IOI in a less-than-good light and the plot thrilling. Aech and Shoto are also both likeable characters. Aech is very supportive of Wade while not being a complete cliché flat sidekick with his own fun personality, and Shoto is highly respectable with how he deals with the loss of Daito and his dedication to hunting the egg. But undoubtedly, the most fascinating aspect of the book is the world-building. The OASIS is an incredibly intricate video game universe with it's own planets, complete with it's own planets, times, and transportation systems. The level of detail the author puts into describing the OASIS and how it works is brilliant. Not to mention the whole idea of trying to find an easter egg in what is essentially an entire dimension on it's own, is an incredibly original and unique idea. This world reminds me of Antartica in Champion. The world there runs like a actual video game, with points that go higher the more moral things you do. This world seems more like an action RPG, with fighting, mythological creatures, magical weapons, while still having everyday elements in it like school. Ogden was a character I honestly didn't expect, but I liked that his character was written in and was portrayed as not a goof, but a well-meaning man that is still loyal to his friend after the 10 years of falling out and wants to help our main protagonists.
If you noticed my lack of commentary on Art3mis and Wade himself in my previous paragraph, that's because I didn't like them that much. The sudden shifts between Art3mis's braggy, over-confident, "I'm-better-than-you" side and almost shy, "you-won't-like-me-when-you-see-me" and "I'm-going-to-save-world-with-my-money" miff me. As for Wade, I like him most of the time. I really do. However, the part where Wade basically pines and gets distracted by Art3mis from hunting the egg is a huge no. I generally don't like the sappy, clinging-onto-the-first-man/women-she/he likes character, because of those characters are simply ridiculous. Boo-hoo, your crush doesn't like you. Deal with it and move on. Not to mention that throughout most of the book, Wade seemed pretty fixated on finding the egg, and this pining seemed not only beneath him but incredibly OOC as well. I was practically raging when he let Art3mis top him on the scoreboard (in fact, now that I think about it, I raged when he gave her the clue about the jousting as well) because Wade seems to forget that Art3mis is his rival. And while romance is all sweet and cute when it stays in the background, interfering with the plot where romance has NO place is one trope I absolutely hate. At least that only happened for a couple of pages (But wow, those were TERRIBLE pages to bear through). This has to do with the ending, too. The romance was sort of abrupt, and the last time we saw Art3mis before the maze scene was where all their interactions can be called perfectly platonic. And the romance really just comes out of nowhere. I think the author felt pressured to add a romantic subplot because that's what all YA and adult books with a non-related female and male character do. Because God forbid a main character of a YA and adult novel not be in a romantic relationship with someone else.
On a more mixed bag-ish note, the 80's pop-culture references were okay? I mean, I've never been around in the 1980's, so all of my very limited recognition of any song, game, or movie was due to my spending way too much time on the internet and reading way too many books. I didn't really mind not getting most of the references and it was definitely educational.
Overall, I really liked this book, despite it's cringe-worthy moments. I heard that there was a sequel on the rise, so I should read that. Maybe I'll review it when I get my hands on a copy.
Thanks for reading!
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