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?)
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