A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Ninth, The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket

I saw a write-up on Lemony Snicket that likened him to Edward Gorey, my all-time favorite author, so I decided to check out one of Mr. Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events.

**Spoiler Alert**

I feel I must first point out where there were a series of unfortunate events in this story; there were no unfortunate demises of children unlike the 26 in The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey. However, even though I did not find Mr. Snicket’s style at all like Edward Gorey’s, I still highly enjoyed his book and sense of humor.

Of course when starting a series it makes sense to start with Book 1, but as we know, I rarely make sense, thus I started with Book 9, The Carnivorous Carnival. The serious of unfortunate events are those experienced by the Baudelaire orphans told by Lemony Snicket who has been researching and recording their ill-fated and disastrous lives. This particular archive of the children’s saga finds them at a run down carnival trying to keep hidden from their arch enemy Count Olaf and his misfit troupe while trying to find out the secrets of Madame Lulu’s crystal ball while also trying to avoid a pit of annoyed and starving lions.

I’m hooked. But, I would though recommend starting with book 1. Obviously I was able to follow along with no problem as Mr. Snicket does an excellent job with getting you up to speed with the unfortunate events to this point, but in doing so, I know the suspense won’t be quite as great when I go back and read the previous 8 books. Oh, and if you don’t like books that end on a HUGE cliff hanger, then this one might not be the one for you.