Book Report #92 - Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket

Book 16 of 52
Page Count - 258

Book one of "All the Wrong Questions" series.

This is a very strange little book but, then again, what would you expect from Lemony Snicket? (AKA Daniel Handler)

I read him for the language and the wonderfully twisted worlds he creates.  It may be a children's book but he has never talked down to his audience and even makes his use of explaining more difficult words by throwing it in to the dialogue.  Handler is obviously a highly intelligent person and that comes through in his writing style.  I have never come across anybody who writes quite like him.

The plot is loosely follows Snicket's first adventure, he is an apprentice to a secret society, in the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea.  Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a dying, one-industry town, that used to make the world's best ink.  Snicket and his chaperone are assigned to recover a statue of the Bombinating Beast.

The Bombinating Beast

The assignment is not as important as the world building that takes place in the book.  In Snicket/Handler's hands I actually enjoy the exposition more than the plot.

Because it's a children's book it is also filled with illustrations, something that was much more common during the days of the pulps.  I would love to see them make a comeback in some way.

I really enjoyed this first installment.

Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket