I wish this series had been around when I was a kid. It would have been a great way to gain perspective and insight on my own peculiar circumstances, and I'd have especially enjoyed Klaus. He reads as much and as eagerly as I do. The inability of adults to recognize Count Olaf in his disguises is a bit hard to believe for me as an adult reader, but then again I remember how frustrating it was as a kid when adults would just ignore sensible things I said because I was just a kid. Keeping that in mind, these stories aren't that far-fetched. ( )

""If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book."" So cautions Snicket, the exceedingly well-mannered narrator of the mock-gothic novels, A Series of Unfortunate Events, featuring the misadventures of 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus and infant Sunny Baudelaire. After escaping the clutches of the evil Count Olaf, the children once again find themselves facing death, mystery, and reptiles (!) in Snicket's The Reptile Room. Seriously, things look unfortunate once again for our trio.

Things look hopefully at first for the Baudelaires. They are getting closer and closer to a great future after learning about their parents death. They have a new guardian in their lives, Uncle Monty - who is a kind and loving herpetologist (which means: studier of snakes and reptiles) who instantly takes the children into his care with love and devotion . However, he still seems naive just like every other adult in this series (cough* cough* MR. POE). Then there's Count Olaf who is still trying to take the kids fortune.

But have no fear, dear reader, for the children once again use their talents to outsmart Count Olaf once again!

The Reptile Room is a brilliant follow up to The Bad Beginning. All three children use their respective skills and interests to their advantage time and again throughout the series, and I love their ingenuity, their intellect, and their love for one another. I also love that Handler (writing as Snicket) clearly defines what is good and what is evil. Count Olaf is honestly, in my opinion, one of the most repulsive forms of evil that exists: he is greedy murderer who plays with deceptions and lies. Contrast this will the intellects of our heroes and their familial love for one another, and the message of these books become very clear.

I'm a fan. And I'm ashamed I'm just not reading this series. ( )

(3.5 / 5)

Review for audiobook version:
The three Baudelaire orphans have been set up with a new guardian, Uncle Monty. He's interesting, fun, and kind, and the kids are looking forward to going to Peru with him to study reptiles. But oh, this is a Lemony Snicket book, so we're informed up front that their happiness won't last. And indeed, it doesn't.

I suppose I liked this book a little more than the previous. Even though I knew from early on that Uncle Monty wouldn't signal the beginning of a happy life, I was still glad for the kids that they got a little bit of time with him. I think Count Olaf's attempt at getting at their money was a lot more half-baked this time, but on the other hand, the way the kids got out of his snare was a little more clever this time. I did enjoy the "friendship" between Sunny and the Incredibly Deadly Viper, and even thought it was pretty great that she spoke her first real word, and that that word was "brilliant."

But just like with the previous book, the highlight of the whole thing, for me, was that it was read by Tim Curry. Half a star of my rating is based on that, because that's how much I love listening to his voice. We'll see how it goes from here on. ( )

After narrowly escaping the menacing clutches of the dastardly Count Olaf, the three Baudelaire orphans are taken in by a kindly herpetologist with whom they live happily for an all-too-brief time.

In questo secondo volume della serie, ho avuto modo di apprezzare il modo in cui Lemony Snicket delinea la difficoltà di incontro tra due mondi: quello dei bambini e quello degli adulti.

Quell'affermazione che si sente tanto spesso, “non bisogna dimenticarsi di esser stati bambini”, non è poi così banale. Soprattutto se i bambini si accorgono di qualcosa che noi siamo troppo distratti per notare.

Il signor Poe non è cattivo, ma è così pieno di buone intenzioni da non accorgersi in quale direzione dovrebbe indirizzare i suoi sforzi (una sorta di donna Prassede in pantaloni). I tre orfani Baudelaire, invece, si accorgono subito che il Conte Olaf è riuscito a entrare di nuovo nelle loro vite: i bambini hanno una chiara e netta differenza tra Bene e Male.

Violet, Klaus e Sunny avranno dunque un bel daffare per convincere gli adulti del travestimento del Conte Olaf e dovranno trovare delle prove per essere creduti: per fortuna, sono tutti e tre ben determinati e pieni di risorse! ( )