Books 1-3 (The Bad Beginning; The Reptile Room; The Wide Window)

Lemony Snicket is a great author with a talent for scary events. read about grammar maniac Aunt Josephine, mean old Count Olaf, and Dr. Montgomery Montgomery. Unfortunately , the Buadelaire orphans will never escape from Count Olaf, or will they?

In the first three books they meet count Olaf the men behind the mask and try to escape his clutches. Snicket warns you to stop reading but through the first chapter he draws you in a trance to where you can't put the book down. Mystery with a weird twist. I have never read a boook so indulging in my life!!! This is by far the best book on the site and i urge you to buy it its amazing!!!1( The first ones soo cool, they get married!!! well sorta)

Someone introduced me to this series because I was happily engrossed with Harry Potter... their words were "Even better than Harry Potter." At 18, I can say I'm pretty disappointed for having bought the box of 3. I know it sounds childish to be enjoying children's books at my age, but I love the innocence of them. (Mathilda, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, A Little Princess, etc) However, after two books, it still doesn't feel like A Series of Unfortunate Events capture that special "magic" for me. The author takes times to introduce ten dollar words, rather than incorporating the meaning into the context. To me, that broke a lot of the rhythm. I was also open to the idea of misfortune happening to the characters - it's something difference - but the endings were predictable and uncolorful in some ways.
If you're an older reader like me, I don't really suggest reading it with the high hopes that it will parallel Harry Potter's level of entertainment... however, reading it to little kids that are 10 and under is a good idea. Nice start on the SATs - lol.

These books may be a little rapetative but no matter these were amazing books. Anyone who says its to violent ought to be taught what violence is. There is an entertaing twist in all of these books and a greatt plot. Lemony Snicket is a great author and anyone whos looking for a good and fun book to read choose this!!

Everyone knows that these books are kids books, but no one knows how much so. The movie makes them appear as readable as Harry Potter, but they're not. The Lemony Snicket books are strictly for kids. It's not because the author isn't as able to write a book readable for adults as Rowling. Instead, these books are intended only for children while Harry Potter is intended for everybody.

The biggest disappointment for me is that Count Olaf isn't funny in the books. He's a serious character who never cracks a joke. These books aren't meant for laughs like the movie is.

On the other hand, they are great for children because not only do children like them, they are somewhat educational. Throughout the books, Handler will pause and explain a concept or a word that the readers (children) don't understand. So, if you buy these books, buy them for your children.

Parent should take caution of this series because:
1. It has a lot of negativism in this book that is put forth as funny and acceptable, and it starts in the very first paragraph: "In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle. Our children needs stories that are inspiring and positive. Negativisim is not of the Lord. President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote: What I am suggesting and asking is that we turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good." (LDS Church News, 3/12/94) This book does not show the good in anything.
2. The main characters are not terrible but are less than desirable models of behavior: insensitive, sarcastic, etc.
3. The book is devoid of positive adults and good moral messages.
With no education value, no moral value, low literary value, and constant negativism, these books should be avoided. Our children gain nothing from these books and are impacted negatively. There is SO much good and uplifting material out there; out children do not need to be exposed to such horribly negative literature packed with cruelty, violence, evil, murder, deceit, and child abuse.
If you are looking for a modern series in a similar style (fun and whitty), I recommend the positive, wholesome series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

Dear Heasitating the store.com Shopper,
I consider it my duty to inform you that this horrible gift set contains the first three misrable books in Lemony Snicket's utterly unfortunate book series, "A Series of Unfortunate Events." For some reason, even though the books describe nothing but sadness and terror, they continue to show up on bestseller lists. One might wonder why this happens when in the very first chapter of first dreadful book, THE BAD BEGINNING, the Baudeliares recieve word that their parents have perrished in a terrible fire while they spent the day at the beach. Following this utterly wretched news, their lives don't improve, and they are sent to live with the revoltingly gross and unbelieveably greedy Count Olaf, who attempts to get his fillhy hands on their fortune. Upon failing, he tries again in THE REPTILE ROOM and THE WIDE WINDOW, when the children are sent to live with two ill-fated guardians, the kind but uncareful Uncle Monty and terrified, weak, grammer-obsessed Aunt Josephine. In conclusion, if these books even sound fun to read, you are better off seeking medical help than spendinng your money on this boxed set. In these three books, trouble begins, and in later installments of the series, it only worsens. Wouldn't you rather read a more pleasnt book? I know of a supurb one called "The Littlist Elf," and I highly suggest you read that one instead of these depressing novels.
With all due respect,
Jake Lizzillo-Who

Parents beware!!!!!

My 11 year old brought this book home. My mother (his grandmother read this book in about an hour) and immediately upon finishing it scowled and informed me that this was one of the most disturbing books she had ever read. I then read it as well. I am terrified that the public elementary school which would allow this type of material in the library for our children to read. Honestly, it's evil, dripping with evil. The adult characters physically abuse, emotional abuse, and generally plot evil intentions upon newly orphaned children. A highlight for me was the evil caregiver dangling a baby sister who was bound and caged like an animal, hung from a tall tower, until the 14 year sister agrees to marry him in a fowl attempt to gain the children's trust fund. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

Not only was it not appropriate for a child, it was frightening and unappealing at any age.

Don't buy this garbage. Don't allow it in your home.

Although lots of people find these books wonderful, I don't. The story starts out sad, and the plot is sad, too much "bad guy" in it, and it ends sadly-"bad guy" gets away. I know that "Mr. Snicket" has a unique sense of humor, and I appreciate his writing style...I just don't care for it. I would not read these books if you are sad, because they will not cheer you up. They just made me mad. Lol.

Don't believe a thing Lemony Snicket says - the only way these books of woe will have you crying is if you laugh really, really hard.

Lemony Snicket has a fresh, unique, and hilarious writing style. He speaks very plainly, explaining things along the way with his signature phrase, "a word which here means". Always he reminds his readers that they do not have to read these awful books that will only bring nights of wailing and weeping, although he has sworn to record them. Sometimes Snicket is deliciously non-sequitur - "...you would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff". And each book is morbidly dedicated to a so far unknown woman named Beatrice. "Beatrice - Darling, dearest, dead."

Although the books are sold as children's books (or perhaps because of it), I would recommend these books to adults who are secure enough in their maturity to read them. Some of the humor might actually be hard for young children to understand unless they are great cynics already.

The basic plot of the story is this: three siblings - Violet, Claus, and Sunny Baudelaire - lose their parents in a fire. They are sent off to live with their "uncle", Count Olaf. Olaf is a horrible, detestable man who will do anything, however evil and dishonorable, to get his hands on the fortune that the Baudelaires will inherit as soon as Violet is of age. The Baudelaires find themselves in frustratingly hopeless and distressing situations, mostly because of the (oh, so aggravating!) thickheadedness of the adults around them. So using their special skills, Violet, Claus, and Sunny try and find solutions themselves - by inventing, researching, and biting things, respectively. They wriggle out of immediate danger, but there is never exactly a happy ending - instead, one that is relieved but forebodes more calamity.

The plot seems very repetitive through the fourth book - the Baudelaires live with various guardians and end up in equally desperate situations with Olaf on their tail. But don't be discouraged! By the fifth book, a larger picture begins to show. A whole mystery opens up - the VFD. What caused the fire which in which the Baudelaires' parents perished? Why are do all their guardians have so much in common? I won't give anything away, but the mystery builds through the rest of the books. The reader picks up little clues and tries to piece things together. The final two books have not been written yet, so don't expect a complete answer soon.

There are eleven books, but they are relatively small and quick reads. When you get through them, read The Unauthorized Autobiography. Snicket himself is an obscure sort of character in his books - he hasn't participated in any action yet, but it seems that he may have to soon. The Authobiography gives loads of tantalizing information (or just more questions) about the VFD.

In summary, The Series of Unfortunate Events is a hilarious, well-written action-and-mystery story, and just as suitable for brave adults as for children.

The Unfortunate Events books are about three orphaned children named Sunny, Violet and Klaus. They are being chased by a meanie named Count Olaf who is after the large sum of money that they inherited from their late parents. Everything that happens in these books is horrible. Also, Lemmony Snicket has the habit of getting caught up in explaining what "truth shmuth" means or giving lectures on the begining sentence of a book. I can assure you, this can get very annoying. There are probably a few people out there who like depressing books such as this, but thankfully, I am not one of them.

These...books...stink. It's the same story over, and over, for 10 times! Quick summery after the 1st, the kids are adopted by some distant relative. Count Olaf disguises himself in some horrible umm... disguse. The kids recognize him, and try to tell Mr.Poe, who ignores all reason, and logic, if it looks like a pig, acts like a pig, walks, sounds, grunts, rolls in its own feces, and smells like a pig, it's a pig! But no Mr.Poe ignores all this, and points out 1 or 2 things of horseyness(like the fact that it's a mammal) and considers it a horse. I'm saying these animals because through all the people he's disguised himself as it's hard to pick. Then there's the baby, Kluas and Violet just know EXCACTLY what it's saying, for instance,"Gloo blah blah", they both know that she's saying,
'Goodness, a pteredactol just landed, and is eating everything in sight, Violet, Klaus, time to get the machine gun.' Do not buy these books! Buy something that's actually good, like the classics, Watershipdown by:Richard Adams, or To Kill a Mockingbird by:Harper Lee, or The Hobbit,and The Lord of the Rings both by:J.R.R Tolkien. And The Chronicles of Narnia(7books) by:C.S Lewis. JUST DON'T BUY UNFORTUANATE EVENTS WHO MAKE CHILDREN SOUND IDIOCTIC!

I had originally thought that this series was nothing more than a Harry Potter clone..how wrong I was. This boxed gift set contains the first three books in hardcover: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window.

Much tragedy and unfortunate things befall the Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They were on the beach when a family friend, Mr. Poe, told them that their parents had died in the Baudelaire mansion in a fire. Mr. Poe explained that their parents had instructed that the children be put in the care of a relative, and the fortune would remain untouched until Violet was of legal age. It was decided that they were going to stay with Count Olaf, because he was the relative that lived closest to the Baudelaires' home, so he adopted the children. They all hated him from the moment they met him. Count Olaf was planning ways to gain control over the Baudelaire fortune.

It is so refreshing to find an author who is funny without assuming that kids need potty jokes to laugh. The humor is dark, twisted, and hilarious. While the Baudelaire Orphan's series are written for children, they can still be appreciated by mature readers. You truly root for Violet, Klaus, and Sonny and feel sadness and anger over their plight. Count Olaf is truly a degenerate villain for whom nothing is too extreme even murdering a child. Very few villains can be so simply crafted yet inspire such revulsion from the reader. Oddly enough this is a feat rarely accomplished by other more widely recognized by the public.

Those who criticize it's "dark" tone just don't get it.

This series of books are really good, because it really grips you into the book. You feel like you are there, and that is why these are a stupendous series of books. I would love to read the rest of the series.

Let me tell you what happened when I started reading this book to my seven year old daughter, who after all, is the ultimate critic.

We made it a couple of chapters into the book, until the children arrived at the Count Olaf's house. My daughter said, "Wait a minute," got up, and walked to the next room. She returned a minute later with the latest volume from the Fairy Realm series (The Water Sprites). We read one chapter of that book, and she said, "A lot more happens in this book. That's what the Fairy Realm Books are like."

I bought this set on the strength of the reviews. It was quite clear to me that this was about "unfortunate events" and "unhappy endings," but several parents at school said their kids liked these books. Having now read the first book, and gotten the reaction described above from my daughter, I've decided that we are more of a happy ending kind of family.

I'm sure the children are strong, and self reliant, and use their smarts and their love for each other to get themselves out of terrible jams. But that's not what we are going to read about in our house.

P.S. Our favorite read alouds are the whole Fairy Realm series, Harry Potter 1-4, and anything with a mystery.

I read this one with trepidation. I saw the movie, and it was OK. The hardback books were always a little too pricey for me, so the three in one was a good value. The actual read was fun, and was much better than the movie.

Clever, enjoyable. After one whole book of unfortunate events, however, I don't think I am ready for the others in the series. There is only so much gloom, doom, and misfortune I can read without it all running together into a morass that starts to sound the same. I confess to skimming the 2nd and 3rd books. ( I got the 1st 3 of the series of 13 in this boxed set). 10 more books of improbable, annoying bad things happening to the orphans, a lot of which they could prevent? So many opportunities to do away with the Count, and they let every chance go by? These kids got on my last nerve.

I was drawn to children's literature by the series of Harry Potter books with plots and systems that are imaginative, entertaining, and complex enough for adult readers. After hearing about the popularity of this new series on Unfortunate Events, I was curious enough to buy the first 9 books to try them myself.
Well, at least one unfortunate event hit me after starting the first book - I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed at the story. I've read quite a few reader's reviews and now have learned that these books are indeed for "children". :P
The pace of story telling is slow (not necessarily a bad thing) and the author is specific in describing new vocabulary and events. I would say this is a good pick for kids as well as people having English as a Second Language to learn useful words. Yet the story may not interest adult readers much because of the simplicity.

Gosh, now we have the right worrying about bared breasts for about 10 milliseconds at superbowls, but parents raving about a children's book that glorifies child abuse (locking a toddler in a bird cage, taping her mouth shut, and threatening to drop her from a tower is not dark humor to a child) and implied child rape - Olaf says to Violet that he will dispose of her siblings and keep her around because she is pretty. I wish these books were given 1/1000ths of the scrutiny of rock music, tv, etc. What a sad state this country is in when these are popular. They shouldn't have been published. And I don't care if the ending is happy or sad, it is what is in between that counts. Maybe Count Olaf should have been play by Christopher Walken. For good children's books with humor, sometimes dark, read something by Terry Pratchett.

I thought this was a book for younger children & I was in the mood for an easy, light book. The book is well written & characters are portrayed well. However, I would not recommend this series for kids before pre-teen as there is tons of death throughout the entire story line. But I definitely recommend this book.

well these books are very sorry and I finish them in a day or two. but I buy the packs. anyway I so love these books if they were a bit longer they would be my favorite series but it's pretty close!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My daughter started reading these at school and needed to continue through the summer, so we made this purchase for her birthday. She loves these books. She is a girl that doesn't read much but this has kept her nose in the book and well entertained.

This was great, everything was in perfect shape, the books even had that "new book" smell and had never been opened before. The only thing that was a bit odd was that mine came wrapped in plastic wrap instead of the fancy box, but it wasn't a big deal.

Great books. Very creative characters; picturing Jim Carry as the Count Olaf when reading is awesome and his narrative of the characters goes great when reading. Im still looking to read the rest of the series.