The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket (Audiobook Review)

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Title: The Slippery Slope
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Tenth
Author: Lemony Snicket
Narrator: Tim Curry
Publisher: Recorded Books
Duration: 5 hours, 52 minutes
Copyright: 2004
Genres: adventure, fantasy, juvenile
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
Review copy provided by Kearney Public Library.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY:
Dear Listener,
Like handshakes or housepets, many things are preferable when not slippery. Unfortunately, in this miserable volume, I am afraid that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their harrowing journey up, and down, a range of strange and distressing mountains.
It would be best not to mention any of the unpleasant details of this story, particularly a secret message, a swarm of snow gnats, a scheming villain, a covered casserole dish, and a surprising survivor of a terrible fire.
Unfortunately, I have dedicated my life to researching and recording the sad tale of the Baudelaire Orphans. There is no reason for you to dedicate yourself to such things, and you might instead dedicate yourself to letting this slippery audioBOOK slip from your hands into a nearby trash receptacle, or deep pit.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
©2003 Lemony Snicket; (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

dedication: For Beatrice: When we first met, you were pretty, and I was lonely. Now I am pretty lonely.

MY TAKE ON IT: I am sorry to say that the lives of the three Baudelaire orphans have still not improved. In “The Slippery Slope”, that slippery sneak, Count Olaf, has kidnapped Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, and forces her to do all the cooking for him and his slimy troupe of villains, a task for which she shows an amazing aptitude, a word which here means she is very good at it, even though she is just a baby.
Meanwhile, Sunny’s siblings, Violet and Klaus, have stumbled upon someone they never expected to see. Namely, Quigley Quagmire, the brother of Duncan and Isadora, who was believed to have perished in a fire. Quigley leads Violet and Klaus to the secret mountain hideout of the mysterious VFD organization, only to find that it too has been completely burned to the ground. The three intrepid adventurers will have their hands full trying to rescue Sunny, without themselves being captured, and continuing their search for the elusive VFD.
In “The Slippery Slope”, Lemony Snicket reveals even more clues to the mystery that has been building since the beginning of “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” We now know that the Baudelaire parents, along with the Quagmire parents and many others, were part of a secret group known as VFD. We have also learned that Count Olaf himself was a member of the group, until a schism caused him and his cronies to begin killing off the other members by burning their houses. It has also been revealed that, with the loss of the mountain hideaway, there is only one secret VFD hideout remaining. The good guys and bad guys alike know what the last location is, and it will be a race to see who can get there first.
We still don’t know for sure what VFD stands for, or why the VFD’s sugar bowl is so important. The sugar bowl was thrown from a window of the mountain hideout while it was being burned, and floated down a river, presumeably all the way to the sea. Count Olaf has expressed a great deal of interest in that Sugar bowl.

LEMONY SNIPPET: Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel, because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under the coffee table.

NARRATOR: Hmm, I am running out of things to say about Tim Curry. I’ve already mentioned that he is a very good audiobook narrator, so I won’t talk about that. I have also talked about his impressive background on Broadway, Hollywood, and television, so I won’t mention that either. How about some personal background? Tim Curry was born on April 19, 1946 in England, although his current home is in Los Angeles. His first regular acting job was with the London cast of the musical “Hair” in 1968.

FINAL WORD: “The Slippery Slope” is another exciting installment in the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” series. You can feel the story building toward its climax, but we still have a little way to go.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket (Audiobook review)
The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket (Audiobook Review)
The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket (Audiobook Review)

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If you liked this audiobook review you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "The Slippery Slope" by Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events book 10 (Unabridged Audiobook) from Amazon.com.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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