Within the pages of this novel, readers will discover one of the books upon which the movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is based: The Reptile Room. Like the movie, this book tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children, who despite being pleasant lead unpleasant lives. From the very beginning of this volume, when the children are driving down a bad-smelling road toward a house full of mysterious beasts, continuing on to the last page of this distressing story, disaster lurks at their heels. Unlike the movie, however, this book does not contain moving pictures. Count Olaf is not only smart, he is also intelligent. A renowned, talented, and handsome actor, he certainly could have his choice of any number of interesting careers, including a herpetologist's assistant, but as the saying goes, "nothing pays like crime." Watch out for the name "Count Olaf" everywhere. P.S. He is also very good-looking.