Seven books into the series, Mr Snickett sustains the level of interest sparked by the first two (the only other ones that I've read). The three poor orphans face being burned at the stake in the Village of Fowl Devotees, and only barely escape the evil machinations of Count Olaf through their own wits and an uncharacteristically fortuitous deux ex machina. Among the unpleasant matters they endure are hordes of migrating crows, an angry mob, being tried before the Council of Elders, and some most unusual hats. I may be an adult, but I found the last few chapters "gripping". Now I look forward to more of the series. By the way, what other children's book would introduce (with full explanation) such terms as "mob psychology" and "deus ex machina"? ( )

Yet more bad things happen to the Baudelaires. Normally this series is good at keeping you guessing, but this time I knew the solution to the mystery at the beginning of the book and I've already solved V.F.D. It's disappointing the brilliant Bautdealires aren't up to snuff on this one. It's nice to see them grow and change as a result of their misfortunes, and the series is still clever and well done. ( )

So far, the poor Baudelaire orphans have lost just about everything, and what little they have left they are further on the verge of losing. There are some things that can never be taken from you. These are things like your self-determination or your secret Aztec gold you've placed a special curse on.

The Baudelaire orphans have a fortune, but it's not in cursed Aztec gold, so it can be taken away from them. Count Olaf, a distant relation to their family, has tried countless (well, as of this volume, seven) time to get that fortune. It's locked in arrears--a word which here means "unable to be accessed by anyone, orphan or villain"--until the oldest orphan, Violet comes of age.

The banker in charge of their late parents' estate, Mr. Poe, has determined that the old maxim "It takes a village to raise a child" to be quite valid, and puts the Baudelaire orphans in the hands of the V.F.D., which may or may not be the same V.F.D. that the Quagmire triplets had mentioned to them before Count Olaf spirited them away in his devious plot to get the Quagmire sapphires, yet another great fortune.

While the entire village expects to get free labor from the orphans, only Hector really cares for them. He's the town's handyman, and he is secretly violating several of the village's rules (he has a secret workshop in which he's designing things using forbidden--a word here, which means "all"--technology, and a secret library containing all the books describing people breaking the village's rules, including, of course, the village rulebooks). Additionally, the orphans are getting strange couplets mysteriously, which leads them to believe that the Quagmire triplets are closer than they think. But with the Quagmires comes Olaf, who too, would be closer than they think. So close, that the village elders claim that they have found him, and that they will burn him at the stake.

But, again, this is a series of unfortunate events, and it's only the seventh volume, so the orphans trouble cannot possibly be over this soon.

This volume is definitely recommended for anyone who has enjoyed the previous six, or any other writings of Lemony Snicket, or his good friend Daniel Handler. This is not the best place to start reading the series, however, as you may find yourself confused when references are made to previous books. In fact this or any later book in the series (or quite possibly any book after and including book two) would not make a good place to start reading the series. The best place would have to be book one: The Bad Beginning. So start there, and by all means, don't finish here (there are still six books to go!). Each volume uncovers more and more mystery AND misery. Enjoy, for the sake the poor Baudelaire orphans. ( )

Dark and mysterious this book leads you into a new era in the Baudelaire's lives. ( )

In this book the Quagmires and the Baudelaires meet and are again separated. This probably has the bleakest, if not the most cinematic, ending of any book in the series so far. ( )

We've reached the middle, this is the 7th book in the Series of Unfortunate events, chronicling the misadventures of the Baudelaire children. This time Mr. Poe sends the children to be raised by a village, though it's more like take care of the village. Another great book for kids to help them expand their vocabulary ( here meaning to learn new and different words). The story continues and new situations arise and the Baudelaire's do what needs doing. ( )

I think I enjoyed this one more than the last few. The formula was shaken up a bit. And I've never heard "deus ex machina"� explained so well! ( )

A big let down from "The Ersatz Elevator" All the stories have been "dark," but the humor seems to be missing from this one. The continuing mystery of V.F.D. and the continued hinting of Lemony Snicket's personal connections to the Baudeliares and Count Olaf are keeping the story interesting. ( )

http://eor.livejournal.com/267115.htm... ( )

I am getting increasingly tired of Snicket defining words and phrases as they have to do with his story instead of the true dictionary definition of the word. Besides that, the story was well executed.
My favorite thing is that Snicket has decided to age his child characters. Often in series of books intended for children, they remain the same age for the duration of the series, (i.e. as far as I know the Babysitters Club is still 13 and in the 8th grade, and have been since I was 9--and I'm 27). It's nice when the children grow, as well as learn, (i.e. the Harry Potter characters). I'm glad Snicket has allowed the Beaudelaires to do this. It gives me hope that Violet will turn 18 prior to being captured successfully by Olaf. ( )

The Vile Village is another chapter of Sunny ,Klaus and Violet Baudelaire's unfortunate tale of running away from from an evil man named Count Olaf.

I was trying to read these books a couple at a time, but this book was a turning point. It starts off with the same pattern: Mr. Poe finds a new home for the Baudelaire's, this time an entire village. The ending is different though. No longer are the Baudelaire's seen as innocent children escaping the clutches of the evil Count Olaf. Instead they are framed for murder and have to use all their wits to escape the madding crowd. Secrets for the ongoing story start to filter in as well, and there's a brief appearance by the Quagmires. ( )

Twist and turns! ( )

Lemony Snicket-wise, this book wasn't as strong as some of the others, but it's still funny. There's so much going on about VFD, the Quagmires, Jacques Snicket, etc...but the action moves very slowly. ( )

Summary: The Baudelairs are back and are moved to a vile village full of strange elderlies.
Review: It was okay. ( )

This one comes dressed in the same clothing as previous volumes, but leaves you standing at the alter; when you reach the entirely unusual, formula-snapping ending, you'll feel like you've missed something. The tone is becoming darker now, and the mystery deepens. ( )

i liked this book because of all the action it pulls you in to the childrens mishapes and adventures in this book the go to a village that takes care of them and the village has a lot of rules and stuff and it has a lot of words in it and and a lot of pages it was a good book i liked it it was fun to red,(not) nothing fun to read i read this book only cuz i had to read somthing ( )

This didn't catch my mind but I still got pulled in. I don't know why this didn't catch my mind as much. It just didn't. ( )

The 7th in the Series of Unfortunate Events. I've stopped being bothered by the complete lack of realism in the books and therefore enjoyed this one a bit more (although there were quite a few eyerolls on my part). ( )

Book seven in The Series of Unfortunate Events.

Our three clever and reasonably attractive orphans have been sent to a village called V.F.D, taking part in a new program called "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child," in which the entire village will act as their guardians. Unfortunately, the village they chose is run by a Council of Elders with a penchant for strange and ludicrous rules...and they have thousands of them!

This is the first book in the series that I actually enjoyed reading. The time spent in the town wasn't nearly as terrible as in previous books and I found the crows very amusing.
Hector, the town's handy-man assigned to look after the kids, was one of the most interesting characters I've seen so far, as well as one of the better guardians the Baudelaires have had (despite being so skittish).

The ending follows the usual pattern, but it is much more exciting. The only unfortunate thing is that, to enjoy this book, you must read the previous six. ( )

The seventh in the series.
The Baudelaire orphans are sent to V.F.D., a town full of crows where the whole population of the village will help raise them. They live with the nice, but skittish handyman Hector. ( )

I wish I hadn't started reading this series but now I have to find out how it ends. ( )

The unfortunate Baudelaire orphans are taken by Mr. Poe to a terrible village which is willing to adopt them, on condition they do all the town's chores. Fortunately, they stay with a kindly (if easily-intimidated) handyman known as Hector, who helps him to the limitations of his courage as they attempt to rescue the Quagmire triplets, escape from a sentence of burning at the stake, and foil Count Olaf and Esme, his apprentice/girlfriend. Within these pages are "migrating crows, an angry mob, a newspaper headline, the arrest of innocent people, the Deluxe Cell, and some very strange hats". It was good to see a helpful adult for a change, some measure of success in rescuing the Quagmire triplets, and a different resolution for the orphans than simply reporting back to Poe for a new home assignment. ( )

This book is my least favorite in the series so far. It's still a fun read, but it's not quite as enjoyable as most of the others. The Baudelaire orphans aren't put in danger (at least not initially/entirely) because of Count Olaf's scheme, and they don't escape/expose Count Olaf due to their own cleverness. Also, I figured out the mystery of where the Quagmire triplets were being hidden and how to get them out long before the Baudelaires did, and so the constant repetition of the clues got a bit wearing. Finally, this book just didn't seem as funny as some of the others - still a good read, but it just didn't seem to have the spark of the earlier books. ( )