The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

Provides a clever outline of the original Prisoner's Dilemma, along with a twist on its solution / meaning given the four kids. Again the kids have a mission which necessitates they are separated from their elders, but this time Constance also is separated from the other three, leading to a motif in which at various points, they split up. Whether intended as an allegorical exploration of friendship and identity and security, or not, it plays nicely into dynamics typical of the kids' ages. Scenarios involve risk of losing friends, consequences of not supporting one's friends, and how to remain fair while seeking an authentic self.

Again the plot and puzzles emphasise both individual talent and collaboration. Emblematic is that final show more effort to help rescue Benedict, so in turn he can rescue them: Kate's lasso, Constance's mind reading / messaging, Reynie's plan, Sticky's solution to Curtain's original question "electromagnetic waves". It all seems too tidy written out this way, but on the page it unfolded in a quite satisfying way. show less

I originally approached this book with excitement as a young teen, expecting a crescendo that would make TMBS one of the best YA series ever written, but unfortunately, I found Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) to be quite the lukewarm entry. On paper, the plot looks to have great potential, but in practice, it fails to deliver an even better experience than the first two books in the series did. The imaginative absurdity, the harrowing reality, and the mystifying mystery—it has all been diluted here by Stewart.

Very early on, we're met with a short paragraph at the end of a chapter that foreshadows what will happen over the course of the book. This foreshadowing, however, is so on-the-nose that it nips the building sense of wonder in the bud. show more One of the main draws of a mystery novel is being invited to figure things out on your own before the end, so being told a vital piece of information like that is a very strange thing to do. Of course, Stewart doesn't tell you everything that happens from cover to cover, but the point still stands. It's the sort of spoiler I would expect from a condescending author like Jenny Nimmo, not Trenton Lee Stewart.

From then on, the book stagnates. Stewart takes too much time re-explaining things, staying too long in places, and not giving his characters much space to continually develop. Changes take place, yes, but the characters remain virtually static. Stewart may have decided that the characters had developed enough within the past two novels and needed a more at-home arc to cool off, but that doesn't excuse a letdown in storytelling intensity.

Now, PD isn't totally devoid of creativity, enticing ideas, or emotional fervor. As I've already mentioned, this book did have potential, and there were a few good threads to follow throughout the story that kept me interested until the very end, but even so, Stewart didn't really seem to know how to properly develop these ideas in a way that would make the entire reading experience as gripping as the previous books. Within PD's constrained atmosphere, there is little left of that unfathomable, creepy world that I came to love in the first book, or the heightened peril in the second. Sure, there is peril in this third book, but it's lessened due to the sluggish pacing and plot armor that shields the children from any real sort of danger. Instead of bringing the story to new heights or sending it off in an exciting direction, Stewart refuses to floor the gas, opting instead to ease off and let a slower narrative take place. Slower reads are nice, but not when they prolong the story unnecessarily, and not when it's the final book (or at least, what I once thought was the final book in the series).

As for the ending (spoilers ahead in this paragraph), it tidies things up too well. It is nice, and puts a smile on my face, but I was expecting something more in line with the first book's ending. Instead, it seems to be a good ending just for the sake of a good ending. I suppose that one was needed after everything the Society had been through, and a part of me didn't want the adventure to end, but it still left me disappointed. The first time I arrived at the ending, I thought to myself, Wait...that's it? Is that really it? For a series to start out with such a bang and end in a whimper, especially one of my favorite series, it really left me scratching my head.

Perhaps I've missed something vital about PD, but to me, it's just not in the same league as the previous novels. This book should've been more bizarre, more breakneck, yet it suffers from Stewart's waning efforts and a lack of substantial development. The oddities, the rhymes and riddles, the horror, the camaraderie, the cunning twists—all the things I liked so much about this series are far less prominent here. I can only hope that Stewart will one day write another book in the series that's on par with his best works. show less

I enjoyed this one so much, as always. Such an amazing book and series! This book has been the perfect ending to the Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy and series for so long, and I love it. It's strange but awesome to know that later this month, it will no longer be the last one.

One of my favorite aspects of the series is seeing the children and their families work as an inseparable team, relying on each other and working together. I love how they choose each other as best friends and surrogate family members, and how the four children work so well together. And I love how they're unofficially adopted into Mr. Benedict's family--along with their parents! It's so heartwarming and wonderful to watch them live as one large, loving show more family. Chosen surrogate families in books are one of my favorite things. And Mysterious Benedict Society also has a theme of actual adoption in a legal sense, and every other sense--something I'm passionate about, so I love seeing it celebrated in this way.

Of course, I've continued to enjoy the individual children and their individual relationships, as well as their united dynamic. And I love that we get to see more of Constance in this third book--finding out more about her, her past, and her abilities. And the children's character arcs are always awesome, especially Reynie's. show less

Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance come to life once more in the third installment of the Mysterious Benedict Society series. Del Roy does a fair job of involving the listener through inflection and the occasional chuckle at the antics of the broad cast of characters, though his ability to voice individuals falls flat. This fast-paced story describes the children's adventures as they attempt to thwart the evil Ledroptha Curtain. Stewart's quirky, intelligent dialogue allows for the characters' personalities to be determined easily from the start, though Roy's interpretation occasionally missteps and distracts from the narrative. His pacing also leaves something to be desired, as drawn-out phrases and lengthy pauses leave the listener show more impatient. (Audiobook reviewed for AudioFile Magazine, 2010) show less

A good solid end to the trilogy, even if it wasn't quite as good as the first two.

LOVED the stuff with Constance as always, even if her mind powers jumped firmly into science fiction. I also thought S.Q.'s character arc was interesting, though I wish it had been even further explored.

The thing that most surprised me is that I was really expecting a return of the Prisoners Dilemma itself later in the book... seems a weird omission given the title.

主題是團隊合作。面對危機時，不必害怕所有問題必須由一人解決，也不應該等著單獨一人解決問題。既然是一個團隊，一起出力，一起負責。作者努力藉由小說傳達做人的原則，還有天生我材必有用的道理。另一個也很重要的指導：許多事不能只看表面，真相往往需要更深入的挖掘與探討。 show more

除去上述的諄諄教誨，此書最精采的當屬大停電後的冒險和最後百來頁的大對決，作者對緊張氣氛的營造還是相當有一套。可惜有些小說，當它的故事發展是靠許多離奇的巧合串連而成，往往便失去其可信度與感染力。主角之一康思坦絲的能力進化和故事發展搭配得天衣無縫，就是最好的例子。

故事由賽局理論「囚徒困境」的實驗開始，書名又直接點出，這樣的安排通常代表這是全書的主題之一或是為後期冒險留下伏筆。奇妙的是，當主線事件開始後，這個實驗就被所有人拋到腦後，再也沒被提起。作者用意為何，令人好奇。 show less

Definitely my favorite of the series, maybe because it was the one that finally stopped telling us so much about the children's particular quirky personalities and just let then be who they are. As such, it seemed a little (but just a little) like a successor to the Lemony Snicket novels, and that's as much as I can ask from these books.