"Imagination was the armour that protected him from the curious glances of a cruel, gaping world, from the stinging lash of ridicule, from the bombardments of banana skins and orange peel."

Considering I've been a fan of Freaks (1932) for over ten years, I thought it was time to finally read the story it's based on. Although I already knew that pretty much everything had been changed (the title, the character names and personalities, most of the plot), it was still a surprise how little had actually been retained. I definitely prefer the direction Tod Browning took. However, the premise is still interesting and a bit bizarre, and I would have liked the story without knowing anything about the movie.

Emphasis on The Strip, which is to be expected since it's the main draw of the city and it has a huge amount of things to offer, but that means there's not a whole lot of points of interest for searchers of old pre-corporate Vegas atmosphere, local haunts, and quirky locations. The Strip seems like a busy plastic universe with warped copies of major cities, drunken tourists, and gambling tourists, but on the other hand it's definitely something I want to see for myself and go chuck some grub into me in the cheap buffets.

In general, a concise basic guide with clear thematic sections. Everything is easy to find and DK has included a lot of useful tidbits of anything from gambling tips and game rules to pictures of emergency vehicles and currency. The maps are good and you get a clear view of where the major resort hotels are situated, what their layouts are like and what kind of entertainment they offer (for me, Luxor seems the most interesting), and the comprehensive overview of day trip locations would keep anyone satisfied if the bustle of The Strip starts to feel too overwhelming (a bike ride to the desert sounds fun).

Didn't feed my desire to go back to the 1940s and become a Vegas showgirl, but was nevertheless a good dose of sunshine and glitz for this dark and wet season.

The character of the moments will probably take some getting used to (instead of short stories with a proper plot/twist/point, they're just small moments in the ROL world). Still, I think these brief visits to different points in time in the lives of different characters will be nice detours.

Here, Nightingale is still in school and helps his friend to prepare a horticultural experiment. Nothing major happens, but we do get a glimpse of the community of talking foxes.

PS. I'm a stickler for chronological order, so I will be using this as reference:
Story chronology

I wouldn't mind a full novella about Mabel. She seems fun and zappy.