After having a somewhat basic, yet still enjoyable enough start with the first book in the series, Big Nate managed to properly get in gear with the release of the second book, Big Nate: Strikes Again, which surpassed that original book in just about every way. Sure, it still wasn’t perfect by any means, what with the story not being anything too spectacular, while also having some trouble with being able to focus on the main plot at points, along with it still having a little bit of that dated writing from time to time, but it made up for most of that by just being a very entertaining read, what with its much better and more interesting main story, the same set of really good characters paired with improved writing, the same art as before, now with a little more exaggeration thrown into the mix, and enough funny moments throughout that kept me entertained and smiling all the way through. And thankfully, since this book was able to get things rolling properly with this series, the only thing that was left to do from here was to keep on moving forward, which is exactly what this series did with the release of the third book, Big Nate: On a Roll.
Unlike with Strikes Again, I didn't really have too many expectations with this book as a whole, which made it so that I wasn't that excited to get around to reading it. This was yet another entry in the series that I read as a kid, but I didn't really remember anything about, and while I did start to remember more as I kept reading through, I did start to remember more of the details, but there was no point where I recalled anything too exciting or sparked up any sort of particular memory. So that wasn’t really that good of a sign, but at the same time, that didn’t mean that I was expecting this book to blow either. After all, I don’t remember disliking this book as a kid, and we have gotten past the point where Big Nate properly begins, so I figured I was gonna have just as much fun with this third installment as I did with the previous one, and thankfully, I did end up having a lot of fun with it!...... for the most part. As a whole, I think I prefer the second book over this one, as I just think that that book is much stronger than this one by comparison, but that’s not to discredit this one, as it is still a great read all around, giving us more of what we love from this series while improving on the issues from before to make for a very solid entry through and through.
The story is pretty good, carrying on with the same structure that the second book used while also fixing an issue that I held with the story in the last one that makes it of much higher quality, but I also wouldn’t say it manages to entertain me or keep me as invested as what the last book had either, the characters are still pretty good, with all of them pretty much acting the same as before, which was good to see, and the new characters that we got here, while being few, were neat to see and helped make this world feel a little bigger than it was before, the writing is still very solid, keeping up the same theme from the first two books while featuring plenty of clever lines and that same fun attitude that the others had as well, the art is, once again, about the same as before, not being quite as wild or expressive as the art we got in the last book, but it still looks just as clean and just as appealing to look at as always, and the humor is good once again too, with the book not being quite as funny as the last one, but it still has plenty of funny moments and lines that did keep me smiling enough for most of the way, which is certainly a lot more then I can say about several other similar books like it, so that is good to see that they are still keeping it up.
Unlike with the last two books, I didn't necessarily really have too many problems with this entry this time around. It does still have some slight issues, such as some (key word being SOME) of that dated dialogue once again, but it is a VERY minor issue here compared to what it was like in the first two books, and the story is still pretty basic for what it is, but the book does make up for this by having the story feel incredibly focused, where while it still does mainly focus about a lot of the stuff Nate does in his day to day life, all of it ties back to one central plot point in the entire thing, which was great to see. Definitely improved upon that problem that the second book had, without a doubt. At the end of the day though, the only real reason why I can say that I didn’t like this book as much as the last one, despite technically being better in almost every way, is that I just didn’t find the story as entertaining. For those who don’t know, this story primarily focuses on Nate and his “rivalry” with Artur, this kid at his school that everyone loves and he thinks is perfect in every way, and how he tries to beat him at winning this skateboard by selling more then him in this fundraiser they are doing for their scout troop. That in itself is a good premise, but it wasn't one that I wasn’t really able to get into… just not really that much of a fan of scout and/or fundraising stories in general, as they don’t interest me all that much. The second book, on the other hand, was way more interesting for me, what with it focusing on him having to work together on a school project with his archenemy, Gina, while also trying to win this sports tournament as well, with the two different storylines blending together very well and having plenty of great moments to be seen in each. That’s not to say that that story is necessarily that much better than this one, but it just managed to keep me more invested then this one did… nothing more and nothing less.
Overall, despite having a main premise and sequence of events that didn’t entertain or interest me as much as what came before it, On a Roll is still a very solid third entry in this series, still keeping all of the same great elements intact for this third round while also massively improving on the problems that previous books had, making for a novel that I had a great time with overall, what with its less interesting, yet still very well done and enjoyable story, the same set of great characters that are paired up with some really good writing, the same great art as before that brings this world to life and can be very appealing to look at throughout the whole thing, and enough funny moments and gags that did manage to keep me entertained and smiling all the way throughout to the very end. I would recommend it for those that loved the previous two books, as well as those who are big fans of the original comic and other similar books in general, as while you may or may not enjoy this one quite as much as what came before it, you can't deny the improvements that have been made here in-between installments, and you also get another very solid and entertaining story to enjoy on top of that, which is all I can really ask from it at the end of the day. Although, I will say, for the next entry in this series, can we go without quite as many comic images this time around? Like, I know that comics are a part of Nate's character and all that, but my god, it felt like there were SO many more of them this time around compared to the last book, it was insane. We don’t need to see all of the adventures of Doctor Cesspool and friends that frequently!
Book #11