Frank Beddor

The Looking Glass Wars

Kellie Davis

Great story line. It's a wonderful new take on Alice in Wonderland. The characters were all so lovable and I found myself attached right away. The images through out are outstanding, I could literally almost smell the scents described in the book. Highly recommend to any fantasy/adventure lover or anyone who likes Alice in Wonderland.

Cindy McKee

I have loved Alice in Wonderland since I was a child. Movies, Tv, and Books, Books, Books! There are so many things to love about the story, the language, and characters, that it's no wonder so many have taken a crack at it. Frank Beddors first story in the Looking Glass Wars Trilogy embraces the original tale, but manages a wonderful turn of it's own. Alyss is believable as the lost princess of Wonderland and as Alice Liddell. My favorites though are Hatter Madigan, the Queens elite bodyguard, and Cat, the evil Queen Redd's assassin. These are but a handful of reasons that I will continue on with the trilogy. I enjoyed Mr. Beddors twisted tale, and, incidentally, if the movie ever finally gets legs, I will venture through the Looking Glass, happily!

Rachel Kanyid

This was an interesting take on the Alice in Wonderland story, but not the best wheeling
retelling ever.. 

I'm not sure I'll continue the series anytime soon. 

Wasn't bad at all, it just wasn't my favorite.

When she is cast out of Wonderland by her evil aunt Redd, young Alyss Heart finds herself living in Victorian Oxford as Alice Liddell and struggles to keep memories of her kingdom intact until she can return and claim her rightful throne. Reprint.

Kirsten Simkiss

I think this one is solidly in the middle for me in terms of liking aspects and disliking aspects of the story. It's definitely not something I think I'd ever want to read again, but it's not terrible enough that I wouldn't be able to recommend it to the right person if I thought they'd enjoy it.

To start with, the original story of Alice in Wonderland was never my favorite. While the world was fun, I always found the movie to be far more memorable. So, going into it, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It's been a long time since I last read the original book and even when I did read it, I don't remember loving it.

First, let me tell you about things in the story that I enjoyed. 

I really loved that Alyss/Alice was a part of two worlds in the story. If you haven't read it yet, you'll see what I mean. I won't spoil you. The author melding his fiction with reality was truly interesting. I'm not sure about how I feel regarding the timeline in the back implying that the way things were in Wonderland would be reflected on Earth as well, but that's another story for another time.

I thought the culture created by Redd's takeover of Wonderland was very interesting and concerning. Redd's dictatorship had a very interesting atmosphere to it (though I still question the logistics of a lot of her decisions).

I think that the author did a great job of adapting the characters from the original book to his reimagined and modernized world. It was definitely very whimsical at the beginning, which to some degree got to be a bit much, but I found that it was very much in keeping with the original tale. While there are certainly some characters not mentioned in this particular book, I'm thinking we'll see other characters in later books in the series.

Now, onto what I didn't like. 

I think what I most disliked is that all the characters were either good or evil. There was only one character that was more morally ambiguous, but he was still aligned with the good side so it was all okay. It made for very plodding characters that had very little growth throughout the story. The evil characters stayed evil and the good characters stayed good. It just wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. 

I'm not even really sure why Redd wanted to rule other than to spite her parents and take the crown for herself. It's never really said what her true motivation is there. You would think it would be mentioned, considering she hated her subjects, she destroys her own cities, and she could have been perfectly happy living her life in exile without having to worry about sustenance. If her motive was the subjugation of others, sure, she's got that in spades. But I often have the concern with villains of, "When they reach their ultimate goal, what then?" Once she's taken over all of Wonderland, what goals does she have aside from quashing the rebels. Assuming her next step would be to take over neighboring kingdoms, what then after that? What happens when she rules without anything to stop her? She exists just to be a force of evil, but she doesn't really have a strong character beyond that. In fact, most of the characters existed only to be good people to support Alyss, who was also the embodiment of all things good. I just found I wanted more. If you look back at the characters after reading them, you have very little to relate to with any of them.

I thought Alyss's ascension into her right as a queen of Wonderland - the maze in particular - was far too easy. I know they kept trying to throw wrenches into Alyss's way, but I never felt she was in any real danger because they always escaped unharmed. The only characters to meet an untimely end were unnamed and barely mentioned. The final fight was also depressingly not what I had in mind. No spoilers, but I felt it was highly anti-climactic. It just felt as though there was no true weight to the actions of the characters. Adding to the lack of weight of their actions, all the enemies they killed were robotic cards or Glass Eyes, which were also somewhat like automatons. They had no feelings or emotions. It was far from having the Alyssians killing people - that, of course, would be bad. Killing robots, they never have to be seen as murderers.

All in all, I could definitely say this book would be a good one for kids. But for teens? Nah. I'm not going to really recommend this one, but if Alice in Wonderland's world is your cup of tea, this book might be for you.

Very unique and different take on Alice in Wonderland. Very steampunk and strategic!

Madelyn

Sophie Hutchings

I recently tracked down these books and brought them second hand, I actually read these books when I was 16. A friend lent them to me as I have always loved Alice in Wonderland... 

I couldn't remember the story outline as it has been 8 years since I read them first, but all I remember is that I loved them! & nothing has really changed, I like the different take on the story. I'm surprised these books are not more popular to be honest! 

I am going to read all three back to back, just because they are such easy enjoyable reads!!

Kendra Jones

This story follows Alyss Heart, the heir to the throne in the queendom of Wonderland. On Alyss's 7th birthday, her aunt Redd returns to claim the throne which she believes is rightfully hers. Alyss is swept away from the battle by the Queen's bodyguard, Hatter Maddigan, and brought to the Pool of Tears, a portal which no one has come back from. In doing so, Alyss and Hatter find themselves out of harm's way, but also separated from each other and in a completely foreign world (that is Oxford and Paris, respectively). Whilst Alyss acclimatises to this new world, Hatter tries to track her down, and Redd (the now queen of Wonderland) tracks down anyone sympathetic to Alyss (who call themselves the Alyssians) and turns Wonderland into a wasteland where everyone only looks after themselves.
I love this book, and if I went on enjoyment alone, this would have been 5 stars. However, where this book fell short was the logic, not of the world but of the magic system. 
On the other hand, I loved the world and atmosphere, Frank Beddor really built upon Carroll's original Wonderland, making it a darker and grittier place under the rule of Redd.
I also loved the characters. You can definitely see where Frank got his inspiration for each of his characters from the original, giving each a new personality and purpose in the story. Redd was a fantastic villain, who is most definitely prone to temper tantrums just like her inspiration. Alyss was great as well, she really grew up throughout the book and you could see her believe in herself and her powers towards the end.

Heather Harrington

This was definitely an interesting spin on the classic Alice in Wonderland story. It felt almost steampunk-ish in a way. I’m intrigued to see what else is in store for the series.

The Looking Glass Wars

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