The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars, #1) in Into the Forest

Jul 04, 2017 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-checkout, victorian, the-lost-heir, alternate-dimension-or-world, fantasy, audiobook, alice-in-wonderland, famous-literary-historical-characte, royalty

Somewhere along the way I became obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. Not quite sure when and why. Well, I think it's the weirdness and the color of the world. The darkness is there, but this book definitely brings it to the forefront. I am continually looking for more stories built on the Alice in Wonderland concept. This really fits the bill.

What if there truly was a war between the Red Queen and the White Queens? What if being queen endowed the ruler with unfathomable powers of imagination that Somewhere along the way I became obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. Not quite sure when and why. Well, I think it's the weirdness and the color of the world. The darkness is there, but this book definitely brings it to the forefront. I am continually looking for more stories built on the Alice in Wonderland concept. This really fits the bill.

What if there truly was a war between the Red Queen and the White Queens? What if being queen endowed the ruler with unfathomable powers of imagination that can be used for good or bad? What if two sisters became mortal enemies, even to the degree that one would plot and execute a bloody takeover? That's the plot of this book.

I liked how Alice in Wonderland is treated as a real story that was wrongly interpreted. Alyss is taken by her bodyguard (when Wonderland falls to Queen Redd's assault) to Victorian England through a magical fountain to save her life. She's separated from her bodyguard and has to fend for herself in England. Initially she has her power of imagination but it fades the longer she is away from Wonderland. She ends up getting adopted by a vicar's family and goes under the name of Alice Liddell (the girl to whom Lewis Carroll first told his Alice in Wonderland story). She tells her story to another young vicar who plagarizes and changes some information. For instance, Alyss's name was spelled wrong. Alyss's bodyguard is Hatter Madigan, sort of what would happen if the Mad Hatter was a ninja and used his hat as a glaive spinning weapon. That part was really cool. I liked Alyss. She's young and strong-willed, and grows a lot over the course of this book. She was a bit spoiled at first, but tremendous loss shapes her into a young woman who will be an excellent ruler.

This is a dark and bloody read. Queen Redd is irredeemably evil. She wreaks a lot havoc due to her corrupt, hate-filled heart and need for revenge and constant adulation. She has no qualms about murdering her family, including her young niece. She makes a lot of people miserable, even when she doesn't kill them.

I liked how Beddor takes the story of Alice and Wonderland and creates his own series around it. Most of the elements are there, but with nice twists. The romance aspect is new to this story, but it was likeable, as well as the character of Dodge Anders, who is Alyss' love interest. The Cheshire Cat becomes a genetically modified assassin with nine lives who claims more than a few lives. The White Rabbit is a learned adviser to the Queen. The playing card army is divides into two factions, one loyal to the original queen and become freedom fighters in Alyss's name, and the genetically modified and degenerate creation of Queen Redd's black imaginations.

This is a good book for tweens and teens who like this sort of fantasy. It's too scary and bloody for younger readers. It has a lot of good action sequences and that magic of Wonderland is exquisitely illustrated through the narrative. I enjoyed listening to it, and I will pick up the next volumes on audiobook as well. ...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Lia rated it it was ok

Shelves: library, book-club, read-in-2011

It didn't feel like a novel... flew by too fast... more like a bedtime story put on paper each night after the telling of the next scene. It was kind of bare-bones and unsatisfying, even while the bones themselves were generally strong. It also needed nuance and a more sophisticated vision. Black Imagination vs. White Imagination is so... well, less mature than much of the juvenile fiction I've enjoyed over my lifetime. Redd's motivations completely escaped me. She just existed to be bad and hei ...more

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Nov 13, 2009 Mariah marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-tale, library-to-read, minnesota-author

There was an article in the Star Tribune about the author and it sounded interesting. http://www.startribune.com/entertainm...
It's a popular series, seems to be something people either love or hate depending on whether they're Wonderland purists. ...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Danyelle Leafty rated it really liked it

Shelves: bookshelf-2012

Was hesitant to pick this up at first, worried that it would be too dark. On the whole, I really enjoyed it. It *is* a darker type novel, what with the evil queen taking over and everything, but I liked how the ALICE IN WONDERLAND we all know and love is the wrong story. :)

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Oct 17, 2008 Christine rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-and-new-adult-fairy-tales, wonderland

I think if I were younger, I would've enjoyed this book much more. If you read significently, then you can see all the plot twists coming. While the concept is intersting, the characters are boring, unless they are designed to be "cool" (such as the Hatter). I wondered if the book was written with an eye to TV or movie adaption, for it had that feel. It really is a fantasy for younger reads. ...more

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