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teaturtlesandbooks's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
noni2002's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Read early in the year, is a kids book so did not enjoy that much hated the pace and thought most of it was rushed
elle4352's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Looking Glass Wars is a YA fantasy retelling of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
Things You'll Find:
*Steampunk Alice in Wonderland*
*Tons of fight scenes*
*A bit of a strange timeline*
I'm always here for a retelling, and Alice in Wonderland has so many characters and such a vast world that every retelling is always like reading a brand new story. This book was no different, Beddor takes Wonderland and transforms it into a war torn world full of interesting machinery and complex aristocratic and royal families. I have to agree with other reviewers, the book is pretty fast paced, but that's something I enjoy especially when a book is nearly 400 pages. I think, overall, we get a great sense of the world and conflict in this book and though I haven't read the sequels, it seems Beddor has set up a strong storyline that'll carry well into the next two novels. I was genuinely interested in seeing where the plot was going and found I couldn't put it down. This book was written before flowery prose became really popular, so while you won't find pages and pages of describing a forlorn Wonderland, the description Beddor provided gave me just enough to envision my own idea of his Wonderland without bogging me down with too much.
My drawbacks are ultimately the characters. For strictly plot-people, I think this book is going to exactly what they want, but if you really need that connection with characters to fall in love with a story, that's where this books fall short. Outside of Alyss, I really couldn't distinguish a specific voice or personality for any of the other characters. They start to blend together anytime everyone has gathered on the same page and is trying to speak. As for Alyss, I thought she was rather docile, and while I get the circumstances are what they are, it just seemed like she was really easy to sway to either side so I had trouble clicking with her because she didn't exude a lot of individuality or personality. Dodge as a character is consumed by vengeance and it doesn't bode well to make the audience connect or like him. And the Mad Hatter is so stoic that I couldn't vibe with him either. The story is primarily told through the eyes of those three, so by the end of the book while I was eager to know what happened for story's sake, I really didn't care about what happened to any of them. And, side note, the Jack of Diamonds has a huge butt and it's mentioned all the time. It was...a choice?
I also didn't like the way the timeline unfolded in the first half of the book. We jump from preteen Alyss, to kid Alyss, to Hatter, back to kid Alyss, back to preteen Alyss, and then the timeline is linear from there. For me, I found I wasn't interested in kid Alice because I'd already been introduced to preteen Alice and I kept just waiting for the plot to catch up to where we began. I think a linear timeline from the beginning would've been a better choice in this case.
Overall, this book definitely has an audience and the Tim Burton Alice fans will probably eat it up. But, for me it was just okay and I won't be continuing the series because I'm not invested enough in the characters to want to find out what happens next.
Things You'll Find:
*Steampunk Alice in Wonderland*
*Tons of fight scenes*
*A bit of a strange timeline*
I'm always here for a retelling, and Alice in Wonderland has so many characters and such a vast world that every retelling is always like reading a brand new story. This book was no different, Beddor takes Wonderland and transforms it into a war torn world full of interesting machinery and complex aristocratic and royal families. I have to agree with other reviewers, the book is pretty fast paced, but that's something I enjoy especially when a book is nearly 400 pages. I think, overall, we get a great sense of the world and conflict in this book and though I haven't read the sequels, it seems Beddor has set up a strong storyline that'll carry well into the next two novels. I was genuinely interested in seeing where the plot was going and found I couldn't put it down. This book was written before flowery prose became really popular, so while you won't find pages and pages of describing a forlorn Wonderland, the description Beddor provided gave me just enough to envision my own idea of his Wonderland without bogging me down with too much.
My drawbacks are ultimately the characters. For strictly plot-people, I think this book is going to exactly what they want, but if you really need that connection with characters to fall in love with a story, that's where this books fall short. Outside of Alyss, I really couldn't distinguish a specific voice or personality for any of the other characters. They start to blend together anytime everyone has gathered on the same page and is trying to speak. As for Alyss, I thought she was rather docile, and while I get the circumstances are what they are, it just seemed like she was really easy to sway to either side so I had trouble clicking with her because she didn't exude a lot of individuality or personality. Dodge as a character is consumed by vengeance and it doesn't bode well to make the audience connect or like him. And the Mad Hatter is so stoic that I couldn't vibe with him either. The story is primarily told through the eyes of those three, so by the end of the book while I was eager to know what happened for story's sake, I really didn't care about what happened to any of them. And, side note, the Jack of Diamonds has a huge butt and it's mentioned all the time. It was...a choice?
I also didn't like the way the timeline unfolded in the first half of the book. We jump from preteen Alyss, to kid Alyss, to Hatter, back to kid Alyss, back to preteen Alyss, and then the timeline is linear from there. For me, I found I wasn't interested in kid Alice because I'd already been introduced to preteen Alice and I kept just waiting for the plot to catch up to where we began. I think a linear timeline from the beginning would've been a better choice in this case.
Overall, this book definitely has an audience and the Tim Burton Alice fans will probably eat it up. But, for me it was just okay and I won't be continuing the series because I'm not invested enough in the characters to want to find out what happens next.
hirayaryuu's review against another edition
5.0
If you're a fan of classic spin-offs then this is the book for you! it's basically a really enjoyable novel that is sure to keep you enticed!
katyanaish's review against another edition
4.0
I had a tough time at the start, because Alyss was pretty unlikable - the worst kind of spoiled princess - but compared to Redd she's a saint, so the story worked anyway.
It's a fun tweak of Alice in Wonderland, somewhat in the vein of Wicked/Wizard of Oz. I'd like to dig further into the secondary characters (particularly Hatter), though, because I found the main characters (Alyss and Dodge) to be really hard to like.
It's a fun tweak of Alice in Wonderland, somewhat in the vein of Wicked/Wizard of Oz. I'd like to dig further into the secondary characters (particularly Hatter), though, because I found the main characters (Alyss and Dodge) to be really hard to like.
stephxsu's review against another edition
4.0
You thought you knew the story of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland… well, think again. Frank Beddor brings an exciting new glimpse into the much darker world of Wonderlandia, full of intrigue, mystery, dark magic, treason, and rebellion.
Princess Alyss Heart is 7 years old when her aunt Redd leads a rebellion to overthrow her parents’ queendom over Wonderlandia. Black Imagination reigns, and followers of White Imagination must struggle to hide and survive or else be destroyed. The royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan, he with the famous top hat weapon, is charged with protecting Alyss in the world that lies beyond the Pool of Tears, but the two lose each other in the chaos.
Alyss, parents murdered, all friends lost, ends up in mid-19th-century London, where she is placed in an orphanage and then adopted by the well-meaning Lidells, who change her name and hush her ravings about the fantastic, magical world of Wonderlandia, until even Alice herself does not believe in her imagination.
On her wedding day, however, the now 20-year-old Alice Lidell’s world is suddenly turned upside down yet again, when phantoms from her past bring her back into Wonderlandia, into the midst of a war to kill her and end the Hearts’ right to the throne forever. Alyss meets up with all her old friends, including Dodge Anders, the guard who had been more than just a best friend, who was so scarred by the events of that fateful uprising day that he has allowed hate and revenge to feed him for years and years. In between relearning how to use her potent imagination, fighting off Redd’s armies, and then ultimately defeating Redd and reclaiming the throne for herself, Alyss must also try to reconnect with herself, her past, and the changed Dodge, in the hopes that their sacrifices of the past and present will make for a brighter, safer tomorrow in Wonderlandia.
Anyone who enjoys high fantasy and excellent retellings of classics will enjoy THE LOOKING GLASS WARS trilogy, of which this is the first. The action is fast-paced, the characters intriguing, the story and plot unique and mesmerizing. I am looking forward to reading this book’s sequel, SEEING REDD!
Princess Alyss Heart is 7 years old when her aunt Redd leads a rebellion to overthrow her parents’ queendom over Wonderlandia. Black Imagination reigns, and followers of White Imagination must struggle to hide and survive or else be destroyed. The royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan, he with the famous top hat weapon, is charged with protecting Alyss in the world that lies beyond the Pool of Tears, but the two lose each other in the chaos.
Alyss, parents murdered, all friends lost, ends up in mid-19th-century London, where she is placed in an orphanage and then adopted by the well-meaning Lidells, who change her name and hush her ravings about the fantastic, magical world of Wonderlandia, until even Alice herself does not believe in her imagination.
On her wedding day, however, the now 20-year-old Alice Lidell’s world is suddenly turned upside down yet again, when phantoms from her past bring her back into Wonderlandia, into the midst of a war to kill her and end the Hearts’ right to the throne forever. Alyss meets up with all her old friends, including Dodge Anders, the guard who had been more than just a best friend, who was so scarred by the events of that fateful uprising day that he has allowed hate and revenge to feed him for years and years. In between relearning how to use her potent imagination, fighting off Redd’s armies, and then ultimately defeating Redd and reclaiming the throne for herself, Alyss must also try to reconnect with herself, her past, and the changed Dodge, in the hopes that their sacrifices of the past and present will make for a brighter, safer tomorrow in Wonderlandia.
Anyone who enjoys high fantasy and excellent retellings of classics will enjoy THE LOOKING GLASS WARS trilogy, of which this is the first. The action is fast-paced, the characters intriguing, the story and plot unique and mesmerizing. I am looking forward to reading this book’s sequel, SEEING REDD!
hanmc's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
chaosandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
It's another take on Alice in Wonderland, something I can never get enough of, but it's pretty unmemorable. I enjoyed it while reading it, but can barely recall anything I actually felt strongly in favor or against during the read. None of that is a good sign and I won't bother getting into how stereotyped every character is within the work.
geekwayne's review against another edition
2.0
A retelling of Alice In Wonderland that works in some ways, and doesn't work in others. There are some interesting characters, but when it was all said and done, I was underwhelmed. Maybe because this has been done in other places in ways I've enjoyed more.
I liked the Royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan, General Doppelganger and Cat the assassin, but the rest of it just left me flat. Maybe I like my alternate Alice to be a bit edgier than she was here. Perhaps in later books she becomes that, but I'm not sure I'll read more in the series.
I liked the Royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan, General Doppelganger and Cat the assassin, but the rest of it just left me flat. Maybe I like my alternate Alice to be a bit edgier than she was here. Perhaps in later books she becomes that, but I'm not sure I'll read more in the series.