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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Interesting read and great interpretation to a world we know. I look forward to reading more of the Author's work.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had a hard time putting this book down it was so good. A definite must for everyone's library.
DNF around a quarter in. Not… bad? Just not holding my attention. I think if you like Nicole Dollinger you will like this???
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this. It wasn't exactly what I expected but that didn't take away from my enjoyment. The story kept me engaged and the characters were great. I enjoyed Alice's journey and character development very much.
A solid 4 stars for this twisty turn on the classically sweet but borderline schizophrenic story of Alice in Wonderland. What if falling down the Rabbit's hole dropped you into the middle of a sadistic nightmare from which you could never wake? This is no land full of Wonder, especially not for pretty, young girls. The Alice in this tale appears at first to be a victim, but nothing could be farther from the truth. You enjoy traveling along Alice and, her love, Hatcher as they wield axes and knives, slicing and dicing their way through the Old City. They are on an adventure alright and the bodies pile up as they go. All the classic characters are there in very unconventional ways and in unfathomable circumstances. It's a twisted take on an old favorite, but it actually seems quite plausible after you take a few hits off the hookah. In the end you want more pages to read and you hope more stories will be written about this story's Alice and Hatcher's continued adventures.
I chose to re-read this, despite not enjoying it much the first time I read it, as I bought the second in the series, Red Queen, and had pretty much forgotten what happened in the first book.
This is a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, which is obvious from the title and synopsis, and it does take the basic threads of plot from the original story, but twists them in very dark ways, making it almost unrecognisable from the original.
While the characters are interesting enough, I still felt somewhat distant to them, and was never really convinced by their relationship, as it seemed somewhat based on dependency and hero-worship from Alice's perspective, and from Hatcher it seemed her relied on Alice for sanity, and I don't think it was that healthy a relationship. That being said, it was mostly an unspoken relationship, and neither really explored what they had together.
Alice does grow throughout the book, and becomes more mentally strong and confident as she gets through the events of the book. Hatcher still seems like Hatcher, and I didn't entirely trust him as a character. He protected Alice, but he also coerced her into eating or drinking something at one point, which made me uncomfortable. He's borderline abusive at times, and I didn't like it at all. I couldn't get behind them as a couple at all.
It's a fairly fast-paced plot; it never really lets up throughout the book. It makes for very quick reading, if you can stomach the darkness and gore. And there is a lot of violence in here - rape, torture and murder feature quite prominently, and some of the gory scenes are very graphic in their descriptions.
Which brings me to why I still couldn't rate this higher than two stars. It's the violence. It's a story based on rape, torture, murder and violence. Women have no status in this world, and Alice herself seems to recognise that - but whereas she latches onto Hatcher as her protector as a result, others are consistently killed, tortured, maimed, and abused. Women do not come out strongly in this - the only one who comes close is Alice, and even she fails to achieve that strength of character - she does grow and become stronger, but she is still dependent, and solves her problems by wishing them away.
The writing is not quite the same quality as it is in the author's later books, like Lost Boy. I felt detached, throughout, like I was being told a story rather than being immersed in it. I struggled to connect to the characters, and felt that I was only brushing the surface of who they were. It would have been nice to have more down time with them both, to see how they interacted when they weren't constantly on the run. There was just no engagement for me.
Also, an aside on the writing, but this book does feature that classic line 'let out a breath they didn't know they were holding'. It always makes me laugh when I see that line. While some of the descriptions were very graphic and gory, at times the writing did feel detached.
Overall, this was just as disappointing as it was the first time round - I've slept on this now since I finished it and I initially gave it three stars, bumped up from my rating of two stars the first time I read it. But now I've thought about it, and I think it's still a two. It's okay. It's not terrible, I didn't hate it, but it's not great either. There is potential in the author's writing here, and there's potential in the story to be something great, but I just don't think it gets there on either count.
This is a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, which is obvious from the title and synopsis, and it does take the basic threads of plot from the original story, but twists them in very dark ways, making it almost unrecognisable from the original.
While the characters are interesting enough, I still felt somewhat distant to them, and was never really convinced by their relationship, as it seemed somewhat based on dependency and hero-worship from Alice's perspective, and from Hatcher it seemed her relied on Alice for sanity, and I don't think it was that healthy a relationship. That being said, it was mostly an unspoken relationship, and neither really explored what they had together.
Alice does grow throughout the book, and becomes more mentally strong and confident as she gets through the events of the book. Hatcher still seems like Hatcher, and I didn't entirely trust him as a character. He protected Alice, but he also coerced her into eating or drinking something at one point, which made me uncomfortable. He's borderline abusive at times, and I didn't like it at all. I couldn't get behind them as a couple at all.
It's a fairly fast-paced plot; it never really lets up throughout the book. It makes for very quick reading, if you can stomach the darkness and gore. And there is a lot of violence in here - rape, torture and murder feature quite prominently, and some of the gory scenes are very graphic in their descriptions.
Which brings me to why I still couldn't rate this higher than two stars. It's the violence. It's a story based on rape, torture, murder and violence. Women have no status in this world, and Alice herself seems to recognise that - but whereas she latches onto Hatcher as her protector as a result, others are consistently killed, tortured, maimed, and abused. Women do not come out strongly in this - the only one who comes close is Alice, and even she fails to achieve that strength of character - she does grow and become stronger, but she is still dependent, and solves her problems by wishing them away.
The writing is not quite the same quality as it is in the author's later books, like Lost Boy. I felt detached, throughout, like I was being told a story rather than being immersed in it. I struggled to connect to the characters, and felt that I was only brushing the surface of who they were. It would have been nice to have more down time with them both, to see how they interacted when they weren't constantly on the run. There was just no engagement for me.
Also, an aside on the writing, but this book does feature that classic line 'let out a breath they didn't know they were holding'. It always makes me laugh when I see that line. While some of the descriptions were very graphic and gory, at times the writing did feel detached.
Overall, this was just as disappointing as it was the first time round - I've slept on this now since I finished it and I initially gave it three stars, bumped up from my rating of two stars the first time I read it. But now I've thought about it, and I think it's still a two. It's okay. It's not terrible, I didn't hate it, but it's not great either. There is potential in the author's writing here, and there's potential in the story to be something great, but I just don't think it gets there on either count.
dark