14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fans will not be disappointed in this third installment, October 26, 2009
At the end of SEEING REDD, Frank Beddor's second book in The Looking Glass Wars trilogy, Wonderland was in disarray. The power of the Heart Crystal had been contained and imagination was seemingly lost. Queen Alyss and her meddling aunt, Redd Heart, were left powerless and forlorn. Only one person looked to capitalize from the confusion and hysteria the citizens of Wonderland were experiencing: King Arch.
Not content with sitting idle in the neighboring Borderland, King Arch leads an all-out assault on the capital of Wonderland, while Alyss and Redd remain powerless without the use of their imaginations. He overtakes the palace and starts to construct a plan that can only end in disaster and leave him as the last royalty standing.
Along with her host of deadly assassins and without the use of imagination, Redd seeks to return to her origins. Still as bitter, spiteful and evil-hearted as ever, she would like nothing more than to regain her rightful place as Queen from Alyss. King Arch, however, poses a bigger threat at the moment, and Redd is starting to feel that familiar energy of imagination seep back into her.
Queen Alyss recognizes that, with or without imagination, a queen still needs to take care of her people. Alyss cares deeply for the inhabitants of Wonderland, so when she's forced on the run, her only concern is to overthrow King Arch and restore peace to her beloved country. It doesn't help that her thoughts are preoccupied with her bodyguard, Dodge, and their ever-complicated relationship. Does he love her? Does she love him? If only imagination could fix things already.
And let's not forget the caterpillar oracles. They may know the desires and future of those in Wonderland, but they always seem to have an ulterior motive of their own. It may indeed be that the fat oracles care only for tarty tarts (and lots of them), but they keep mentioning the safety of Everqueen. Who is Everqueen? As the last book in The Looking Glass Wars trilogy, the stakes are as high as ever. Lives will be lost, relationships will be severed, and old enemies will unexpectedly unite in a climactic battle that is beyond imagination.
Frank Beddor's re-imagination of ALICE IN WONDERLAND has succeeded on so many levels. The introduction of The Cat and Hatter Madigan as assassins was enough by itself to take the storyline to a whole new level. Once heavily-armed card soldiers, epic battle scenes, and more imagination than your standard daydream were added to the mix, Beddor's tale transcended the level of fun children's story.
Fans of THE LOOKING GLASS WARS and SEEING REDD will not be disappointed in this third installment. If anything, Beddor ups the ante and dives even deeper into the characters by offering rare insights into their psyche. And action fans, don't fret: there are more knives, guns, ammunition and bombs than you can shake a jabberwocky at. On a final note, make sure you take time to visit the official website of the series, which contains information on the three books, book trailers, music, art, games, and information on the two graphic novels that accompany this wonderful series.
--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing book!, December 2, 2009
I'm not very good at book reviews - I think it stems from the fact I was never good at book reports as a kid, either. But this book is absolutely amazing. It's the final volume of a wondrous trilogy that poses this question: What if Alice in Wonderland was real, and Lewis Carroll (AKA Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) got it very, very wrong.
Political plots, vengeful aunts, a tiny touch of romance, and a LOT of action and adventure all mixed up with colorful, hookah-smoking caterpillars addicted to tarty-tarts. It's all in here, and the final book in the trilogy simply completes a tale that kept me locked into my seat for hours on end.
Highly recommended to anyone that likes fantasy, adventure and a little hint of steampunk.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Where in the world is Alyss?, November 17, 2009
The final battle for Wonderland is here, but their isn't actually a battle. Instead we are sidetracked from Alyss, who is the main character right? And we must deal with Redd and Arch (who are the most abusive 'couple' ever) and their 'shenanigans' as I will call it. We must also follow Homburg Molly as she is without the urge to fight and does nothing.
During Seeing Redd, the previous book, I noticed that while the first book dealt with Alyss for one part, the rest of the book focused on Redd. I know the title is Seeing Redd, but come on. Alyss is important too.
Now in Arch Enemy I see felt no sympathy for any of the characters (except perhaps Homburg Molly). Alyss and Dodge's relationship had been stretched so far I really didn't care whether they "ended up" together. Redd seems a tame villian and Arch is shown to have a big ego (which we already knew). The ending, I won't spoil, but it was a little fast and bland. In fact I was at page 320 and saw that their were only 370 pages, I then felt as if the author simply said. Im sick of writing now, i'll just say "The End".
The one strong point in this novel was the deep hidden meanings that weren't even really expanded upon. I would really have liked if the author added at least a hundred more pages so his story at least had wholeness and insight.
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