Customer Reviews

ArchEnemy: The Looking Glass Wars

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

*spoilers*

In my reviews of the first two books of this series, I stated that I had hopes this book would redeem the series. Well, it didn't.

I have the same complaints I had of the previous two books. There were far too many clichés and there was a great lack of character development. Also, I still feel like I know little to nothing about Wonderland. I know it's different than Earth, but that's about it.

The ending felt like it was rushed. I had hoped to see a violent end to Arch and Redd, but didn't. I realize this is a book for kids, but come on now, nearly all of the characters are adults...and this is a war.

I want to say that I hope more books will be written since I still like the original concept of this series very much. However, given the writing style of the author, I don't think I'll like the others much either. This should have been a movie or a cartoon series.

On a positive note, this series is an easy read and perfect for any young casual reader. I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it very much when I was a kid (LONG ago). So why am I picking on a book for kids? Because it could and should have been great for adults too!

Also, I'm not sure why, but the cover of the book was plain black (not the dust jacket). The covers to the other two were very nice and had the same image the dust jacket had. Not sure why the publisher went cheap on the third book. Perhaps I ordered the wrong version of the book???

I'd waited excitedly for the conclusion to this trilogy in the "real" Wonderland. The concept of a "real" wonderland beyond the cartoony nonsense/caricature world was certainly intriguing to me and I had a lot of fun with the world Beddor had already created. I really enjoyed the first novel in the series. The second one fell a little flat for me but was still enjoyable and left us hanging onto a cliff waiting for the exciting conclusion to the events that were set up.

Some of my complaints with the earlier two books are still present. The writing really isn't anything "to write home about." Much of the dialog is trite and the onomatopoeia that accompanies many of the action/battle sequences can be a little distracting. The characters are alright, but many of them feel a little flat most of the time.

Accepting the fact that this is a book written for young(er) boys, I was able to forgive the "literary merit" of the Looking Glass Wars series (being sure to point out that this isn't a book for Wonderland purists or for classical literary enthusiasts/purists). I also acknowledge that Beddor is a moviemaker and these novels definitely feel poised to be presented cinematically.

My biggest complaint with this novel specifically was the use of "foreshadowing." There are two particular instances that absolutely distressed me.

The first instance happens on the first page....the novel "begins" with a scene in which Queen Alyss is fighting with an assassin to save some friends and then tries to make her escape from danger. There is a "date" associated with the event and if you look at the date, you'll notice that it's in the future as compared with the rest of the novel. It's possible that Beddor is playing with this a bit to make this be an "alternate future" seen by the Oracles or something...but he doesn't explain any of that. Instead, he just presents this VERY CRITICAL scene and lets it sit there. Unfortunately, this scene is a HUGE plot point that I feel would have been better presented as a big surprise in the normal course of events. The implications of this scene are enormous. However, I have 200+ pages to contemplate their enormity before the scene 'actually' happens (almost verbatim, I think). As a result, when the scene actually happens, it has lost almost all of its impact and I'm not surprised nor does it feel like any sort of climax. Furthermore, it makes "secret" motives from King Arch a lot less secret. I know a lot of authors like to include a sort of Prologue to stores...and it's alright to have a Prologue act as a foreshadowing...but come on, don't make it an exact presentation of a highly critical and exciting scene that happens at or near the climax of the book. Talk about destroying your story arc!

The second instance of failed foreshadowing was a little less disturbing/dramatic, but was still a little troubling. Early on, we have a scene where one of the Caterpillars appears to Molly and gives her a vision. While I can try to infer the exact importance of that vision and what the Caterpillar was trying to do, I cannot come to any definitive or acceptable conclusion. I can see where "maybe" this 'prophecy' puts some events into motion (maybe...) but even then, the actions that Hatter/Molly take seem peripheral to this prophecy rather than directly impacted by it. At the very end of the novel, Molly does have a critical role to play, but it still seems a bit of a stretch even for the hugely enigmatic message from the Oracle. If this prophecy was truly important, the author should have made its importance more apparent.

All of that aside, I did enjoy the way this third novel wrapped up the series.

I enjoyed the growth in Alyss' character as she acknowledged the responsibilities of being queen and champion of White Imagination and as she then rose to the occasion to try and exemplify that role while at the same time being a compassionate and loving friend. Dodge's character took on similar growth, albeit to a less dramatic extent. Hatter and Molly seemed to expand as well, though their character's evolutions were largely minimized which made me a little sad. Most of the other characters were slightly fleshed out stereotypes which, while interesting (especially the dynamic between Arch and Rose) were not terribly compelling.

The strangest characters, which figured prominently in the book, were the Caterpillars. Because of their prominent involvement in the plot, I can't say much...but I think I would have liked to have seen (even though I really didn't like their dialog style) more scenes focussed on the Caterpillars.

The story arc was enjoyable and the tumult of activity within Wonderland was exciting to follow. I was very curious about the "Anti-Imaginationists" and would have enjoyed more details about them, even though they were largely puppets in Arch's plan. Rose's army was still very creepy and I love some of the details there. The ebb and flow of Imagination's power from the Heart Crystal felt underplayed and/or under-explained, but it did provide nice tension to the fluctuating balance.

The climactic flow and the final wrap up felt rather weak and somewhat contrived (the weakness largely due to the failed foreshadowing I mentioned above as well as lack of development in some key points such as the Imaginationist prison camps or the tension between Rose's assassins and those they were forced to work with). The creation of "Everqueen" (which was considered as an alternate title to the book) left me somewhat confused and slightly dissatisfied. Everqueen had been alluded to briefly a couple of times and when Everqueen was finally presented, there was not sufficient elaboration on the importance/significance. Again, since this came from the Caterpillars, it's fitting with their character, but I would have loved to have perhaps seen Bibwit expound on the virtues of Everqueen or something.

Looking back on this (lengthier than I anticipated) review, I have a lot of complaints. Perhaps I'm being too critical...because I really did enjoy this story. I think I was just hoping for more out of the book. It's an entertaining book and a fun and intriguing story in a cool world with cool characters...but it is also definitely a "fluff" book whereas I saw potential for deeper, more thought provoking themes.

Overall, recommended for adventure seekers who are looking for some light reading. You probably shouldn't jump right into Book 3...you may be able to start in Book 2, but I personally liked Book 1 the best, so I'd suggest just reading the series as it's presented.

****
3 out of 5 stars

I must say, I'm a little torn. Part of me wants to say that this was a fantastic book, a perfect ending to the trilogy, but unfortunately, I don't think I can. A lot of this book was insignificant fighting scenes that seemed to go on forever. I'm sure this makes it a popular read for some readers, but that's really not what I go into books for. The writing was spectacular, sharply witty, albeit going overboard sometimes with the details of the fight scenes, and it was through this amazing writing that these characters really came to life. I found myself switching favorite characters from Dodge (who sadly doesn't make as many appearances as I had hoped/expected him to make) to good old Hatter. My heart really broke for him and Molly, and Beddor portrayed the awkward phase they were going through really well. I've not read many books where the author has so fully developed a complete world. I didn't know what to think of the many instances of blatant foreshadowing; it had its plusses and minuses, sometimes it worked, other times it was a little much. Up until the ending, it was really a great read. However, the ending seemed, in my opinion, completely rushed, slowed down, and anticlimactic--not as epic as the rest of the series. I know Beddor could have done better. I still do highly recommend this series to all fans of fractured fairytales and the like.

Rating: 4.5/5

This is the concluding book in The Looking Glass Wars trilogy by Frank Beddor. It was okay. I think Beddor did a good job of wrapping things up, but I just couldn't get into either the characters or the story.

After King Arch devises to set off the bomb to kill all imagination; both Alyss and Redd are left without imagination. They are left wondering if/when imagination will return to Wonderland. When Arch turns against Redd, Redd is left without an army or allies and she is forced to ally with the one person who believes in imagination as much as she does...Alyss. Will imagination return? Will Arch be the one to rule Wonderland in the end? What are those darn caterpillars up to anyway? Who is the Everqueen?

I felt like everything about this book was luke warm. A lot happened, but not a lot of it really drove the plot forward. Alyss was in the story but didn't do much, she kind of let herself be shuttled around from place to place. Dodge was in the book but not a very empathetic or supportive character. The whole relationship between Dodge and Alyss fell flat, leaving me not caring whether they worked things out or not. There are no surprises in the plot, everything ends up exactly how you think it should. I found this book to be a boring and lengthy read, I really had to push to get through it. None of the characters were engaging, none of the villains all that bad, and everything ended just as predicted. There were some action scenes that could have been awesome, Beddor does an okay job writing them but didn't make me sit on the edge of my seat in anxiety waiting for the outcomes. The characters in the fight scenes are just to stoic and cardboard-like, you never know what they are thinking, feeling, or experiencing.

There were some things that redeemed the book. Hatter M and Molly are pretty good characters. These are some of the only characters that really showed some feeling throughout the book. Redd is one of the only characters who takes decisive action action King Arch, and she was way more interesting that any of the good characters. Beddor does do a good job tying up all of the loose ends, but he does it in such a straightforward and tidy way that it was not much fun for me to read. I guess to be fair I didn't really like "Seeing Redd" all that much either, so I may just not enjoy Beddor's writing style.

I am glad I read the conclusion. Disappointed that I figured out who the Everqueen was near the beginning of the book. Also disappointed in the characterization. So all in all an okay read, read it if you have read the others. It didn't make me excited to read more Beddor books though.

This was a great ending to a wonderful trilogy. I was very pleased with the product and with the timely manner in which it was delivered.

In this third and final installment of The Looking Glass Wars trilogy, Beddor takes no prisoners as he closes this beautifully crafted retelling of the Alice in Wonderland tale. The plot was well done and well paced. I felt like every plot aspect took its time to be resolved and was not rushed. I still love all of the characters, but find myself loving Redd a lot more than I had ever anticipated. While the reader discovered much of her true personality and history in Seeing Redd, I felt like ArchEnemy gave me a chance to see a different side of her. Yes, she is still evil and wants Wonderland for herself. But I was surprised to see how vulnerable she was in regards to King Arch, and how much I sympathized with her experiences.

All in all, the ends are nicely tied up with reasonable explanations given for certain character's actions. While this novel was a bit different than the previous two, it still maintained the charm and magic that made me fall in love with this series in the first place.

Queen Alyss of Wonderland has taken over throne from Redd, who used dark imagination to rule as a dictator. In a contentious battle between the two females, light imagination wins. However a third player surfaces as King Arch of the Overlands wants to rule Wonderland. He employs WILMA (Women of Inconceivable Loss and Massive Annihilation) to ruin the Heart Crystal, which is the source of all imagination in creation.

The power of imagination vanishes from Wonderland and will soon disappear from earth and other worlds too. Alyss tries to line up support to fight the King and Queen of clubs and other allies of King Arch, who insist there is no place for imagination to flourish. Her lone remaining choice is to ally with the Redd Queen as her friends are being tossed in prisons by the WILMAs and the caterpillar between puffs says nothing of meaning.

This is the final book in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy and in spite of the subject retains all the imagination and charm of the previous novels (see THE LOOKING GLASS WARS and SAVING REDD). Alyss is bold and brave as she rules with benevolence until the threat surfaces that returns her into a determined resolute fighter. Arch is an interesting enemy whose goal appears not be power but instead the elimination of power; which makes him a difficult opponent to defeat as he has a personal quest. Although written for young adults, older readers will enjoy Alyss' latest adventures in Wonderland.

Harriet Klausner