The Looking Glass Wars: Summary and book reviews of The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, plus links to an excerpt from The Looking Glass Wars and a biography of Frank Beddor.
The Looking Glass Wars
by Frank Beddor
Hardcover: Sep 2006,
384 pages.
Paperback: Aug 2007,
400 pages.
The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions of mad tea parties, sleepy dormice, and a curious little blonde girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination.
You know the myth...
A little girl named Alice tumbled down a rabbit hole and proceeded to have a charming adventure in the delightful, made-up world of Wonderland...
Now discover the truth... Wonderland Exists!
Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, was forced to flee through the Pool of Tears after a bloody palace coup staged by the murderous Redd. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life only to see it published as the nonsensical Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyss had trusted Lewis Carroll to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere would find her and bring her home. But Carroll had gotten it all wrong. He even misspelled her name! If not for royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan's nonstop search to locate the lost princess, Alyss may have become just another society woman sipping tea in a too-tight corset instead of returning to Wonderland to fight Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.
Meet the heroic, passionate, monstrous, vengeful denizens of this parallel world as they battle each other with AD-52's and orb generators, navigate the Crystal Continuum, bet on jabberwock fights and travel across the Chessboard Desert.
Our 12-year-old male reviewer loved every bit of The Looking Glass Wars - the humor, the action, the graphics and the characters. From an adult point of view, Beddor gets top marks for creativity and plot, but loses points for a clunky writing style that tends to read like a concept for a computer game rather than a finished book. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Kirkus Reviews
The book reads more like a screenplay than a novel.
Publishers Weekly
Fans of the source material will find this an entertaining diversion, while those unfamiliar with it will miss much of the humor.
Booklist - Krista Huntly
Beddor offers some intriguing reimaginings of Dodgson's concepts...his attention has, happily, put Wonderland back on the map again.
The Independent - UK
Beddor has created his own version of the story, one where the characters have small hints of their counterparts, but are much more defined and complex individuals, with feelings and clear identities.
Children's Buyer's Guide
A highly original and engrossing read that takes the story of Carroll's Alice and turns it on its head in a totally believable way. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for the next volume.
The Sunday Times The Looking Glass Wars caused a stir this year by
playing with Lewis Carroll and offending the purists. But this
ingenious reworking for 10 to 13 year olds, in which the heroine feels
betrayed by Carroll's account, and in which imaging a thing makes it real -
is powerful, eventful and dark. Which is entirely legitimate
considering the surreality of the original.
The Guardian (UK) - Diane Rabinovitch
Fantastic battle scenes, plot twists, character interest and slow-burning love make this an ace read for both sexes.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Peyton The Looking Glass Wars Review This book had imagination far greater that Alyss's.
Rated of 5
by Carlo the looking glass wars This is the first book I ever read, and it is a good start on reading book. Frank Beddor truly has a great imagination.
Rated of 5
by Audrey THE REVIEW OMG OMG!!!!! I TOTALLY just finished this TOTALLY rad book. I like, couldn't put it DOWN!!!! I SO wanted to actually talk to Dodge and like, kiss him and stuff. The action was SUPER!!! And I SO think this would make a TOTALLY SOOPER movie!! :)
Rated of 5
by Kelsey J Great book I thought this book was absolutely incredible. By far the best book I have EVER read. Thanks for writing such a fantastic book :)
Rated of 5
by Ryan The Looking Glass Wars It was awesome and I loved every minute reading it.
Rated of 5
by Anon The looking glass words An absolutely amazing book, much better than original story of Alice in Wonderland!
Frank Beddor is not your average first
time author. He's just published the
second in his Looking Glass trilogy (Seeing
Red), published a spin-off comic in
December 2005 about the character of
Hatter Madigan (Hatter M
illustrated by Ben Templesmith), is
working on a video game (set in
Wonderland during the 13-year-reign of
Queen Redd, which is barely touched on
in the book), and is in talks about a
movie trilogy which, undoubtedly, would
lead to countless merchandising
opportunities.
Which begs the question, who is Frank
Beddor? According to his publisher's bio
he runs Automatic Pictures (a film,
television, and interactive game
company) and was the producer of the hit
comedy There’s Something About Mary.
Before that, he was the first
International Ski Federation World Cup...
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Kirkus Reviews
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by Peyton
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