Twisted Kingdom

At first I couldn't for the life of me figure out just how I felt about this book. It's just that kind of a book. Lucky for me I finally figured I don't care much for it and so here we are with this review.

From Amazon we have the plot:

When her parents, the king and queen of Wonderland, are killed by her Aunt Redd, Alyss Heart escapes by jumping into the Pool of Tears. Her jump takes her to Victorian Oxford, where she emerges from a puddle, lives as a street urchin, and is eventually adopted by Reverend and Mrs. Liddell. Unable to make anyone believe her fantastic story, she finally confides in Charles Dodgson, who says he will write a book about her. When she discovers that Alice's Adventures Underground is full of make-believe, and not her story or her real name, she sadly resigns herself to life as a Victorian girl of privilege. Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, the Alyssians form a resistance movement and attempt to overthrow the despotic Redd. For years, Hatter Madigan searches the world for Alyss so she can return to Wonderland as Queen.

Mailyn Says:

I have to admit there are a few things that attracted me to this book. Mainly the reviews mostly promising this was anything but Lewis's Wonderland. That was fine with me since I have never cared for the Alice books one bit. In fact, they are right up there with Pride & Prejudice in the "books I cannot stand" category.

Another thing was the plot which sounded interesting.

Unfortunately that was the only interesting thing about this book: the premise. The actual execution of it left much to be desired. The characters were, as many people have observed, as one-dimensional as they come. The all-powerful Alyss, the trusted bodyguard, and a host other cliche characters, along with some very bad writing, make this one of the most boring books I've read in a long time. I was mildly interested in the first couple of chapters but by the time I started seeing everything coming a mile away I just skipped ahead to see how Beddor would end it all.

All in all, a big waste of time regardless of whether you love or hate the original Alice books.

A 2 out of 5 just to give it a few points for the premise.

Kailana Says:

It's sad that you did not like this book Mailyn because while I did not think it was the best book ever, I also did not think it was a waste of time either. I really do not like Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I consider it one of my least favourite books of all time. I can never even finish it, I find myself skimming. This book I read from cover to cover, so that puts it a bit ahead of the original.

I agree that the book is a bit predictable, but it was an original take on a classic story. The majority of the characters were compelling, but some of them I think he could have been developed a bit more. I did have the story figured out a great deal of the time, but Alyss interested me and she was a great figure to watch develop. I like how you can see aspects from the oringinal reworked. The Cheshire Cat works for her evil aunt, cards play an important aspect, and the catapillars are the philosophers that represent Lewis Carroll. It also shows how the story that we know of Alice in Wonderland progressed into the story that Beddor has written.

I liked this book better than the original. It is going to be a trilogy, so we will see if by the time book two comes out I still have enough interest in the story. Not a book to be bought in hardcover, but not a totally waste of time either.