Author: Frank Beddor
Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult
Favorite Lines
“Control and power aren’t everything. Allow yourself to be the agent by which a cause greater than any single individual triumphs.” - Looking Glass Wars
“The most important questions are always answered with yet more questions.” - Seeing Redd
Summary
I don’t usually use book trailers but since this one summarized the books so well I thought why not.
My Thoughts
The Looking Glass Wars sounded too interesting for me to pass up. Which is why I picked up the book despite my previously stated issues with Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy turned out to be awesome. Each book was just as good as the one before it. I literally could not put it down until I had read the whole series.
I loved Frank Beddor’s writing style. It was witty and imaginative. I also appreciated that he wrote his action scenes and descriptions in a way that was very easy for the reader to visualize. I thought it was brilliant that the author choose to combine his vision of Wonderland with historical events and people from Earth. He used real people such as Charles Dodgeson (a.k.a Lewis Carrol), Alice Liddell, and even Prince Leopold as an part of the story. In a very fictionalized way of course, but still it inspired me to want to look up the history of the real people themselves. The first book includes a timeline describing the parallels between what happens in Wonderland and what happened in reality on Earth. I thought it was a clever detail to add.
I absolutely adored the characters. Alyss was such a wonderfully developed protagonist, and she is surrounded by excellent supporting characters. I even enjoyed the villains, Redd and Arch, who kept the story interesting with their ability to scheme and destroy with the help of some very creative minions. What was great about the development of the characters was that the books shared the back-story of so many of them. This made the characters incredibly engaging for me as the reader.
The best thing about Looking Glass Wars, Seeing Redd, and Arch Enemy is that there is something in there for everybody. Action, drama, fantasy, steampunk, and a little romance. I think it is something both girls and guys would like. It is also something a variety of ages would enjoy. You don’t have to read Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass to have fun reading The Looking Glass Wars. However, it is more intriguing to see where Frank Beddor’s ideas come from if you read the source material and some history on Lewis Carrol. I highly suggest that everyone go to the book store and pick up The Looking Glass Wars. It is certainly going on my list of favorite book series.
Interesting Facts
Frank Beddor claims that the story was inspired when he saw an incomplete set of ancient playing cards at the British Museum with images that resembled Wonderland characters.
There is a spin-off comic book series entitled Hatter M. The series centers around the character Hatter Madigan and his adventures searching for Princess Alyss.
The Movie
I would be overjoyed if this movie makes it to the screen. There is a movie in the works, but it has been on stand still for awhile due to other Alice themed movies that have been released in the past years. Hopefully it will be a fully developed project soon. This book deserves a really great movie.
Music To Read By
I enjoyed listening to music with ethereal or mechanical type sounds while reading this. I liked listening to Confessionals by Florence and the Machine. I also liked listening to Speak For Yourself and Ellipse by Imogen Heap. In addition, I read a bulk of this series while movies were playing on the TV. It was particularly lovely to read this while Starwars, Van Helsing, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider were on the television. Hence I have included songs from the movie soundtracks on my playlist. I’m thinking this is a playlist I may add on to later, but I like what I have on it so far.
The Looking Glass Wars Playlist
Looking Glass Wars - Geek
Red Heart - Vicki Hanson
Heartlines - Florence and the Machine
Burn It Down - Alan Silvestri
Wait It Out - Imogen Heap
Equinox - Skrillex
Duel of The Fates - John Williams
Have You Got It In You? - Imogen Heap
Invincible - Muse
The Clock - Graeme Revell
We Can Make The World Stop - The Glitch Mob
That's it darlings. See you tomorrow with the short story review. I would have posted it today, but the book review won out on the writing table today. Happy reading and keep it shiny!
