Seeing Redd, Frank Beddor

Wonderland's finest architects had designed it and overseen its fabrication. The most skilled glaziers, carpenters, masons and gemologists had worked tirelessly to ensure that even its smallest details were built according to plan: Heart Palace, imagined anew on the site of the former palace, which had stood for generations until being cruelly decimated by Redd.

This is the sequel to The Looking Glass Wars, a book which I loved. I didn't love the sequel as much, though it was good. In Seeing Redd, Alyss's rule has only just begun (hardly three months) when chaos arrives again. Glass Eyes (Redd's minions) appear out of nowhere and there are rumors that Redd has once again returned. Meanwhile, the chauvinist, sexist, King Arch of Boarderland, also seems to be involved in the violence. This makes for a quite suspenseful sequel, with all of the old characters and several new ones, like Homburg Molly, Alyss's bodyguard. And the prissy, fat, nefarious, Jack of Diamonds is back again.

This one is pretty suspenseful, and Alyss's relationship with Dodge is built upon a little bit. I would have liked to see more of that, actually. Also, the techonological and magical elements of the story mixed together were interesting. There are a lot of new weapons, but there is also Alyss's powers of imagination, one of the greatest weapons in the queendom. Frank Beddor has turned the familiar tale of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland into a good stand-alone series. There's a book 3, ArchEnemy, the final book, which I look forward to reading.

Read Seeing Redd:

• if you like Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
• if you liked The Looking Glass Wars
• if you like fantasy

371 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!