bookwormerica's review against another edition
4.0
ended well. everything got tied up. dodge never got his revenge
kay_tee_em's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.75
mororke's review against another edition
3.0
The final book of The Looking Glass Wars, and I wish I could say that it was all I hoped for. The story, while fast paced (I listened to it in just one day), seemed disjointed and rushed to tie up loose ends.
The characters, which have been so well developed, like Alyss and Redd, are pushed to the back and the book focuses on Arch, who I haven’t liked through any of the books.
I am glad that I finished the series, which was such an interesting take on Alice in Wonderland, but I felt that it wasn’t the ending we deserved.
The characters, which have been so well developed, like Alyss and Redd, are pushed to the back and the book focuses on Arch, who I haven’t liked through any of the books.
I am glad that I finished the series, which was such an interesting take on Alice in Wonderland, but I felt that it wasn’t the ending we deserved.
dragoneyes451's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. This was an underwhelming conclusion to the trilogy that left me super bored and dying to just be done with it.
theverbalthing's review against another edition
2.0
Having reread this full series, I think it would have done better to end after the first book. By the time this novel concludes, it feels like Beddor has been grasping for plotlines, intertwining and taking on too much in the attempt to carry the overall arc across an entire trilogy. The characters are still compelling but there's something lacking in the plot. The Holocaust-esque treatment of the imaginationists would have served better as a longer plot, I think, rather than something tacked on for interest in the final book.
I don't know. This series still holds a special place in my heart and I'm glad that I re-read it, but there was so much potential to do more and to do it better.
I don't know. This series still holds a special place in my heart and I'm glad that I re-read it, but there was so much potential to do more and to do it better.
books_plan_create's review against another edition
1.0
This was somewhat of a let down. The only good thing about the book is that it is over.
megkerr1's review against another edition
2.0
With each book in this series, I felt that the author was losing the imagination and wonder that he created in the first book. Sometimes, I wonder if the series should have been a standalone or at least a duology to keep the storyline from falling into the flaws that it had. I guess I should break it down into what I did and didn’t like about the (final?) book.
For starters, Beddor gives us a creative reimagining of the classic Alice in Wonderland story. This series was my first time reading a version of an older Alice returning to Wonderland (long before the Tim Burton films). This version of Wonderland has more action, adventure, and depth. The first two books gave us the set up to the finale, but this book fell flat. It felt like I was reading a longer Wikipedia page of what happened in the first two books until the new story popped up.
I didn’t feel as connected to the characters in this book unlike the others. There are too many perspectives and the story jumps all over the place (a similar problem that I had in the last book). Alyss especially felt like a shell of herself, and I missed the strong, kind, and creative Queen that we grew to know and love in the first book. Again, there was a lot of action. It shouldn’t have been an issue, but the action was taking away from the character development and plot line. It probably would have worked better as a movie or TV show rather than a book.
I don’t want to tell people to not read this series. You should read whatever you want to. I would probably just stick with the first book as it is the best (in my opinion) out of three. If you really like the first book and want to explore more of the world, then read the series. The conclusion does wrap up a lot of character arcs but also felt empty and open to other books. I know that the author has graphic novels and video games that are still based in the universe, but I don’t plan on reading or playing them.
For starters, Beddor gives us a creative reimagining of the classic Alice in Wonderland story. This series was my first time reading a version of an older Alice returning to Wonderland (long before the Tim Burton films). This version of Wonderland has more action, adventure, and depth. The first two books gave us the set up to the finale, but this book fell flat. It felt like I was reading a longer Wikipedia page of what happened in the first two books until the new story popped up.
I didn’t feel as connected to the characters in this book unlike the others. There are too many perspectives and the story jumps all over the place (a similar problem that I had in the last book). Alyss especially felt like a shell of herself, and I missed the strong, kind, and creative Queen that we grew to know and love in the first book. Again, there was a lot of action. It shouldn’t have been an issue, but the action was taking away from the character development and plot line. It probably would have worked better as a movie or TV show rather than a book.
I don’t want to tell people to not read this series. You should read whatever you want to. I would probably just stick with the first book as it is the best (in my opinion) out of three. If you really like the first book and want to explore more of the world, then read the series. The conclusion does wrap up a lot of character arcs but also felt empty and open to other books. I know that the author has graphic novels and video games that are still based in the universe, but I don’t plan on reading or playing them.
glowing_embers16's review against another edition
3.0
More of a 3.5 for me. I felt that the book moved pretty slow until the last 40 pages or so - then I just drank everything in. Though Beddor does a fantastic job of moving between the viewpoints of different characters, he did it so much in this volume that it began to get aggravating. Right at an important part he'd switch to another character, and it would take a couple of chapters for everything to mesh together. Oddly, I was pretty content with the ending - though it was cheesy and more could have been done with it. All in all, this was a delightful and adventurous trilogy.