Category: 
by Frank Beddor
This is going to be a bit of a stub review so as not to spoil anything for new readers.
Beddor has an interesting take on the Wonderland universe. Redd is Alyss’s Aunt, who attempted to usurp Alyss’s rightful place as Queen of all Wonderland. Alyss is currently Queen, and is of the Spades deck. But, she has a problem. The Clubs and Hearts decks are working against her, and not only that, but the powers of Imagination have been taken away by a unique weapon of war. Alyss’s Imagination is the source of her power, but fortunately she also has a good head on her shoulders and is able to think things through, ah, but isn’t that a part of imagination? To be able to find ways to solve a problem. Imagination is indeed slowly returning, but very slowly. In the mean time the Clubs decks are rounding up all the Imaginationists, painters, poets, etc, who are unable to create works of art due to the loss of the Power of Imagination.
The prologue starts with Alyss trying to find out if there are any clues on how to help Wonderland on Earth. In so doing she becomes stuck on Earth, unable to return to a Wonderland that requires her attention. That in itself is a symptom of something being very very wrong in Wonderland. This causes the reader to wonder, what made Alyss desperate enough to return to earth, and how is she going to get back to Wonderland before everything goes all to hell? The prologue essentially acts as a hook to make the reader interested in reading on. It worked.
There are also many World War 2 parallels, such as the rounding up of Imaginationists into relocation camps (not everyone has an imagination), propaganda speeches, hypocrisy, etc. There is also a clear distinction between the good guys and the bad guys, and I must say Redd is, of course, the ostentatious obnoxious kind. She is working with Arch the Head of the Clubs, who is better at being evil than she is. The Oracles, who are the caterpillars (which I found amusing), are giving prophecies to both sides of the conflict, declaring loyalty to an Everqueen, protecting her and the Heart Crystal. But no one has a clue who this Everqueen is. It is one more thing that Alyss has to deal with to try to figure out how to heal Wonderland.
Beddor has given the Alice in Wonderland story more breadth and depth. It helps to be familiar with the original Through the Looking Glass story, or to have seen or read some rendition of it (Movies, Disney, etc.), but not entirely necessary. In fact, there is enough information in this novel that I was able to understand and glean what had occurred in the previous novels without having read them (which I haven’t). Though, I’m sure I missed out on some subtlety. I like Dodge, the fellow in love with Alyss, and I like Hatter. Hatter is cool. I was amused to see a weapon’s diagram of the AD-52 (Automatic Dealer). The entire world is WEIRD. Of course! This is a Through the Looking Glass story. It’s Wonderland. Of COURSE it’s going to be weird! It’s in the nature of the beast.
The novel is classified as Young Adult Fiction, ages 12 and up. I have no arguments there. So, if you’re looking for something bizarre and interesting to read, this is it.
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