Booklist
Beddor offers happy resolutions for favorite characters.
ArchEnemy (Looking Glass Wars Series #3)
by Frank BeddorView All Available Formats & Editions
The Heart Crystal's power has been depleted, and Imagination along with it. The people of Wonderland have all lost their creative drive, and most alarmingly, even Queen Alyss is without her powers. But at least the vicious Redd Heart seems to be similarly disabled. Amazingly, she is attempting to team up with her enemy, Alyss, in order to reclaim Wonderland from
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The Heart Crystal's power has been depleted, and Imagination along with it. The people of Wonderland have all lost their creative drive, and most alarmingly, even Queen Alyss is without her powers. But at least the vicious Redd Heart seems to be similarly disabled. Amazingly, she is attempting to team up with her enemy, Alyss, in order to reclaim Wonderland from King Arch. Alyss might have no choice but to accept Redd's overtures, especially when she begins to receive alarming advice from the caterpillar oracles. . . .
Editorial Reviews
Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr
Fast on the heels of the New York Times bestselling The Looking Glass Wars (Book1) and Seeing Redd (Book 2) comes British author Frank Beddor's third and final installment of his "Looking Glass Wars" series. For those who are not aficionados of this particular fantasy world, it should be explained that Beddor has developed his particular universe from Lewis Carroll's Alice stories. Thus, the heroine Alyss must battle the fiend, Arch, for control of the underground Wonderland and its "imagination" which keeps it alive. The key to book three is the word "battle." The plot is little more than a non-stop succession of violence upon violence, in the tradition of Hollywood's best action films. The difference, of course, lies within Beddor's cleverly invented armory of lethal cards and other whiz-bang nunchuk-like tools of destruction. The books are certainly one way to get reluctant male readers reading, but they are also quite probably causing the good Reverend Dodgson to writhe in his grave. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
VOYA - Amy Sisson
Beddor returns to Wonderland in this final installment of his Looking Glass Wars trilogy. Desperate to regain their powers of imagination, Alyss and her Wonderland subjects must forge an uneasy truce with Redd to try to defeat Arch, the King of Boarderland, but the caterpillar oracles' mysterious pronouncements make it difficult to know who is on what side. In the meantime, Hatter Madigan escorts his daughter Molly, resentful of his neglect while he served Alyss and her now-dead parents, to the real world to be placed into the care of Charles Dodgson/ Lewis Carroll. Unfortunately at this point in the trilogy, it is simply difficult to care. As with the previous volumes, the substance of this novel does not live up to the book's gorgeous production values; the cover's menacing armored soldier promises a gritty and suspenseful story, but the reader is subjected to meaningless nonsense such as a desperate inventor who pulls out a clump of hair from his head and claims to have invented it. Other elements seem equally random and silly, and there is not the slightest bit of suspense as to how the story will end. It is impossible to recommend the book based on literary quality, but libraries will want to check their circulation statistics for the first two volumes to gauge potential interest in the conclusion. The upcoming 2010 release of Tim Burton's film version of Alice in Wonderland may also spur additional curiosity. Reviewer: Amy Sisson
From the Publisher
"Beddor offers happy resolutions for favorite characters."—Booklist"This excellent and satisfying end to the trilogy is a must-have for fans of the other volumes as well as for those who enjoy Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle."—School Library Journal
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Wonderland is left reeling after the disappearance of imagination, and Queen Alyss Heart must defend her queendom from threats both internal and external, as King Arch of Boarderland and her aunt, Redd Heart, attempt to take control of Wonderland's throne and the powerful Heart Crystal. Alyss, along with her loyal subjects—Homburg Molly, Hatter Maddigan, Bibwit Harte, and Dodge Anders—must fight, at times both with and without imagination, to save Wonderland and Earth from imagination's total destruction. They have only hints from the oracular caterpillars about Everqueen and the need for action by Molly, Alyss, and Redd to shield the Heart Crystal and imagination. Frank Beddor's nonstop action and well-crafted world of Wonderland make his novel (Penguin, 2009) fast-paced and exciting. Gerald Doyle's superb narration will entrance listeners, and his many different voices for the characters along with clever sound effects will capture their imaginations. This excellent and satisfying end to the trilogy is a must-have for fans of the other volumes as well as for those who enjoy Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle.—Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KYProduct Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780142416891
- Publisher:
- Penguin Young Readers Group
- Publication date:
- 10/14/2010
- Series:
- Looking Glass Wars Series, #3
- Pages:
- 384
- Sales rank:
- 69,146
- Product dimensions:
- 7.46(w) x 11.28(h) x 1.02(d)
- Lexile:
- 1070L (what's this?)
- Age Range:
- 12 - 17 Years
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