Skip to main content

Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1) by Christina Henry

"A severely dark and twisted take on Lewis Carroll's classic, with Alice, and other characters from Wonderland, such as Cheshire, The Walrus, the Carpenter, the Caterpillar and of course, the White Rabbit. It was a unique and definitely a twisted and sadistic take on Carroll's story but it was enjoyable for what it was." 

2 Stars

Pros: It was interesting how Henry used various characters from Carroll's classic tale, such as the Walrus, the Carpenter and the Caterpillar as various Crime Lords interspersed throughout Old City/Cheshire was fun, chaotic neutral if you will, he's a hard character to read and you're not sure if you should like him or hate him but he does make things more exciting. 

Cons: Alice's constant questions of Hatcher and the dialogue between them was just...odd. It didn't have a good flow and felt awkward and was tedious after awhile. 

Full Review: 

Alice has only vague, broken memories of her time with the Rabbit. And what she can remember, are not pleasant. She dreams of blood and pain and screaming and she realizes, that it's the memory of her own screams that haunt her nightmares. She's locked away in an Asylum, a thing of shame to her parents, who are prim, proper and good citizens of New City. Whatever happened to her has left her damaged and broken and the only solace she can find is in the man in the cell beside hers, who speaks to her through a mousehole in the wall. 

His name is Hatcher and he's been locked away in the Asylum for having killed multiple people with an axe. As the story progresses, we learn more about Hatchers past and what led him to do what he did and how he and Alice's stories interweave. Their lives become entwined when one night Alice awakens to realize that the Hospital is on fire. Hatcher breaks his door down, rescues Alice and they flee the Hospital and into the Old City. 

Hatcher explains that when the Hospital burned, a creature that's haunted his own nightmares, the Jabberwock, escaped during the fire and he has to do what he can to confront and destroy it. Their journey brings them through the dark, twisted, degraded streets of Old City, all controlled by cruel, sadistic and violent bosses. But Alice has a hidden card up her sleeve that they'll have to use in order to not only survive but save Old City and all of its people from the terror and bloodshed of the Jabberwock. 

Overall, it was entertaining but severely and rather surprisingly dark. It was a unique twist with the characters of Carroll's classic and I enjoyed it for that, but overall, the flow of the story just wasn't all that impressive. I'll most likely read the sequel, just to see how the series wraps up but overall, it wasn't great, it wasn't terrible, it was pretty solidly "okay", right in the middle. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end."    ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific.  Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd.  Full Review:  Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective.  Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review:  This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments.  Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man.  Full Review:  The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for...
Post a Comment
Read more