I had a few days I had to devote to shopping since it is Christmas and all, and I had a few other things going on this past week, so that delayed my start a little bit. Once that was out of the way though, I pretty much tore through this book with the same total amount of reading time that it took me to get through the first book. The final book in the series is about the same size as well, so I honestly expect that I’ll have this series wrapped up before Christmas.
As a trilogy, the first book was pretty much self-contained. It often seems with book series and film franchises and other written or scripted mediums that this is often the case. I imagine it’s done in the event the first planned book or film is not as successful as they’d have liked, so it can be ended without being incomplete. It provides the potential for a continuation without the promise, while wrapping up the dominant story in a fashion that the story could stand on its own even if no sequels are done. The second book is often when things start to go downhill though, and almost always end in a fashion that is something of a cliffhanger in preparation for the final book. Of course, when a series goes beyond three books things run a bit differently, but since this was a trilogy this is the basic expectation I had when starting this book.
Story
I had a few concerns when I first started this volume, since the reviews of this book in the series were not quite as favorable as the first book. I am happy to say that I found the negative reviews to be pretty much unfounded, and I would actually say that the quality of the two books is actually pretty consistent. That’s not to say the stories are very similar, because they’re not, but the overall quality of the story felt much the same as the first. That sword cuts both ways though, as there were a few detractors in the first book that still popped up in this one.
The story this time was definitely a bit more in depth, and a bit slower as well. The first book saw more action and major events, while this book focused on events that were more subtle, as well as presenting matters that were a bit more personal. That’s not to say there was no action or straightforward events, but they’re definitely not as prevalent in this volume as they were in the first book. There’s no doubt that this book is meant to continue straight in to the next one though, and that it’s really setting the stage for a final book that should be quite interesting. That’s not to say that this book just ends abruptly and unnaturally, because it doesn’t, but rather that the circumstances in its conclusion are not the type of circumstance on which any story would feel complete. While the first book could have felt wrapped up in its end, this one leaves no doubt that it will continue.
In some ways I would say this book felt darker than the first, and in some ways I would say it wasn’t quite as dark. The first book had Redds violent and aggressive nature thrown at the reader very openly. This book presents conflict in a more covert and subdued political fashion for quite a bit of its length. The manipulation and covert actions themselves actually make it feel somewhat darker than when Redd was just slaughtering people left and right, but it’s more of a sense of something getting beneath your skin rather than being thrown in front of you for all to see. They’re both dark and evil elements, but are very different in their approach and how it makes you feel. Although, don’t fret, as the title implies, Redd and her evil nature makes an appearance, so there is some of that too.
One thing I did definitely notice was that the book expanded to cover a much larger cast of characters as the focus in many chapters, so Alyss and Redd herself lose quite a bit of the spotlight in this volume. I would actually venture to say that the book put quite a bit more focus on the antagonists than the protagonists. I haven’t actually counted how many pages each character got, but that’s just the sense I got upon completion. It felt like the evil side of the cast saw quite a bit of development, but the good side saw very little. In fact, I would say Hatter was more thoroughly developed in this story than Alyss or Dodge were. Given this is the second book in a trilogy though, it is somewhat forgivable. The good side was developed in the first book, while the evil side was mostly thrashed. Now that the third book is going to likely present a major conflict, the second book is going to have to build up the evil side again, which is what happened. I wish Alyss and Dodge saw a bit more focus, but I can understand the need to redevelop the enemy for the benefit of the final book.
Unfortunately, one of my major gripes with the first book again presented itself. Somehow, even though the danger was all to obvious this time, the forces of Wonderland once again felt completely unable to accomplish or achieve anything. At least in the first book Redds coup was a surprise, but this time everyone knew there was an enemy out there, yet nearly every battle that was fought was pretty much entirely one-sided. The nature of the cast also feels equally lopsided, with Redds army of highly talented soldiers with special abilities, and Alyss’ army of nobody card soldiers and chess soldiers. I’ll never understand why stories always seem written where the good guys are always outgunned, and all the power and talent is liberally tossed at the villains when the good guys get nothing. Does talent really only develop for those that are evil? Sometimes it honestly feels that way in the world of fiction.
Even where Redd was involved things seemed a bit lopsided. Alyss was shown to have one of the most powerful imaginations yet seen in the first book, so it seems odd that Redd was able to so easily get the better of her, even when Alyss was with the crystal. I’m hoping this is touched on a bit in the next book, because this felt a bit inconsistent. It just didn’t seem right that Redd seemed to be in a whole other league when they really should have just been more equal. Hopefully the next book explains this imbalance a bit, because it otherwise just feels like another manifestation of what I mentioned above.
Ah well, aside from that one major issue from the first book again presenting itself, I still enjoyed this book quite a bit overall. I’m not sure which I liked more, the first or the second, so I would really put them on roughly equal footing for different reasons. While the first book was aggressive in its storytelling and straightforward and action packed, this book takes a more subtle and covert approach, but works equally well in the process.
Characters
Alyss is presented again this time, but aside from a few moments here and there showing her reactions to events, and a few other moments involving her and Dodge, she doesn’t get much focus this time around. There is one interesting tidbit of a revelation about her character and her desires presented at the very end of the book, so I’m kind of interested to see if that is developed further in the next one. Dodge is equally low key in this book, and his attitude and behavior feels only somewhat improved from the first book. Once Redd reappears, how little he’s developed becomes quite clear. At least he got something of a lesson near the end, I’m just hoping he takes something from it.
Redd is pretty much the same villain we remember, though we see a few extremes of her when she is both weaker, and stronger. All in all though, the strength of her power does little to effect her personality or character, and her defeat in the last book has little effect on her either. The book also presents a villain through King Arch , who ends up being the primary reason this book takes a more subtle approach. While Redd is aggressive and openly violent, Arch thinks much more strategically and politically. In a way, Arch reminds me of the qualities we see in Jack of Diamonds, though more refined and placed behind a more charismatic individual.
For the side of good, the main focus of this volume seems centered around Hatter Madigan, and Homburg Molly to a lesser extent. These milliners are shown to be a bit more human in this book, for better or worse. We certainly see a side of Hatter that wasn’t presented strongly in the first book, where his role was more of a soldier that would do anything and everything to follow orders and accomplish his mission. This time we encounter a Hatter that is equally as driven, but more due to his humanity and emotions than from any order or mission. He certainly has a mission, but it’s a mission of his own now. Molly is shown to still be a child, in spite of her position and previous maturity, but we see little more of her since she is absent for the majority of the book. Another character named Weaver, Hatters previous lover, also presents herself but plays a very small role as well.
There’s a few new villains introduced as well, but I honestly wouldn’t say any of them are particularly interesting aside from one. Most of Redds new little henchmen are just equally evil hearted people with some type of special talent or ability, like evil X-Men or something. The only one that is really developed or of much interest is Vollrath, an albino like Bibwit, though one that is devoted to black imagination. It is through him that Redd is tutored and her power increased to the point she’s seemingly more powerful than Alyss.
Writing
There’s not a whole lot to say here that I didn’t mention previously. Beddor again shows a talent for mixing the heavier and darker elements of his story with the far lighter elements that Carroll presented in his original work. The story once again only benefited from its association with Carroll’s work, although that influence was a bit lighter in this book than the first. Much of the new material definitely didn’t feel associated with Carroll’s original work, but the unmistakable presence of it in the rest of the story was still as strong as it was in the first book.
What I will note is that Beddor demonstrated pretty diverse writing talent in this book. He was able to take the same setting and story and add new elements, that were notably different from the elements in the first book, without having the differences negatively impact the overall story. This book still felt very much like the first one, but the story that’s told within the familiar setting and with the familiar characters is really quite different.
Illustrations
Unlike the first book, I liked the cover art in this book quite a bit. I didn’t hate the first books cover, but I only found it to be so-so. This time Redd herself graces the cover, and her appearance is really quite well done and detailed. The first books cover felt like it had the appearance of videogame or CG graphics with mediocre to average texturing, but the art on this cover feels more like a painting. The back cover is a landscape setting from the book, with the appearance of cinematic or videogame concept art, which isn’t a bad thing. It has that interesting mix of detailed and sketched elements that is often seen in concept art, but it works well in my opinion. Someone who only likes well detailed art may not care for it, but I am not such a person.
Like the first book, this book also contains three sectional illustrations that serve to divide the book in to three parts. The first appears to be Alyss looking out at the ctiy from beneath a stand of large mushrooms. I honestly think this is probably my favorite so far of the two volumes, and it really gives the best imagery yet of what Wondertropolis looks like. The second is a soldier, possibly a card soldier, though I’m not 100% certain. Regardless though, it’s a pretty sweet looking soldier with some very ornate armor. The third is simply a tent city, and is likely one of those found in Boarderland, and is probably the least detailed or impressive of the three. But hey, not all imagery associated with the book need be fantastic, and I’d say this image gives the reader a good idea of the barren and simple nature of Boarderland. There is also a map at the front of the book to give the reader a glimpse of the world and its political and geological boundaries.
Closing Comments
I am definitely enjoying this series overall. As I mentioned in the last post, it isn’t a perfect series, but I haven’t found any of my complaints to be anything that would kill the series so far. With only one book left to go, I feel pretty confident that no storykillers will pop up between now and the conclusion. I find the shorter a series is, the less likely the tone or style will change over the course of a series to kill it before it ends (yeah, I’m looking at you “Wheel of Time” and “Sword of Truth”).
My one real gripe so far has been the lopsided nature of the antagonists compared to the protagonists. This isn’t unusual though, and you see it all the time in every medium from games to movies to books. It’s a plot device I wish writers wouldn’t employ quite so often, but as long as the story is strong and interesting I’m able to get past such a problem. I’m happy to say that, so far, the story this series has presented has done just that, and I’m looking forward to the next and final book in the trilogy. After that, I may well see if I can get my hands on “Hatter M”, since I’ve really enjoyed the setting and characters so far. I’ve also heard there’s a possible film adaptation down the road, which could be promising if done right. On top of that, this world seems ripe with potential for spinoffs and other stories, so who knows what use will yet be made of the potential this series presents.
© 2009, Keonyn. All rights reserved.
Tags: Dial Books, Fantasy, Frank Beddor, Penguin Group, Seeing Redd, The Looking Glass Wars
