Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews
Book Review: Archenemy
By Sandy Amazeen
Nov 1, 2009, 19:00 GMT

The third and final book of The Looking Glass Wars finds Queen Alyss on the throne after an intense confrontation with Redd, the former queen who relied on dark imagination to maintain control of the kingdom. As Alyss begins her reign, reestablishing Wonderland to its former glory, King Arch from a neighboring Borderland kingdom sees his opportunity to strike. The King launches an assault on Wonderland and the Heart Crystal resulting in both Queens losing the source of their power. Without imagination, Alyss is nearly helpless yet that does not stop her from trying to protect the inhabitants of Wonderland from King Arch.

Alyss has little choice but to form an alliance with Redd who would like nothing more then to return to the throne. As Redd begins feeling the faint stirrings of imagination, Alyss struggles with her complex relationship to her bodyguard Dodge. To save her kingdom, Alyss must unravel the caterpillar oracle riddles regarding the safety of Evergreen but the oracles have their own agenda so it is difficult to take anything they say at face value. The young queen will need to return to her earlier role as a warrior if she is to hold Wonderland together.

The complex story backed with plenty of battle scenes and fully realized characters broaden the appeal of this series from its target audience of young adults to readers of all ages. This provides a satisfying conclusion to an inventive reinterpretation of Lewis Carroll’s original works. As with most trilogies, it is best to start at the beginning although it’s possible to jump in and make sense of the action.