ArchEnemy (Looking Glass Wars Series #3)

readers will enjoy Alyss' latest adventures in Wonderland

Queen Alyss of Wonderland has taken over throne from Redd, who used dark imagination to rule as a dictator. In a contentious battle between the two females, light imagination wins. However a third player surfaces as King Arch of the Overlands wants to rule Wonderland. He employs WILMA (Women of Inconceivable Loss and Massive Annihilation) to ruin the Heart Crystal, which is the source of all imagination in creation.

The power of imagination vanishes from Wonderland and will soon disappear from earth and other worlds too. Alyss tries to line up support to fight the King and Queen of clubs and other allies of King Arch, who insist there is no place for imagination to flourish. Her lone remaining choice is to ally with the Redd Queen as her friends are being tossed in prisons by the WILMAs and the caterpillar between puffs says nothing of meaning.

This is the final book in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy and in spite of the subject retains all the imagination and charm of the previous novels (see THE LOOKING GLASS WARS and SAVING REDD). Alyss is bold and brave as she rules with benevolence until the threat surfaces that returns her into a determined resolute fighter. Arch is an interesting enemy whose goal appears not be power but instead the elimination of power; which makes him a difficult opponent to defeat as he has a personal quest. Although written for young adults, older readers will enjoy Alyss' latest adventures in Wonderland.

Harriet Klausner

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Great way to end the series!!

I am so very lucky that I got to meet the author Frank Beddor @ Comic-Con a few weeks ago. I seriously gushed at him about how wonderful this series is. Then to my knee shaking surprise he handed me an advanced copy of Arch Enemy and as if that weren't enough he even signed it. Let me just say the end is amazing. I don't want to give anything away except to say that if you are considering getting this book do not hesitate!

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Great!

This is the second book, and is definitely one you will love!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not Bad

A decent ending to a pretty enjoyable series. I thought this series was a pretty cool reimagining of Alice In Wonderland...noticably different, but alot of the same elements...and it was taken a bit further. This book tied of the series fairly well. My only disappointment was that I felt the end was just a slight bit rushed. I was expecing some sort of big throwdown between Redd and Alyiss in the end, but instead, it all happened kinda quickly. I mean...it's obvious how it was going to go down in the end, but I really was expecting some sort of struggle between the 2 before Alyss managed to achieve it. Oh well though. That aside, it was a pretty decent book...and a pretty good series all around. Seeing Redd was probably my favorite of the 3 books, but they all had their part to play in the entire series. If you like fantasy and/or Alice in Wonderland...this is a great story, and a good reimagining of Alice. I look forward to checking out the Hatter M off shoot books eventually, though I have a few other series lined up to get through first.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

ArchEnemy

I must say, I'm a little torn. Part of me wants to say that this was a fantastic book, a perfect ending to the trilogy, but unfortunately, I don't think I can. A lot of this book was insignificant fighting scenes that seemed to go on forever. I'm sure this makes it a popular read for some readers, but that's really not what I go into books for. The writing was spectacular, sharply witty, albeit going overboard sometimes with the details of the fight scenes, and it was through this amazing writing that these characters really came to life. I found myself switching favorite characters from Dodge (who sadly doesn't make as many appearances as I had hoped/expected him to make) to good old Hatter. My heart really broke for him and Molly, and Beddor portrayed the awkward phase they were going through really well. I've not read many books where the author has so fully developed a complete world. I didn't know what to think of the many instances of blatant foreshadowing; it had its plusses and minuses, sometimes it worked, other times it was a little much. Up until the ending, it was really a great read. However, the ending seemed, in my opinion, completely rushed, slowed down, and anticlimactic--not as epic as the rest of the series. I know Beddor could have done better. I still do highly recommend this series to all fans of fractured fairytales and the like.

Rating: 4.5/5

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

archenemy

alyss and redd team up to save imagination. molly goes to earth. arch gets wonderland. great book. so sad that this is the end.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Great as a start

Not the greatest finale

While it has some good fights and plot eh not the greatest ending it felt too rushed and reptive and the climax wasnt the best

Wow sarcstic

Who ever said its da second book is a nincompoop! Dis book is awesum!

This is the third book

This is the third book

I think its a wonderdful waynto end a series and not drag it on. I know more than likely everyone including myself wants to know what happens to dodge and alyss, but it was the right place to stop. Thank you so much frank beddor for carrying on such a wonderous adventure.

Love, love, love this series!!!!!!

This series is so well written!! If you love Alice in Wonderland but want a great take on the story than I would suggest this series!!!

not as good as i hoped

I loved the first 2 books in the trilogy, but this one did not hold my interest. I found it much less imaginative than its predecessors. I only finished it to see how the series ended.

Just ok

I really enjoyed the first two books of this series. But had a hard time getting through this book. The series for me is just turning to war like for me. Other wise the book was just ok...

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

read this whole series and its a great twist on a story we all have heard

A Great Book

This is a great book had me on the edge of my seat till the very end! I highly recommend this terrific ending to an excellent series.

Reviewed by Kira M for Teens Read Too

In this final book of THE LOOKING GLASS WARS trilogy, Wonderland's Heart Crystal's powers have been depleted and so have the powers of Imagination. This leaves Wonderland vulnerable to its enemies, which, according to the caterpillar oracles, are many. With doubts in the air and hidden enemies within Wonderland, who may even be people pretending to be her friend, Alyss forms an uneasy truce with Redd, the queen who killed her parents and took over Wonderland. Their goal: to defeat Arch, the King of the Boarderland. With little chance of counting on Imagination to save them and the stakes high, will Alyss find a way to keep her throne and save her people? Who can she really trust? This book had a lot of violence in it, much like the first two in the series, but was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. The plot was intense and well-thought out. The main characters are well-developed and stayed true to their natures that the author created for them. Fans of the original ALICE IN WONDERLAND, fantasy, and adventure will all enjoy reading ARCHENEMY, but will need to read THE LOOKING GLASS WARS and SEEING REDD first, in order to be able to follow the story.

Good book in a short story.

What i mean is that there is still alot that i would have liked to be told/written about. Perhaps write another book for the future post-war Wonderland? Like the future of Wonderland & etc. I really enjoyed this book & the series. Although alot was crammed n & not explained & there were too many happy coincedences for me.

Great series

My son has read three or four of these Looking Glass Wars books by Beddor. He is a voracious reader and he loves the twist on the Alice in Wonderland theme.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Eh...

The first two books are fantastic, which is why I had such high hopes for this one but sadly, it didn't deliver. It seemed like so much needed to be finished, and it all got condensed and stuffed into one book. Though, I'm not completely convinced that making the series longer would have made it better.
The end battle was very anti-climactic. It was too sudden and there didn't seem to be a good build-up to the final moment. How a couple of the characters found their way back to Wonderland after the event with the Pool of Tears was anti-climactic as well.
This book just didn't seem to be as well written as the first two and that was disappointing.
However, I would recommend it simply to round out the trilogy.