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treeandme's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 Stars
*I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion.
I’m sure that the majority of us have read Alice in Wonderland at some point, or at least are familiar with the story. It has been a while though since I’ve read it, but it’s always been a story that fascinated me and I love the different interpretations of it in both book and film, so this anthology piqued my interest a lot. These stories were very original and were a very eclectic mix and it’s probably one of the most diverse anthologies I’ve read, most notably in the genres explored. As it’s such a mix of interpretations, writing styles and genres, everyone will probably respond to this anthology very differently from the next person. And as is probably expected, there were some stories that I enjoyed more than others.
Every single contribution in this anthology is of course, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. However, with some of the stories it is a bit harder to pinpoint the connection to Wonderland and so with a couple of them, although I enjoyed the story in itself, it was a bit disappointing to not be able to see a clear connection with Alice. I didn’t expect them to be an exact copy, I’m actually glad that none of them were, but it would’ve been nice if the Alice influence was a bit clearer. Some had elements of the original story in them like going down the rabbit hole, the growing and shrinking and the slaying of the Jabberwocky. Whereas some just had characters with similar names to the original characters, with one being spelt Alise. Others didn’t have connections that I could pinpoint as easily and I didn’t mind when the story in itself was interesting enough, but some of the concepts were harder to grasp and I just couldn’t get into them as much.
I wish I’d have taken my time with this, and stepped away after each story, because I feel like it would of allowed each story to fully make its mark on me, before I dived into another. Some of the stories have overlapped a bit in my memory because there are quite a few of them, and naturally, I remember the ones that I enjoyed more, compare to the ones I didn’t. There were quite a lot of stories that I did enjoy though and I found myself faced with one of the downsides to anthologies, where you read a good story and desperately want it to be a bit longer. For the most part, I felt that the author’s did a really good job with the length of their stories, they didn’t seem too long or too short, but when you’re enjoying something, you always want a bit more. There were actually also two poems in the book, one opened the anthology and another closed it, which was a quite nice use of structure. Both of the poems were done by the same author, but I really liked the last poem the best, it, paired with the last story, felt the perfect way to end the anthology. Both offerings seemed to jolt the reader back into the harsh realities of life, such as the fact that Alice couldn’t stay in Wonderland forever and in my opinion, the horrific truth of what would of happened to Wonderland had it been discovered by adults.
The ones that I wasn’t too fond of, like I said, didn’t really feel connected to Wonderland or just didn’t pull me in enough. I feel like some of the stories were too abstract in their connection and general plot, that I couldn’t enjoy them as much as the others. I completely love how weird and wacky the world of Wonderland is, but some of the stories just didn’t make sense to me and I was confused the whole time. I felt like I couldn’t find something to hold on to in those stories and so when that happened, I was searching for the connection to Alice instead and then when I didn’t find it, I was at a loss. Therefore, I couldn’t appreciate them as their own story or through their connection to Wonderland.
Lastly I want to just praise the ones that I loved. These tended to be the ones that had a more realistic approach to Wonderland, covered in magical realism. Magical realism tends to be a favourite of mine and so it doesn’t surprise me that these were my favourite type of stories. I’m not sure why, but I just found these more inventive than the others. There was one where Alice had come out of Wonderland, found the world a changed place and had to assimilate into everyday mundane life, it was sad but a really interesting read. There was another story that was a bit harder to swallow in terms of subject matter and looked at what Alice could of been escaping from by going to Wonderland. A lot of the stories had quite dark undertones, but one that was incredibly sweet was where Alice had to come to terms with the fact that the things from her childhood, such as Wonderland, were suffering due to her no longer paying attention to them and she made it her responsibility to fix it. One of my favourites and the last story, looked at Alice reflecting on her life and what happens to those who experienced so much magic as a child and the longing to go back instead of facing reality. It even incorporated Peter Pan, which I thought was a nice touch.
Overall, this was a unique anthology filled with inventive stories that I’ve never seen before as interpretations of Wonderland. Although some were more to my liking than others, I was able to appreciate the amount of creativity displayed, I mean we saw an injection of Japanese folklore, Alice hunting Mr. Rabbit and even consideration of the controversy surrounding Carroll. I would definitely recommend this as I’m sure that there’s something for everyone in this wide range of stories.
*I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion.
I’m sure that the majority of us have read Alice in Wonderland at some point, or at least are familiar with the story. It has been a while though since I’ve read it, but it’s always been a story that fascinated me and I love the different interpretations of it in both book and film, so this anthology piqued my interest a lot. These stories were very original and were a very eclectic mix and it’s probably one of the most diverse anthologies I’ve read, most notably in the genres explored. As it’s such a mix of interpretations, writing styles and genres, everyone will probably respond to this anthology very differently from the next person. And as is probably expected, there were some stories that I enjoyed more than others.
Every single contribution in this anthology is of course, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. However, with some of the stories it is a bit harder to pinpoint the connection to Wonderland and so with a couple of them, although I enjoyed the story in itself, it was a bit disappointing to not be able to see a clear connection with Alice. I didn’t expect them to be an exact copy, I’m actually glad that none of them were, but it would’ve been nice if the Alice influence was a bit clearer. Some had elements of the original story in them like going down the rabbit hole, the growing and shrinking and the slaying of the Jabberwocky. Whereas some just had characters with similar names to the original characters, with one being spelt Alise. Others didn’t have connections that I could pinpoint as easily and I didn’t mind when the story in itself was interesting enough, but some of the concepts were harder to grasp and I just couldn’t get into them as much.
I wish I’d have taken my time with this, and stepped away after each story, because I feel like it would of allowed each story to fully make its mark on me, before I dived into another. Some of the stories have overlapped a bit in my memory because there are quite a few of them, and naturally, I remember the ones that I enjoyed more, compare to the ones I didn’t. There were quite a lot of stories that I did enjoy though and I found myself faced with one of the downsides to anthologies, where you read a good story and desperately want it to be a bit longer. For the most part, I felt that the author’s did a really good job with the length of their stories, they didn’t seem too long or too short, but when you’re enjoying something, you always want a bit more. There were actually also two poems in the book, one opened the anthology and another closed it, which was a quite nice use of structure. Both of the poems were done by the same author, but I really liked the last poem the best, it, paired with the last story, felt the perfect way to end the anthology. Both offerings seemed to jolt the reader back into the harsh realities of life, such as the fact that Alice couldn’t stay in Wonderland forever and in my opinion, the horrific truth of what would of happened to Wonderland had it been discovered by adults.
The ones that I wasn’t too fond of, like I said, didn’t really feel connected to Wonderland or just didn’t pull me in enough. I feel like some of the stories were too abstract in their connection and general plot, that I couldn’t enjoy them as much as the others. I completely love how weird and wacky the world of Wonderland is, but some of the stories just didn’t make sense to me and I was confused the whole time. I felt like I couldn’t find something to hold on to in those stories and so when that happened, I was searching for the connection to Alice instead and then when I didn’t find it, I was at a loss. Therefore, I couldn’t appreciate them as their own story or through their connection to Wonderland.
Lastly I want to just praise the ones that I loved. These tended to be the ones that had a more realistic approach to Wonderland, covered in magical realism. Magical realism tends to be a favourite of mine and so it doesn’t surprise me that these were my favourite type of stories. I’m not sure why, but I just found these more inventive than the others. There was one where Alice had come out of Wonderland, found the world a changed place and had to assimilate into everyday mundane life, it was sad but a really interesting read. There was another story that was a bit harder to swallow in terms of subject matter and looked at what Alice could of been escaping from by going to Wonderland. A lot of the stories had quite dark undertones, but one that was incredibly sweet was where Alice had to come to terms with the fact that the things from her childhood, such as Wonderland, were suffering due to her no longer paying attention to them and she made it her responsibility to fix it. One of my favourites and the last story, looked at Alice reflecting on her life and what happens to those who experienced so much magic as a child and the longing to go back instead of facing reality. It even incorporated Peter Pan, which I thought was a nice touch.
Overall, this was a unique anthology filled with inventive stories that I’ve never seen before as interpretations of Wonderland. Although some were more to my liking than others, I was able to appreciate the amount of creativity displayed, I mean we saw an injection of Japanese folklore, Alice hunting Mr. Rabbit and even consideration of the controversy surrounding Carroll. I would definitely recommend this as I’m sure that there’s something for everyone in this wide range of stories.
aramintapdf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
pretty good anthology! I like the ones that are darker yet retain the whimsy of wonderland instead of trying to modernise it.
umairah's review against another edition
4.0
Overall Rating: 3.75 stars
Wonderland was a magical anthology full of short stories inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. All the stories managed to capture the wondrous yet morbid whimsy of Wonderland as they were full of imagination and followed no rules. It was a mixed bag- some were amazing and some not so much. Here's a brief summary of the stories and my thoughts on them:
This was an amusing poem which I liked but it didn't greatly impress me.
This story was about life, love and death and even though I understood it was trying to convey a deep message I thought the writing was confused and just generally muddled and I didn't enjoy it.
This was so wonderfully creepy and mysterious and I did not see the ending coming. I liked how the narrator of the story was clearly hiding something and their intentions were gradually revealed. Also, it gave me very strong Birdbox vibes so if you liked that book/ movie you will probably like this.
The White Queen's Pawn was quite short and not much happened but it still had an impact. I loved how it slowly went from a seemingly normal situation to something scary and macabre!
This one started off in Wonderland, from the perspective of the Hatter, and ended on a very unexpected and refreshing plot twist. I loved it! Furthermore, I appreciated how the 'Alice character' didn't fit the visual stereotypes surrounding her.
When a girl called Dorothea calls her dog 'Alice', she doesn't realise how useful her pet will become. This was another short story with an ending that came out of the blue but it was also quite satisfying.
As the title suggests, this story was inspired by the 'Jabberwocky' poem and was about a young man trying to slay the Jabberwocky to earn his glory but comes to some unsettling realisations. I liked how the story included the whimsical nonsense language from the 'Jabberwocky' poem.
This story was about how our fears can affect our realities and the power of believing that something is real. It also had quite a sweet ending.
This one took Alice to the Wild West and while I liked the ideas behind it and the direct writing style it just didn't create much of an impact on me.
Vanished Summer Glory was a poignant story about grief, loss and love and it was really touching and quite saddening to read.
It was quite weird and I still don't quite understand what on Earth went on in this one but I guess it gets credit for creativity!
This one was inspired by Japanese mythology which was intriguing and original. I also liked how the ending left me with so many theories and thoughts about all the implied things that could have caused the things that happened.
What Makes a Monster was set in the author's A Blade so Black universe and it was about some rather cool monster hunters. At the start I thought I was going to enjoy this story very much but it didn't impress me as much as I thought it would although it was still good.
This one had a lovely hint of supernatural and while I saw the plot twist coming I enjoyed the dramatic irony of it. It was based on the idea that 'impossible things' can sometimes be more real than you first think.
Temp Work was heavily based on sci-fi but I didn't enjoy it because the plot didn't interest me.
An utterly weird and confusing story and my least favourite in the anthology.
This story was extremely imaginative with a strong narrative voice and I was satisfied with the way it ended. I also liked how it explored previously uncharted territory in Wonderland.
It was quite touching and nostalgic tale and I liked how it included the history behind the original 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' book.
Another humorous, clever poem which concluded the anthology nicely!
Overall, this was a really interesting read and I liked reading all of the different takes on Wonderland. I'm not going to lie- I hate Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the animated Disney adaptation gave me nightmares as a child. However, this anthology makes me feel like giving the books (and the movies) another chance!
Thank you to Titan Books for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Wonderland was a magical anthology full of short stories inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. All the stories managed to capture the wondrous yet morbid whimsy of Wonderland as they were full of imagination and followed no rules. It was a mixed bag- some were amazing and some not so much. Here's a brief summary of the stories and my thoughts on them:
Alice in Armour by Jane Yolen- 3 stars:
This was an amusing poem which I liked but it didn't greatly impress me.
Wonders Never Cease by Robert Shearman- 2.5 stars:
"Just because love dies, it doesn't mean you can't go on."
This story was about life, love and death and even though I understood it was trying to convey a deep message I thought the writing was confused and just generally muddled and I didn't enjoy it.
There Were No Birds to Fly by M.R. Carey- 5 stars:
"If you follow the rules... you'll live a whole lot longer"
This was so wonderfully creepy and mysterious and I did not see the ending coming. I liked how the narrator of the story was clearly hiding something and their intentions were gradually revealed. Also, it gave me very strong Birdbox vibes so if you liked that book/ movie you will probably like this.
The White Queen's Pawn by Genevieve Cogman- 4 stars:
The White Queen's Pawn was quite short and not much happened but it still had an impact. I loved how it slowly went from a seemingly normal situation to something scary and macabre!
Dream Girl by Cavan Scott- 5 stars:
This one started off in Wonderland, from the perspective of the Hatter, and ended on a very unexpected and refreshing plot twist. I loved it! Furthermore, I appreciated how the 'Alice character' didn't fit the visual stereotypes surrounding her.
Good Dog, Alice! by Juliet Marillier- 4.5 stars:
When a girl called Dorothea calls her dog 'Alice', she doesn't realise how useful her pet will become. This was another short story with an ending that came out of the blue but it was also quite satisfying.
The Hunting of the Jabberwock by Jonathan Green- 4 stars:
As the title suggests, this story was inspired by the 'Jabberwocky' poem and was about a young man trying to slay the Jabberwocky to earn his glory but comes to some unsettling realisations. I liked how the story included the whimsical nonsense language from the 'Jabberwocky' poem.
About Time by George Mann- 3.5 stars:
This story was about how our fears can affect our realities and the power of believing that something is real. It also had quite a sweet ending.
Smoke 'em if You Got 'em by Angela Slatter- 3 stars:
This one took Alice to the Wild West and while I liked the ideas behind it and the direct writing style it just didn't create much of an impact on me.
Vanished Summer Glory by Rio Youers- 4 stars:
Vanished Summer Glory was a poignant story about grief, loss and love and it was really touching and quite saddening to read.
Black Kitty by Catriona Ward- 3 stars:
It was quite weird and I still don't quite understand what on Earth went on in this one but I guess it gets credit for creativity!
The Night Parade by Laura Mauro- 4.5 stars:
This one was inspired by Japanese mythology which was intriguing and original. I also liked how the ending left me with so many theories and thoughts about all the implied things that could have caused the things that happened.
What Makes a Monster by L.L. McKinney- 3 stars:
What Makes a Monster was set in the author's A Blade so Black universe and it was about some rather cool monster hunters. At the start I thought I was going to enjoy this story very much but it didn't impress me as much as I thought it would although it was still good.
The White Queen's Dictum by James Lovegrove- 4.5 stars:
This one had a lovely hint of supernatural and while I saw the plot twist coming I enjoyed the dramatic irony of it. It was based on the idea that 'impossible things' can sometimes be more real than you first think.
Temp Work by Lilith Saintcrow- 2.5 stars:
Temp Work was heavily based on sci-fi but I didn't enjoy it because the plot didn't interest me.
Eat Me, Drink Me by Alison Littlewood- 2 stars:
An utterly weird and confusing story and my least favourite in the anthology.
How I Comes to be the Treacle Queen by Cat Rambo- 3.5 stars:
This story was extremely imaginative with a strong narrative voice and I was satisfied with the way it ended. I also liked how it explored previously uncharted territory in Wonderland.
Six Impossible Things by Mark Chadbourn- 3 stars:
It was quite touching and nostalgic tale and I liked how it included the history behind the original 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' book.
Revolution in Wonder by Jane Yolen- 3.5 stars:
Another humorous, clever poem which concluded the anthology nicely!
Overall, this was a really interesting read and I liked reading all of the different takes on Wonderland. I'm not going to lie- I hate Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the animated Disney adaptation gave me nightmares as a child. However, this anthology makes me feel like giving the books (and the movies) another chance!
Thank you to Titan Books for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
calliek_reads5's review against another edition
3.0
I WANTED to like this one so much better than I did. I will say, a few of the stories were maybe 4 star reads, but overall not more than a 3 for the combination of them all.
pages_oflau's review against another edition
Can we just take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous cover?! Okay? Done? Good.
You may have noticed that I haven't given this book a rating. It's not because it's bad, just that I find it hard to rate anthologies because as with all short story collections there were some stories I really enjoyed and some that I didn't enjoy so much.
The writing in each story is so whimsical and I felt like even the horror stories had a little bit of magic to them. I found myself liking the historical fiction stories more than the others, they were just so beautifully written.
I did find some of the stories to be a little bit too weird for my personal taste and after reading I was kind of like 'I don't understand what I just read' but then I'd put the book down and pick it up again the next day. I also didn't read them all in one go, I split the stories up to read like 2/3 a day otherwise I probably would of enjoyed it a lot less reading so many different genres one after the other.
I also found that whilst this was an anthology inspired by Alice In Wonderland, there were some stories where I was like 'okay yep, I see the connection' and some where I completely couldn't see a connection at all.
Any fan of Alice In Wonderland will want to read this regardless!
You may have noticed that I haven't given this book a rating. It's not because it's bad, just that I find it hard to rate anthologies because as with all short story collections there were some stories I really enjoyed and some that I didn't enjoy so much.
The writing in each story is so whimsical and I felt like even the horror stories had a little bit of magic to them. I found myself liking the historical fiction stories more than the others, they were just so beautifully written.
I did find some of the stories to be a little bit too weird for my personal taste and after reading I was kind of like 'I don't understand what I just read' but then I'd put the book down and pick it up again the next day. I also didn't read them all in one go, I split the stories up to read like 2/3 a day otherwise I probably would of enjoyed it a lot less reading so many different genres one after the other.
I also found that whilst this was an anthology inspired by Alice In Wonderland, there were some stories where I was like 'okay yep, I see the connection' and some where I completely couldn't see a connection at all.
Any fan of Alice In Wonderland will want to read this regardless!
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Here we have a collection of short stories that were all inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (along with Through the Looking Glass), by Lewis Carroll. I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, so when I saw this book being deaccessioned from the library where I work, I grabbed it. I am not disappointed. There are seventeen short stories and two poems (both by Jane Yolen). Most of them were really good, but maybe a couple didn't quite hit the mark for me.
The two poems by Ms. Yolen were both excellent and served as the opening and closing of the volume. The genre of the stories covers a fairly wide range, from some that are fantasy, to some that are more in the horror genre, and one that was, well, kind of a western. That one would be "Smoke 'em if You Got 'em," by Angela Slatter.
A few of the stories sort of picked up later in Alice's life, when she was longing to be able to return to Wonderland. One, in particular, "About Time," by George Mann, had Alice's granddaughter Lucy, taking her brother, Peter, to see the rabbit hole that she had found behind the shed.
In "Wonders Never Cease," by Robert Shearman, we get many Alices and many variations of the same tale. "There Were No Birds To Fly," by M.R. Carey, is one that I believe falls more into the horror genre, as a group of people are being pursued by something that takes the form of their worst fears.
"The White Queen's Pawn," by Genevieve Cogman, is one of my favorites, as the elderly Alice lures a young lady into being her replacement as the White Queen's Pawn. To me, it has the vibe of a sort of fantasy spy story. "Good Dog, Alice!," by Juliet Marillier, is a chilling tale that implies a predatory tutor who may be about to do something unseemly to the main character, who remains nameless. She is gifted a dog for her eleventh birthday, and she names the dog "Alice." At one point in the story, she tumbles into Wonderland by going through a blue door in a hallway, one that she had been told to never open. But Alice had wandered in there. She gets hold of some purple and silver berries that have special properties. Then she feeds those to Alice to help defend her from her tutor.
There is a fantastical tale by Catriona Ward, called "Black Kitty." Ms. Ward has been on my radar for a while, and, in fact, I have one of her books in my pile of library books to be read. This is my first exposure to her writing, and I quite loved it. This one makes us of the mirror (looking glass) motif and involves kittens.
All in all, it is a quite wonderful collection of tales, and I would recommend it to any fan of Wonderland or fantasy/horror short stories.
The two poems by Ms. Yolen were both excellent and served as the opening and closing of the volume. The genre of the stories covers a fairly wide range, from some that are fantasy, to some that are more in the horror genre, and one that was, well, kind of a western. That one would be "Smoke 'em if You Got 'em," by Angela Slatter.
A few of the stories sort of picked up later in Alice's life, when she was longing to be able to return to Wonderland. One, in particular, "About Time," by George Mann, had Alice's granddaughter Lucy, taking her brother, Peter, to see the rabbit hole that she had found behind the shed.
In "Wonders Never Cease," by Robert Shearman, we get many Alices and many variations of the same tale. "There Were No Birds To Fly," by M.R. Carey, is one that I believe falls more into the horror genre, as a group of people are being pursued by something that takes the form of their worst fears.
"The White Queen's Pawn," by Genevieve Cogman, is one of my favorites, as the elderly Alice lures a young lady into being her replacement as the White Queen's Pawn. To me, it has the vibe of a sort of fantasy spy story. "Good Dog, Alice!," by Juliet Marillier, is a chilling tale that implies a predatory tutor who may be about to do something unseemly to the main character, who remains nameless. She is gifted a dog for her eleventh birthday, and she names the dog "Alice." At one point in the story, she tumbles into Wonderland by going through a blue door in a hallway, one that she had been told to never open. But Alice had wandered in there. She gets hold of some purple and silver berries that have special properties. Then she feeds those to Alice to help defend her from her tutor.
There is a fantastical tale by Catriona Ward, called "Black Kitty." Ms. Ward has been on my radar for a while, and, in fact, I have one of her books in my pile of library books to be read. This is my first exposure to her writing, and I quite loved it. This one makes us of the mirror (looking glass) motif and involves kittens.
All in all, it is a quite wonderful collection of tales, and I would recommend it to any fan of Wonderland or fantasy/horror short stories.
nicole_minerva's review against another edition
3.0
Incredibly weird and disturbing, perfect for October.
Favorite stories:
Wonders Never Cease
The White Queen’s Pawn
Dream Girl
Vanished Summer Glory
Black Kitty
The Night Parade
Favorite stories:
Wonders Never Cease
The White Queen’s Pawn
Dream Girl
Vanished Summer Glory
Black Kitty
The Night Parade
crusoe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
calliek_reads5's review against another edition
3.0
I WANTED to like this one so much better than I did. I will say, a few of the stories were maybe 4 star reads, but overall not more than a 3 for the combination of them all.