Review: Alice

Alice by Christina Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a crazy fun ride this was!

It's a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, although it's not particularly close in happenings to the original which means it stays rather unpredictable. It's also dark and bloody and is definitely NOT a children's story.

Plot: Alice is in a hospital for those who are a little mad, though she can't remember much more than the man with the long white ears that haunts her nightmares. She's been there a while, now, with only the axe-murderer next door for company. Then one night she escapes, though hot on her heels is a monster of darkness and evil that only Alice can stop.

It was so dark and I loved that. There is a lot of blood and bodies and murder and filth. There is depravity and torture and all kinds of nasty stuff and looming over it all is the threat of this monster that exists seemingly just to destroy.

It wasn't particularly scary - more gruesome than anything - but there's a real gritty story to follow, though it's fun, too, because it involves magic and monsters and a bunch of characters we're already familiar with, though they've been reinterpreted. (I am a big fan of Cheshire.)

The writing was pretty simplistic which was fine with me because I was much more interested in the story anyway. It sort of has deep themes that are brushed over lightly with a few sentences rather than brooding on them. This might have some people underwhelmed but I much preferred it because it meant we could get on with the action. And the body count.

I thought the 're-telling' aspect was quite clever because it still managed a rather unique, unpredictable story that had you wondering where the familiar faces might show up. I rather enjoyed that. I appreciated that last line, too.

Would recommend for people who enjoy darker stories, and not so much for those who like pretty words and fanciful language. Fans of Alice in Wonderland shouldn't expect too much similarity, and those unfamiliar with the story won't be harmed by not knowing it.

I'll definitely be reading the next one.

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