Red Queen by Christina HenryMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not quite as gripping as the first book, but an entertaining read all the same.
I really enjoy the way it's written like a child's story but is full of blood and violence and monsters and death. The whole way through Alice is such a breath of fresh air - she's the same, no-nonsense girl we know from her first creation by Lewis Carroll, but this time she's getting frustrated with goblins and giants and evil, spiteful queens. Honestly, the bother of it all.
The quest here is a little more vague, as Alice does indeed observe herself. In the first story, Alice and Hatcher are on a quest to find the Rabbit and stop the Jabberwocky. Now, they've a vague notion of looking for Jenny, but where could she possibly be? And why is everything around them burnt to a crisp? Also, what's up with all the delicious, unattended food? (view spoiler)
Took a little bit longer for me to get into the story, and the lack of chapters was a little disturbing. At the start I think it was a bit of a flaw - I couldn't convince myself to just keep reading til the end of the chapter, so I just put it down at random places - but eventually it became a solid, uninterrupted story that flowed really neatly.
The first was a lot of fun with all the recognisable characters, so this one was a bit pale in comparison there but I did really like Pen and the nasty little goblin. (Anyone else get Rumpelstiltskin vibes, btw?) There's also a few nods to other fairy tales which always makes for a bit of fun.
Overall it was another quick read, and while it wasn't quite as
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