The Looking Glass Wars: ArchEnemy (edition 2009)

Takes the problems of the first two books to a whole new level. I felt like I was running through the story and suddenly...hit a brick wall. Just awful. ( )

The last book in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy had the same problems that I mentioned in the first two books. There was no real character development in this one and the ending was rushed. New characters were added that you don't care about and a plot about the rounding up of people with imagination by anti-imagination fanatics that would have made a better plot than the one we got. There was so much more Beddor could have done to make wonderland and its character . . . well more wonderful as it is everything is just so-so. Overall after coming out of the rabbit hole this adventure in wonderland was more like adventures in averageland. ( )

I was really looking forward to this book, but fell short of expectations by a long shot. Molly and Hatter, Molly so complacent and Hatter so civilian, seemed out of character the whole time and Beddor added not one but two deus est machinas to save his failing plot. Redd just giving up and siding with Alyss, to get back at Arch seems ridiculous and don't even get me started on the "fight" scene between Dodge and The Cat. What really bugged me is that it tied up so perfectly, not a single protagonist got close to dying, they are a war one of them is going to die you can't just let everyone live happily ever after, that's not what the story is about. All together book seemed rushed, as Hollywood man I'm betting Beddor just wanted to move on to something shinier. ( )

I was really looking forward to finding out the ending to this epic battle story. I was satisfied, and yet somehow also dissatisfied with this book.

Without giving too much away, there were lots of great endings to characters that the reader has known over the course of three novels. But I found myself skipping large chunks of battle scenes because they just went on and on and on and not a lot else happened.

Toward the end we are introduced to a new character who provides some plot duct-tape (or rather, he is revealed to us as being the fixer of all current problems and we'll never hear from him again) and I always hate that. I feel it's a huge cop-out. Why did you go down this path if you couldn't get back out?

Anyway, the series is interesting overall. Probably readers younger than me, and with less cynicism, will enjoy it greatly. ( )

As the caterpillars take an every more visible hand in the action, Alyss, Redd and Arch although still at odds, are equally manipulated by the giant silk spinners. The coming of the Everqueen may be the caterpillars goal, but how much of Wonderland will be left, that's the question.

Tension mounts as opposing forces martial their armies. It's sad to see the trilogy close, but the grand finale leaves the door just slightly ajar for possible future books. ( )