Amanda Ching

*I received this copy from the publisher.

I usually don't read collections of short stories anymore. Having said that, this is the best I've read in quite some time and has ultimately made me think twice about why I stopped reading them.

First of all, it was nice to start the book off with the classic Lewis Carroll story.

Secondly, I won't go into detail with each story, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed "What Aelister Found Here" and "House of Cards" the best, and "The World in a show more Thimble" the least. I think what pulled me to the Aelister story was that it had a very Victorian feel to it, and, let's not forget the Jack the Ripper character. The "House of Cards" story grabbed me because of its more thrill-inducing plot. It had me widening my eyes in fright or disbelief every other two seconds! With "The World in a Thimble," I'll be honest, I just wasn't interested in the story--and this had a lot to do with the slow writing.

Lastly, as an entire book, it was an easy read with unexpected humor at times (which was nice), horror (which was doubly nice), and magic galore! I definitely wouldn't recommend this to kids, though, even though it is loosely based around the adventures of Alice. show less

This is a great dystopian short story about a Virginia where abortion and birth control are illegal. It does a good job of sketching in a variety of compelling characters who deal with their challenging reality in different ways. It's a bit over the top in the same way that Handmaid's Tale is -- which is to say, it totally works.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I received this book through the Early Reviewers program on Library Thing and from the publisher Candlemark & Gleam

Before I get to the main review I just have to say this, because to be honest I can't hold it in. This book was brillant! The stories are so original and more then once did I find myself smiling like the Cheshire himself.

Okay okay, now hopefully I can do this without gushing my love and adoration all over.Not likely.

The book opens with it's show more first story and it's one I've read several times, the original Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Which I found to be wonderful for those who haven't read it or need to brush up on all that happened during her first visit to Wonderland. It also let's you see how the other authors have evolved the idea for their own stories.The first thing you need to know is that these stories are not innocent and full of the whimsy that comes with said innocence. The second thing you need to know is that you know little, at least about the ways of Wonderland anyway. (I've been reading this far too long, I'm starting to think I can talk like them)

The first story, What Aelister Found Here by Kaye Chazan, is more cryptic then the other three stories and really calls for you to think about the connections and what may be happening more. It's not hard to understand really it's just hard to see where it's going, which for a short story related to the world Wonderland I think that's perfect. I enjoyed the main character Aelister, and the way he thinks as the book progresses. The Duke was also really cool. I enjoyed how as the story progresses the way things are explained are slowly changed, and what Aelister sees and thinks changes too. I don't know if this was a good story to start the book off on, i personally found it really strange and it didn't grip me right away. So maybe if this were the second or third story it would have been better.

House of Cards by Amanda Ching, is the second story and not quite as cryptic as the first. Only enough so that it becomes more of a slightly twisted mystery. At first it is much like Aelister in the fact that while you see the connection you can't quite grasp exactly where it is going. Part of this has to do with the way it is told, and that should taking into account. It's written in several point of views which switch but it also has a non-liner progression. Basically that means that it doesn't flow from past to present but rather picks up in several different places. It's not as confusing as it sounds, but it is confusing enough that it delays you drawing a direct conclusion. About half way through I understood basically what was going to happen with the main character Mary Ann, and thought the idea was genius. I don't want to give anything away because that might ruin some of it for you so I can't say too much, but this story has a really creative 'introduction' to Alice. This is the most similar to the actual story.

Knave by Hilary Thomas, is a really clever piece of work. It's Wonderland, but it's Noir style. So not only is it dark and slightly convoluted, it's also gritty and more realistic. I don't' honestly know where I stand with Noir, because I have so many bad experiences with it in written and movie form but I have enough a few enough that it doesn't make me dislike the genre. However I know exactly where I stand with this one, I love it. I think I smiled the whole way through this one because I thought the connections to Carroll's Wonderland were genius. This one is narrated by the Knave himself as he works his way through trying to figure out just who this mysterious girl is that's disrupting the on goings of Wonderland.

And lastly, but certainly not least as this one was probably my favorite, is The World in A Thimble by C.A. Young. This one focuses on the main character Toby who much like Alice is abruptly introduced to Wonderland. His journey while similar is also drastically different, and the story itself presents more of a moral then the original does. This one is more of a symbolic of what can happen when you loose yourself to what Wonderland 'has' to be, instead of it being what you personally want it be. Of course I may be off base on that but that's how I felt toward the end. Just because something is given to you a certain way doesn't mean you have to accept it that way. I loved the creative use of the characters and the world of Wonderland, and more then that I loved the symbolism.

I'm not sure if it's because of the reading order but as I read I liked the next story more then the previous. It just kept getting better for me. I definitely recommend that older fans of Alice in Wonderland find this book when it comes out, it's worth the time and it's such a fun read. You are bound to like at least one of the stories. I'd hesitate to let a younger reading, say under 16, read this though just because of a few moments of sexual activity (tasteful), some violence, and a large amount of cursing in Hilary Thomas' story. These are not kid's stories but I definitly that makes them far more delightful. show less

I really, really enjoyed this. Collections can be hard to review, but this was great.

We start with the original Alice in Wonderland. Obviously, we all know the story, but it had been years since I last read it and disneys version had slowly replaced it in my imagination. Rediscovering the original was a delight.

What Aliester Found Here is a gender-swapped, urban fantasy version of the Alice tales, combining elements from both Wonderland and Throught the Looking Glass into a unique and show more wonderful tale. The writing was top notch, the characterisation was excellent, and though it went slowly at times, it was a great read.

House of Cards was a darker, more bizarre retelling. The time jumped around all over the place, fitting the confused nature of the narrative. The secret at the heart was as nasty as any reader could wish, though I thought it was a little cliche and obvious.

Knave was glorious, a retelling set in a modern crime syndicate. Pitch perfect and refreshing amongst more straight-forwardly 'magical' tales.

The World in a Thimble was perhaps my least favourite, which shouldn't be taken to mean 'bad', jsut 'not amazing'. The idea was nice, but I felt like it had been done before, many times, by better writers. Still a nice finish to the collection, though.

A good collection, and worth a shot for people especially into Alice and her story.

4 out of 5.

Provided free through Netgalley. show less