Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Literature / TheLookingGlassWars

Go To

1%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2
3[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81w375_wn4l.jpg]]
4
5''The Looking-Glass Wars'' is a trilogy of novels by Frank Beddor retelling the story of ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'', based on the premise that Alice Liddel, the real-life inspiration for the literary Alice, was in fact Alyss Heart, the true Queen of Wonderland, who had been exiled to our world after her Aunt Redd staged a coup.
6
7With the memories of her homeland and true identity locked safely away in her mind, to the point that she no longer believes Wonderland ever existed, Alyss finds herself in the middle of a plot to retake Wonderland, aided by her royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan and her tutor Bibwit Harte.
8
9!!!!The novels in the trilogy are:
10* ''The Looking-Glass Wars'' (2004)
11* ''Seeing Redd'' (2007)
12* ''Arch-Enemy'' (2009)
13
14[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] ''The Looking-Glass War'', a spy novel by Creator/JohnLeCarre.
15
16There's also a companion scrapbook, ''Princess Alyss of Wonderland'', and a set of 6 graphic novels, ''Hatter M'', which detail Hatter's travels looking for Alyss. Starting 2016, Beddor teamed with Adrienne Kress to write ''Hatter Madigan'', a prequel series about Hatter's days at the Millinery Academy.
17
18----
19!!This book series contains examples of:
20%%* ActionGirl: Nearly every single female in this series. Most notably Alyss and Homburg Molly.
21%%* AliceAllusion: [[IncrediblyLamePun Alyss's alyusion.]]
22* AwesomeBackpack: Hatter's, which is described as being able to open like a Swiss Army knife, revealing assorted blades and corkscrews.
23* BadassLongcoat: Frank Beddor spends at least a few sentences, if not a paragraph, just describing the way Hatter Madigan's coat moves.
24* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Wonderland is real, and the little girl who was the book's insperation was its rightful queen.
25* BloodierAndGorier: When Redd says "off with their heads," she ''means'' it.
26* BreakoutCharacter: Hatter Madigan not only has a graphic novel spinoff, but a prequel series about him.
27* CardCarryingVillain: Redd, who officially styles herself as "Her Imperial Viciousness" during her rule over Wonderland and actively promotes [[TheDarkSide Black Imagination]].
28%%* CatsAreMean: The Cat.
29* CuckooNest: In the first book, [[spoiler: Redd creates an illusion in which Alyss wakes up with her adoptive parents and her fiancé at her bedside, telling her that she's had a bad fever.]]
30%%* CuteBruiser: Homburg Molly.
31* DarkerAndEdgier: Considerably so. Alyss' mother is killed in the first few chapters.
32%%* DarkActionGirl: Redd and Siren, most definitely.
33* DeadManWriting: Hatter Madigan comes across a message which his former lover, Weaver, left him in case she died before they could meet again. [[spoiler: It reveals that they had a daughter -- Homburg Molly, Alyss's new bodyguard.]]
34%%* {{Determinator}}: Hatter again.
35%%* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler: Hatter Madigan, unknowingly, to Homburg Molly]]
36* DisproportionateRetribution: [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Redd]] actually makes a point to do this during her reign.
37%%* CuteKitten: A trope the Cat uses to his advantage.
38* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: A villain named Sacrenoir can make skeletons of the dead rise to consume flesh, though it naturally goes right through them.
39* GratuitousPrincess: Alice the real-life little girl who inspired "Alice In Wonderland" was in fact Alyss, princess of the ''real'' Wonderland.
40* ImaginationDestroyer: WILMA (Weapon of Inconceivable Loss and Massive Annihilation) is a weapon that destroys people's imaginations. Aunt Redd is trying to contain and stop it from coming to Earth.
41* ImprobableWeaponUser: Madigan, like all Hatters, is a very good fighter. And his uniform contains more knives than a cutlery convention. Including his hat.
42* InNameOnly: Many of the characters have little to no similarities with their Carroll counterparts, intentionally it seems.
43%%* LittleMissBadass: Homburg Molly.
44* ManEatingPlant: Redd's signature weapon are giant roses with maws lined with razor-sharp fangs to behead her victims.
45* {{Matriarchy}}: Wonderland identifies as a "Queendom", gender being the last thing that comes to mind when Alyss or Redd's legitimacy to the throne is questioned.
46* MeaningfulName: General Doppelganger can split himself into Generals Doppel and Ganger, Redd was once called Rose and has an affinity for that flower.
47%%* MindScrew: The Looking Glass Maze.
48* {{Mordor}}: Mount Isolation, Redd's prison and eventual stronghold.
49* MythologyGag: Wonderland streets are named after words from "Literature/{{Jabberwocky}}", and there is a restaurant called 'The Lobster Quadrille.'
50* NotQuiteTheRightThing: [[FriendToAllChildren Reverend Charles Dodgson]] acted as TheConfidant to a desperately lonely young girl, and became one of her dearest friends after being taken by her stories and promising to publish them in a book. Said book, ‘’Alice’s Adventures Underground,’’ [[GoneHorriblyRight became successful beyond his wildest dreams]], and ensured that the entire world would remember Alice Liddell’s fantastical tale. But [[InnocentlyInsensitive what he didn’t understand]] was that ‘’Alyss’’ hadn’t been telling him the stories she had invented, but the history of her life and her nation, and she had been counting on him to prove her honesty before [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer everyone who had doubted her]]. She [[ThisIsUnforgivable didn’t take kindly]] to her tale of exile and bloody coups being twisted into the most famous tale of [[TheWonderland childish nonsense]] in the world.
51* OldMaster: Bibwit Harte.
52* OutOfContinues: The Cat (an assassin who can transform from cute little tabby into a vicious anthropomorphic killer) was made with nine lives -- by the end of the first book he's been killed eight times, both by the heroes and as punishment for failing his mistress.
53* PrehensileHair: Jack of Diamonds gets a pseudo-living wig as a gift from Redd for doing her bidding. Said wig can also turn into a monster and beat the crap out of people should Redd command it.
54* TheQuisling: The Diamond, Spade and Club noble families are eternally ready to swear their loyalty to whoever currently has the greatest power and influence, be it the Heart clan, Queen Redd or [[spoiler:or King Arch]].
55* SignificantAnagram: Bibwit Harte is an anagram for 'White Rabbit,' [[MythologyGag reflecting Carroll's love of anagrams]].
56* StartOfDarkness: Redd's past is glimpsed at, especially in ''Seeing Redd''.
57* SugarApocalypse: Redd's takeover of Wonderland turns it from a classic SugarBowl into a dystopian hellscape.
58* SugarBowl: For all its attempts at DarkerAndEdgier, the series really turned [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Wonderland]] into one of these. Its capital city is known as "Wondertropolis," there are foods with names like "Tarty Tarts," and even ''worms'' are known as "gwormmies." Of course, then Redd takes over and the place becomes a CrapsackWorld until Alyss returns to dethrone her.
59* TakeThat: A email sent recently says about this Wonderland: "No [[Creator/TimBurton Tim]]. No [[Creator/JohnnyDepp Johnny]]. No nonsense."
60* TwiceToldTale: In-universe, no less. Carrol's story was his spin on the real events Alice told him. She is outraged when she realizes how much he changes around.
61* WeaponizedHeadgear: Hatter's tophat turns into s-shaped blades while Molly's homburg turns into a razor-edged shield. In fact, it's probably safe to say that this trope applies to all hats belonging to the Millinery.
62* WeaponOfMassDestruction: ''Seeing Redd'' features WILMA (Weapon of Inconceivable Loss and Massive Annihilation). [[spoiler: It destroys people's imaginations.]]
63** [[spoiler: And that's the modified WILMA, which is actually ''less'' dangerous than the original. The original was made to completely destroy the kingdom.]]
64%%* WickedCultured: Jack of Diamonds.
65* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In "Arch Enemy," Redd tries to return to her old mountain stronghold... only to discover it's been turned into a tourist attraction whose proceeds go toward promoting the principles of White Imagination. And while she ''did'' use a piece of cloth to disguise herself, the man in the ticket booth fails to realize who she is even after she balks at having to pay "to get into [her] own home," and amusingly thinks she's pretending to be herself ("You do play the part, don't you?").

Top