It's been years since I read the original book in this series, The Looking Glass Wars. It made me nervous to read Seeing Redd because sometimes you just can't remember the things you need to that far away. That was not the case with Frank Beddor's sequel. I read the brief overview of the original on Wikipedia and then dove in.
It's books like this that make me wish I didn't have the overwhelming need to finish books I start. I didn't enjoy it. Beddor has created a really interesting and unique world and characters that could be insanely intriguing and awesome. The fact is, they just seem to fall flat. Alyss is unfailingly good and slightly overwhelmed, Redd is evil, Arch is conniving, the Jack of Diamonds is fat and self-interested. The characters don't really expand outside of these stereotypes. Instead the author seems intensely and exclusively focused on the battle scenes and the gore. So, while I did quite enjoy the first book years ago, I didn't love this one. The truth is, I grabbed it off the shelf because I was SO desperate for something to read and I saw it. Now I have a whole stack of books waiting for me that I need to get on.
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