Alice- Christina Henry

Beware the claws that catch...

Dark, disturbing and highly graphic- one of the best fantasy retellings I've come across to date.

Alice is imprisoned in an asylum in the heart of the Old City, with no idea why she is there or what actually happened to her besides a terrible tea party and a man with long ears. Her roommate and only friend is Hatcher (Mad Hatter), who's only memory is murdering five people with an axe long ago. One night, a fire breaks out and offers them the chance to escape and uncover the truth of their pasts. Only something else has also escaped- the dark and dangerous Jabberwocky- and must be stopped before the Rabbit catches up with Alice.

Wow! This is not Carrol's Wonderland of old; a dark, disturbing, crime-infested warren of exploitation, destruction and manipulation controlled by the most ruthless crime lords in existence. Right from the first page, Henry's setting really conveyed the very real threats the outside world posed to Alice and Hatcher on their journey to the truth. Henry's creativity and sensitivity in filling this world with the troubled and broken people of the Old City, haunted by traumatic pasts and memories, whilst pulling no punches when it comes to brutality and unspeakable violence is particularly impressive.

What makes Alice truly unique, however, is the way in which familiar elements are completely reworked and rewoven into the fabric of the story. Amongst the ranks of monsters and magicians who rule the Old City are the men known as Cheshire, Caterpillar, the Walrus…and to Alice’s dismay, her old enemy the Rabbit. These men reign terror and brutality whilst feeding off the fear and misery of their citizens. This book was a very heavy read from start to finish and definitely needs a few more trigger warnings on the first page to adequately prepare some individuals for just how deeply disturbing and potentially triggering the actions of these men really are. However, for all the twisted souls out there who love the most twisted of tales and are not easily disturbed this book is perfect.

Unfortunately, whether by design or by omission, both central characters felt slightly distant and at times lacking in depth. It was often difficult to picture both the characters and their surroundings which would have benefitted from a more in depth description to add colour to Henry's innovative worldbuilding. Additionally, some of the battle scenes came across as unrealistic in the sense of how easy it was for Alice to triumph. As an unskilled although undeniably gifted assassin, the story started to slightly lose its believability through the sheer number of times she took her assailant by surprise or stabbed them in the back without them hearing so much as a flicker of movement behind them. They never fight back, and they're dead before they can flinch; in a story so dark, adding more detailed graphic fight scenes would have been appreciated.

Overall, Alice is unconventional and fascinating in its uniqueness through exploring this Wonderland of horrors. Definitely not one for the faint hearted, this is a highly gripping, dark and morbid spin-off of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland which tells the tale that came afterward- revenge.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐