Alyss of Wonderland

"You will be the strongest queen yet... Your imagination will be the crowning achievement of the land. But Alyss, you must work hard to develop it according to the guiding principles of the Heart dynasty—love, justice, and duty to the people."

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Description

Alyss of Wonderland must survive the bloody coup that the exiled Queen of Hearts enacts against Wonderland, a place where imagination comes to life. She flees the war through the assistance of her personal guard, the Hatter Madigan, and survives in England where no one believes her tale of Wonderland.

Meanwhile, her loyal Alyssians fight to depose the Queen.

While the novel is about Alyss's own return from exile, the novel suffers in that Alyss is almost completely helpless and reliant on her subjects for the decade long span that the book covers. Thus, it's more interesting to read about Hatter Madigan's many swords than it is to read about Alyss's struggles in "regular" England.

If nothing else, a gamer would be interested in the novel because it presents an alternate, combat heavy vision of what Wonderland would be like. As gamers, the technical workings of novels are interesting as we see in them possible game mechanics and plotlines, and this novel can be skimmed just for that purpose.

Character classes

Princess

When the novel starts, Alyss is used to being the leader of the country and spoiled by much nurturing and care.

Street Urchin

Before her adoption into the Lidells, Alyss has to survive on the streets by using her limited imaginary powers (they get weaker on our side of the Looking Glass) to make dandelions sing for passerbys.

Socialite

As Alice Lidell, the princess struggles to fit in 1870s England.

Warrior Queen

She not only summons weapons with her imagination, but soldiers and positive outcomes.

 

Abilities

Command

Alyss can command soldiers of her family's suit so long as they never defected to Queen Redd.

Imagine

Things happen when she imagines them as a little girl. As an adult she only has to learn how to imagine them all over again.

Equipment

Jabberwock Tooth

A gift from Dodge Anders, Alyss wears the tooth around her neck at all times.

Army of toy soldiers

Something Alyss imagines to help her retake her throne

Allies

Queen Genevieve-

The warrior queen and Alyss's mother, she fights fiercely to protect her kingdom using her judgment and the power of her imagination to summon many weapons.

King Nolan-

Alyss's father

Bibwit Harte-

A tall albino, Bibwit tutors Alyss. His name is an anagram for "White Rabbit"

Hatter Madigan-

One of the royal guard, the Hatter has a spinning bladed hat that only he can throw, weapons that extend from his wrist bracers, and acrobatic skills to make use of all his wonderful weapons.

Dodge Anders-

Alyss's childhood friend, Dodge watches as his father is slain by Queen Redd's coup and vows revenge.

Enemies

Queen Redd-

Leads the coup against Queen Genevieve and Alyss.

Jack of Diamonds-

Works to profit from the Alyssians and benefit from Queen Redd's patronage. Also a spoiled brat.

The Cat-

Based on the Chesire Cat, the Cat is Queen Redd's top assassin and has nine lives to protect it.

Reddisms

Alyssians and others fight against the constant stream of propaganda her imagination feeds into the ears of any locals

 

Exploration

Wonderland

In Wonderland, imagination protects and drives the city.

1870s England

The World Alyss escapes to, where no one knows she is really a princess

Crystal Continuum

A form of transportation that relies on reflective surfaces

 

Quests

Fight Black Imagination

Black imagination is Queen Redd's primary weapon. She imagines things to hurt and harm others.

Survive the Lidells

In our reality, Alyss becomes Alice and tries to survive the normal happenings in the Lidell household.

Return to Wonderland

In both universes, ours and the Alyssians, parties work to return. The longer Alyss stays away from Wonderland, the more she forgets it or thinks it's a dream.

Defeat Queen Redd

Not easy because of the power at her disposal

Complete the Looking Glass Maze

The true Queen of Wonderland undergoes a trial in the Looking Glass Maze and comes out as the Queen of Wonderland.

Credits

TOP