SOMEBODY MAKE THIS INTO A MOVIE - THE LOOKING GLASS WARS BY FRANK BEDDOR
A
“variation of themes” on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland novels if you
like, Frank Beddor’s novel aimed at 9 to 10-year-olds purports to tell the
“real story” behind Carroll’s beloved novels . . .
Alice was indeed real. Her true name was Princess Alyss and she was
ejected from Wonderland, which exists in a dimension different to ours
following an unexpected coup by her cruel aunt, the tyrannical Redd.
Alyss winds up in Victorian England, where no-one of course would believe
her fantastical tales of being a princess in a magical kingdom called
Wonderland and even the real life author Lewis Carroll would get the story
wrong in his tales based on her stories. To survive ridicule and rejection
Alyss herself begins to question whether her childhood memories were real
at all and is therefore surprised when as an adult she is whisked back to
Wonderland by her ex-bodyguard (called Hatter Madigan) where she ends up
leading a rebellion to depose the vicious Queen Redd.
While Beddor’s book obviously lacks the inventiveness and imagination of
his literary inspiration, The Looking Glass Wars ought to appeal to
kids enamoured of the Harry Potter
series looking for something in a similar fantastical vein. Beddor is a
Hollywood producer (he was one of the producers on There’s Something
About Mary) and it shows: The Looking Glass Wars is written in
a clearly visual style that ought to translate easily into a screenplay
for a movie. The action is practically all external and there is not too
much introspection here. With the advances in CGI some of the more
fantastical elements of the novel should translate well to the big screen.
Summer Glau (River in the Firefly TV
series and Serenity big screen movie)
ought to make for an appealing lead, and one can easily imagine a movie
version being made with the current fad for Fantasy tales (Harry
Potter, Narnia, Rings,
etc.) doing great business. However, the question remains whether
audiences will warm to the now-overfamiliar Alice in Wonderland setting.
Until Hollywood decides to make it we at least have
Beddor’s book which is a slight yet entertaining read. Either buy it for
your kids or take it along as beach-side reading for your next holiday . .
.
The Looking Glass Wars (Looking
Glass Wars) (Hardcover)
by Frank Beddor
A
“variation of themes” on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland novels if you
like, Frank Beddor’s novel aimed at 9 to 10-year-olds purports to tell the
“real story” behind Carroll’s beloved novels . . .
