Book Reviews

Book Review: The Final Alice

Media Type: Book
Title: The Final Alice
Author: Alycia Ripley
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Pages: Paperback; 196
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Source: Publisher
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Intended Reading Group:
Adult
Genre:
Fantasy
HDB Rating:
3 Keys to My Heart

A lysergic head trip of a novel, The Final Alice is the rare tale that possesses equal measures of heart, wit, and inspired demented madness. Alycia Ripley’s fine novel deserves to be read, re-read, analyzed, debated, and perhaps become the sacred text of a passionate cult.’
-James Ponsoldt, writer/director of Off the Black and Junebug and Hurricane

Okay first off, I’ll be honest when I say that this book is fascinatingly odd. I mean this in the best way possible. If you are tired of the reading the same story, give The Final Alice a try! I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed in the uniqueness of it at all.
That being said, let me share a bit about what this book is actually about, since I couldn’t find an actual description for it. Despite its relation to the Alice stories of old, this isn’t your same old Alice story my friends. This one is dark, bloody, and full of creatures that will scare the living daylights out of you. See Alice is actually the great, great, great (I can’t remember how many greats), granddaughter of the original Alice. Each new Alice in the family is blessed with their own special ability during their lifetime, and eventually is taken away to Wonderland. Until the newest Alice that is. She feels as though life is passing her by and that she isn’t special at all. Alice has been a misfit since birth, and she’s not sure that she’ll ever measure up to her predecessors. 
Enter the Red King. This bloodthirsty tyrant is trying to come over from the other side of the looking glass. He wants to turn the human world in his own image, and it isn’t a pretty one. Lucky for Alice, she’s surrounded by one heck of a posse. Complete with a talking deer, a dog that can grow to the size of a horse, and a talking mailbox, this is quite the trip down the rabbit hole. As her powers grow, she begins to take on some of the evil that the Red King is bringing into the world. Let me tell you, this evil is EVIL. I’ll give one tiny thing away, since this will judge whether this book is for you. Are you okay with various body parts being strewn about? If you are at all squeamish when it comes to blood and gore, you might want to stay away from this one.
This book is tough to describe, it really and truly is. What I can say is that it is unique. I can also say that it is violent. If you are okay with a healthy dose of darkness in your stories, you might enjoy The Final Alice. Although this story was definitely over the top, I did enjoy reading it. I’m not sure I’d ever read it again, as there is just to much outright violence even for me. However I am glad that I gave it a chance. Alycia Ripley has definitely opened up a new Wonderland for a whole different audience. 






FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.