Hatter

Volume 1: This is a series of books based on the Looking Glass Wars series of books. Those are extremely good books which deal with a Wonderland that is much more serious than the Lewis Carroll version. There are power grabs, all-out wars, strange weapons, rulers killed, and Hatter Madigan who is to protect Princess Alyss.

At one point in the series they jump into the Pool of Tears and get separated. The Hatter M series of books revolves around Hatter trying to find the Princess and get her back to Wonderland. His search takes years, covers a good part of the world, and makes for a good story itself.

The books are printed on fairly heavy paper. The colors are quite fascinating and the stories in the individual books are all good. The books also have extra features after the story itself, and those features are, in themselves, quite worth reading.

Hatter loses his hat for a while. We learn that there are individuals on Earth who have vivid imaginations, and vivid imaginations are crucial in Wonderland. In this volume Hatter ends up in Budapest following the lead of one girl who could be the Princess.

The main problem is that, just as in Wonderland, there are followers of Black Imagination (White Imagination is the positive kind) and they are working actively against Hatter.

There's a questions-and-answers section, information on the language used in Wonderland, letters from readers and even more.

If you liked The Looking Glass Wars, then this entire series will be a must to get for your collection.

Volume 2: This is the second novel in the Hatter M series. Hatter is still on Earth and is still looking for Princess Alyss. Fortunately there are some allies that are on Earth that can help him in his search, so it's obvious that what is going on in Wonderland is also affecting what is happening on Earth.

Much of this novel and some of the next involve the Hatter in the events of the Civil War. This I find quite interesting since I am interested in the Civil War. It also becomes obvious that there are people on Earth that are working for Queen Redd as they end up shooting the Hatter with special bullets she has provided.

The Hatter ends up in an insane asylum. He feels he needs to get to Washington, D.C. to talk to Lincoln about what is going on with imagination.

Volume 3: This is the third novel in the Hatter M series. Hatter is still on Earth and is still looking for Princess Alyss. The Hatter gets to Washington D.C. and he does get to meet with Lincoln. Again, I find all of this interesting due to my own interest in the Civil War and Lincoln. It's also interesting that the storyline has added a Warehouse 13/Fringe/X-Files type group and it works quite well.

Some Confederates take vials of a potion which turns them into monsters and they have to be dealt with before they kill Lincoln. There's also an airship involved later and a particular group of Native Americans that have a certain approach to reality. It seems that no matter where the Hatter goes on the Earth, there is some kind of bleed-over from the events in Wonderland, making it even more critical that he finds Princess Alyss.

Volume 4: This is the fourth book in the Hatter M series and starts out in 1859 when something is stolen from a Japanese Zen monastery. The scene moves to San Francisco in 1860, then jumps to 1870 when a young girl, Nekko, who tries to teach the Hatter about Zen.

The villain at the point is a woman who is involved with the Tong kidnapping men and making them become sailors.

Nekko and Hatter end up going on their own adventure where they drive demons out of a school and the Hatter meets a guy named Hideo. The Hatter ends up learning a lot about Zen but how it will help him find Alice is sort of a mystery.

It's a good fourth book and a good series.

Volume 5: The final book in the series. Hatter is betrayed. Matters boil down to a battle of imagination; Princess Alyss vs. Queen Redd. Plans are made for the Hatter's future and those who had fled Wonderland now can begin to return.

Main Index

Main Alice in Wonderland index page