Heartless

This is another of the many books that use characters from the Alice books in order to tell a totally different story. Catherine (stand in for Alice) is a woman that wants to be a baker. Unfortunately court politics tend to trump personal desires and the King has his eyes on her. Catherine's mother is an overwhelming, bossy and nasty and wants Catherine to welcome the King's advantages.

Mary Ann is one of Catherine's maids. The White Rabbit is there as is a new character named Jest who is the court Jester and who possesses magical abilities, it seems. There's also Peter Peter (from another fairy tale) who is a thorough villain. The Jabberwock makes its appearance but it's origin turns out to be quite interesting.

The Hatter is there as are some of the other characters. It seems the animals are also sentient, including Lord Warthog. There's also the three sisters in the treacle well who seem to represent the Fates from ancient mythology.

So, you've got the Alice characters (changed, of course), some noted villains and a good bit of action.

I'm of mixed thought about the book. It is a very well done story but was it necessary to be another author using the Alice characters for a very unrelated story? If this was the average type book doing that I would have only given it 2 stars but, since it's complex and very well done, I'll give it a 4.

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