I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley - as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to read it, because I love everything Alice. This book was fantastic. Alice and her sister Dinah are living in a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world, and Dinah seems to have just contracted the Momerath virus. Alice sets off to find an antidote, and finds herself in the middle of "Wanderland" while trying to complete her quest.

The author found a way to work in many of the characters from Alice in Wonderland, in fantastic and amusing ways. I recommend it 100%, and I'm really hoping for a sequel :)

Alice Carroll and her adopted sister Dinah are fighting for survival through a once normal world turned dark. A plague known as the Momerath Virus has broken out, transforming innocent people into rage-filled zombie creatures deemed "Momeraths". The two do everything in their power to survive until Dinah begins to show signs of the virus. Alice goes into full out soldier mode as she pursues a path rumored to lead her to Wonderland where a possible cure is located that can save Dinah and, perhaps, the world. 

The narrative is filled with complex, quirky characters throwing back to the novel like Chess (Cheshire Cat), Bug (Caterpillar), and more. I fell in love with this story from the beginning, especially when Alice went to Wonderland. I have to give J.M. Sullivan props for the amazing work she did taking not only direct quotes from the original source material, but also used ideas from the original tale that made the story more intense, the lovable characters even more enjoyable, and created a solid plot.


For those who love Alice in Wonderland as much as I do, I highly recommend this book! It has found it's way to a special place next to my other Alice in Wonderland inspired tales. Question is, are you ready to go into this new twisted world of Wonderland?

The idea of "Zombieland" would have been great if there wasn't already another author who wrote the chronicles of zombieland with an Alice in Wonderland full of zombies, but also I found the book didn't do a thing for me, sadly.
I guess the idea was good, Alice going to find a cure for her sister an ecountering a myriad of Wonderland characters converted to sit well with the Wanderland of the book, but there was something I didn't click with.

Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite stories. Add zombies and it gets even better. I love how the author incorporated all of the little details from the original story while still creating an original, entertaining tale. Definitely waiting with bated breath for a sequel.

Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles was a refreshing retelling of Alice in Wonderland with a bit of zombies (and a whole lot of blood). What set this apart from other Alice-zombie retellings I've read is that the references to Alice in Wonderland flowed seamlessly in the story. The characters were reimagined to fit perfectly with their Wanderland post-apocalyptic/dystopian counterparts from J.M. Sulivan's world.

Chess plays the mysterious and elusive Chesire Cat. In Wanderland, he's the guide and knows all the players. He constantly attempts to coax Alice into avoiding danger in her journey--however futile it may be.

One of my personal favorites, however, (and one most readers will be dying to meet) is the infamous Queen. She's the self-imposed ruler of Wanderland, and nothing gets past her. She has her own hidden agenda that drives her harsh and often shocking decisions. She's more than willing to sacrifice a few pawns (or Jokers as it may be) in order to get what she wants.

Throughout her journey and quest to save her sister, Alice learns more about herself and just exactly what she's made of. If caught between running and fighting, Alice is definitely a fighter. And when her journey, at last, brings her to the doors of Borogrove Industries she's ready to do whatever it takes to find a cure. Even if it means facing some truths about her past.

This was a book that I had fun reading, and it went by pretty quickly. This is a book you should consider picking up if you're into retellings, Alice in Wonderland, or if you like zombies. I'm going to be keeping my eye out for a sequel because I'm dying to know what becomes of these characters <3 Also, props for the cover. It's really simple, but I love the rose pattern with the heart and dagger. It gives it a nice creepy feel.

****Big thank you to Pen Name Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!****

So this is a horror/dystopian/zombie-filled Alice in Wonderland retelling, did that grab your attention? If you like any of those things than seriously check this book out because it has all of those things and more! I know I personally love all of those things and I definitely thought this book was such a fun, entertaining read.

The Plot

As I said this is an Alice in Wonderland retelling that is combined with a post apocalyptic world filled with zombie-esque plague victims. It’s sort of a wide variety of genres all mashed together and it WORKS! The pacing is very fast and there is a ton of action, it’s practically non-stop action and it sucks you in completely!

Another factor that helped contribute to the immersive-ness of the story was the writing, I was actually really impressed with this considering it’s Sullivan’s debut novel. Her writing is very descriptive and just gave you such a REAL feel of the action, suspense, and terror of things happening throughout the book. However, I did have some moments where I felt it was TOO descriptive since I’m the type of person that relies heavily on dialogue, but I did still like all of the action scenes!

I also really loved the unique twist on the “zombies” which are called Momeraths and are sort of a combination between zombies and mutated humans (very reminiscent of the Fallout video game series actually). What the plague and Momeraths reminded me of a lot though was the Resident Evil franchise, I could not help but think of that series the entire time while reading plus it helps that both heroines are named Alice…… So if you’re a fan then you’ll definitely enjoy this story!

The world building was also really great and unique while also still retaining elements of the original Wonderland story. It was a TON of fun finding all of the allusions to the original and getting to journey through this darker, grittier version! I would have maybe liked a bit more world building overall but I’m hoping I’ll get that in the sequel.

The Characters

I did enjoy a lot of the characters and they actually had quite a bit of personality and development throughout the book. I was definitely impressed with them! I wasn’t fully convinced by Alice’s character immediately but by the end of the book I was fully persuaded to LOVE her! I loved watching her grow from being a more fearful girl to this total badass, which like I said really shows the great character development. She felt very real as well with fears and weaknesses, it made her more relatable in my opinion.

Some of my other favorite characters would have to be Dr. Abbot, Chess, and the Red Queen they also played really true to their Wonderland characters and were just so much fun to read about! I really love when secondary characters have this much personality!

the Romance

I was actually very surprised that there wasn’t a super prominent romance in this book, and it was a PLEASANT surprise! While there is a bit of a love triangle feel to it since there are two potential suitors for Alice I really liked how she never really let any feelings distract her from her main goal: saving her sister. Seriously, what a relief that we have a YA heroine not letting boys get in the way of the main plot-line!

I also really enjoy both love interests too…..

In Conclusion

I was overall VERY impressed with how thrilling, fun, unique, and interesting “Alice” was! I’m such a sucker for darker retellings though so it’s not too much of a surprsie that I really liked this one.

What I Loved:

The setting/world building with dark “Wonderland” and zombies
The writing was very descriptive
Lots of fast pacing and action scenes!
Loved the characters and how well they developed throughout
Very fun to pick out the allusions to the original Alice in Wonderland

What I Didn’t Love:

Felt a little too descriptive at times, could have used more dialogue
The world could have been a little more developed

Recommend?

I definitely recommend giving this book a try especially if you’re a fan of retellings with dark, gritty twists and anything reminiscent of the Resident Evil franchise!

Alice Carroll lived her life lost between the pages of a book. That was until her sister, Dinah, contracted the deadly Momerath Virus and is slowly deteriorating into a zombie-like figure, intent on the destruction of all other humans. A cure has been hinted at and Alice decided she will do whatever it takes to procure it and save her sister.

Little does she know that this will mean journeying into the labrynths of Wonderland and obtaining the help of a mad doctor, a savage queen, and a mysterious boy who holds as many secrets as he does names.

This is a retelling of the classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and I loved how prominently features from the original where displayed in this modern re-imagining. Some lines of text were directly transported, but most features where slightly transmuted to give them both a nod to the former as well as relevance in the current tale. Reading this became a fun puzzle, trying to find evidence of all the similarities between the two, and this is probably why this is one of the most successful re-telling I have read.

So why only the 3 star rating?

I have come to realise that I think my love for urban fantasy might be waning. I have always preferred kingdom fantasies but have still had a desire to read both types. Recently, however, I have found myself giving neutral or low ratings to many popular books in similar settings, without being able to place exactly what I disliked about it. I think a city-space as a backdrop ruins much of the whimsy I love about more rural fantasy settings.

Numerous 4 and 5 tar reviews and ratings proclaim this a fast-paced and action-packed read, and I can't disagree. There was just... something I didn't wholly love about this. I have also had little desire to read many books centring around zombies before. They might form the basis for some of my favourite TV shows but, maybe because of the urban setting again, I am far less eager to want to read about them.

In all, this book was good at what it did and I thank it for making me realise something about my changing literary tastes.

My first impression towards the cover and those word that lingering in my mind:

Oh hey its a knife that been colored by red and there's Alice name, oh my this thing gonna be a good retelling stories. I grow up with disney cartoon of Alice in Wonderland but I never read it book before. I also a fan of the motion pictures and Alice Madness games. So I root so much about what kind of retelling of Alice on this book here.

"His head exploded'

Even the opening words of chapter one seems promising. I cant wait to dig more.

Alice and the dystopian world plus a momerath. This gonna be exciting.

For me the story was okay, the idea is there.. just a few confusion, I dont know if english is not my forte gonna be the reason but here is what I dont really understand:

1. Why is Chess following Alice. Like what kind of connection between them? Like all the emotions just be there without specific inner feeling development. I feel like 'hey new girl, welcome to Wanderland town and yeah I love you'? I really need some elaboration about this feeling.

I also have kind of misconception in imagining Alice character. Why do the queen call her a fighter again? How would she know she can be a good soldier?

And also that end part where the queen actually know Chess & Bug, but there is this words:

"Who's Nate?" Chess asked incredulously.

Was Nate actually had been beside the Queen his entire life after the plague because she is his aunty? Why does Chess doesnt know him? Hurm. This is suspicious.

I may say that was not all the confusion, I like the science part because it was a logical explanation after all, kudos for that part. I would recommend this to my sci fi lover friend.

But for me, I'll root for more plot twist on the next book. *winking*

This book was Alice in Wonderland meets The Walking Dead. Epic! We follow Alice as she makes her way through Wanderland in the search for a cure to a deadly mutation that her sister has contracted. She meets Chess, The Bug, Hatta and may more on her journey. I love how all the classic Alice in Wonderland elements are weaved throughout this dystopian style read. Five stars for J.M. Sullivan.

http://fkrants.blogspot.com/2017/05/may-ng-fails.html

Alice Carroll is desperate.

A plague has been sweeping her city for an incalculable amount of time and although she and her sister have been able to avoid it up until now, death has now come knocking on their door. Trapped in a town that was once the flourishing and active site of a suburb set outside of Phoenix, Alice has spent months watching as the people around her have fallen into complete complacency about the impending doom lurking right outside the walls that surround their metropolis. The population of her sector has fooled themselves into believing that the plague cannot darken their doorsteps, and that becoming one of the dreaded “momeraths” could not possibly happen to them.

After a scouting expedition leads Alice and her older sister Dinah outside of the confines of the sector, Alice is forced to helplessly watch as her sister falls victim to the fearful sickness that has been claiming lives all over the state. The MR-V virus attacks every system inside of their host, turning them into bloodthirsty violent killers who cannot be contained or satisfied. When Dinah begins to exhibit the signs of being a carrier for the fatal virus, Alice knows she has to do something. She’s heard whispers of a doctor miles away who is working towards a cure, and her mission is clear – she must find this man and beg for his help. Dinah is all she has left in this world and she refuses to lose her.

Leaving her precious Dinah in the care of a friend inside the sector, Alice sets out for the place that was once the thriving city of Phoenix, determined to find answers. Soon after arrival she is accosted by one of the terrible monsters that give her nightmares – a momerath set on tasting her blood and claiming her life in the process. Lucky for her, a chance encounter with a handsome (if somewhat erratic) young man named Chess leads her to temporary safety where she can formulate the next phase of her plan. But once she eventually finds the doctor she is looking for, Alice is dismayed to discover that he is scatterbrained and in a near constant state of confusion — and he insists that there is no cure for the disease that her sister is suffering from.

Alice finds herself wrapped up in the curious mystery surrounding Borogove Industries, a scientific research lab that sanctioned the creation of the drug that was eventually turned into the virus and subsequent plague. Her hunt leads her to the threshold of a woman thought to be sponsoring the creation of an antidote, a woman reverently named The Red Queen. But while Alice hopes to find help and guidance from the woman in charge, she instead faces yet another challenge — mostly in controlling her temper. Alice doesn’t agree with the atrocities she experiences while under the Red Queen’s care, and fights to escape the false safety of the camp. After proving her worth and striking a bargain, Alice sets out once again, this time with the assistance of a team of elite soldiers that work under the tyrannical and deviant Queen’s employ. Alice storms the lab of Borogove in search of answers and a cure and as she unravels the convoluted riddle of the momerath disease, Alice finds herself plunging deeper into the heart of the matter than she ever intended. The path to salvation is wrought with puzzles and horrors, including an enlightening meeting with Dr. Matthew Hatta, creator of the drug, and Alice is forced to make some difficult decisions that will cling to the edges of her nightmares for years to come.

When the truth comes out, Alice is more confused than ever but stays the course — her eyes on the prize. She must get back to Dinah as soon as she can. Her sister’s life and Alice’s future depends on it. But sometimes going down the rabbit hole leads to more twists and turns than one may expect, and finding your way out of the darkness can prove to be nearly impossible.

Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles is the debut novel from American author, J.M. Sullivan. As far as debuts go, Sullivan has gotten off to a great start in a series that is sure to be a curious addition to any mid-grade to YA reader’s library. Twisted tales are all the rage and while Sullivan could stand to push the envelope more with cleverness and parallels, the story was fresh and inspired. With the exception of a few out-of-place curse words, this novel is appropriate for those ages 10+. I give the book 3 out of 5 stars; I was hoping for a bit more expansion on the characters and there were more than a few plot holes. It is my understanding that this is set to be a series of books (if the cliffhanger is any indication) and am hoping for a bit more depth in the next installment. Readers who enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles are encouraged to give this novel a try.

Alice: the Wanderland Chronicles is a fairytale retelling with a twist. Set in a gritty, dystopian future, Phoenix is the birthplace of the Momerath Virus, a disease that, once it takes holds, turns its victims into zombie-like creatures with insatiable appetites.

I’m not normally one for zombie stories, but this book was like a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Resident Evil, which I’ll take any day. Alice Carroll is a fierce, determined young woman surviving in the aftermath of the virus outbreak. She and her sister, Dinah, make a living scavenging supplies from outside the safe zone for their fellow survivors, until Dinah suddenly falls ill with all her symptoms pointing to the Momerath Virus. It’s up to Alice to try and find a cure for her sister before it’s too late.

Once Alice leaves the safety of the compound and ventures into what used to be Phoenix city, events transpire quickly. She meets a mysterious stranger, Chess, who appears and disappears without much warning, often leaving her in situations that require her to defend herself against the stronger, dangerous Momerath. Alice faces all challenges with a strong determination, and a singular mindset: she wants to find the cure, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes. As a reader, I sympathised with her plight, and wanted her to succeed.

The world building was good - it could have been better, but given the fast-paced, frantic nature of scenes it’s easy to see why the world building wasn’t delved into deeper. Hopefully in subsequent books, the world will be further fleshed out. Likewise, we got some fantastic glimpses into who and what the side characters - like Chess and Bug and Hatta - are, but I would love to know even more about them in the future.

Sullivan has done a good job of weaving in elements of the classic tale while still making it a story on its own. Fans will like the nods to canon, but you don’t need to know them to appreciate the story.

Overall, I gave Alice: the Wanderland Chronicles 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Ugh I wanted to love this book more than I did! I do think J.M. Sullivan has some serious skills. I was on the edge of my seat, sweating at points in this book. Her writing is vivid, creative, and fast paced.

I didn't actually figure out that the bolded letters were there on purpose until another reviewer pointed it out, only because I was reading a proof and sometimes they have odd quirks and things the finished copy smooths out, so I was just ignoring them. But I think it's cool that there's a message there. I would have been keeping track of what it said had I known, and I'm bummed I didn't pay attention. I really liked the writing style, I felt comfortable jumping right into the world, I was engaged with the story from the beginning. It was all exciting and fast paced and interesting. I liked the way it mirrored the original Alice but fit so nicely within it's own separate world and narrative.

Really the only three complaints I have are that the characters were not fleshed out enough. Everything moved SO quickly and I felt like we barely got any character development from anyone, especially Alice. I wanted to be so much more invested in her. Secondly, her fighting ability comes out of literally nowhere. It bugged me that she took off into momerath territory with no plan or weapons, and it bugged me that she'd been living in this post-appacaliyptic society for so long and had zero fighting skills. But if that was her thing, that was her thing. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere she's taking down four momeraths single handedly with a machete? With no previous instruction or experience? It was too ridiculous and really pulled me out of the story. I also never got used to the name momerath. I thought I would while reading, but it tripped me up every time. It sounds so awkward. Just call them zombies.

I also noticed that the quote in the front from Jabberwocky was attributed to C.S. Lewis. I read that that issue was resolved in the final text, but that's a rather huge mistake to make especially in the opening to an Alice in Wonderland retelling. It made me stop and wonder if it was a good idea to request this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I wish that I could have gotten to know the characters better. I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series or not at this point.

"Twinkle, twinkle, Alice..."

I tend to be wary of retellings because it feels like authors just use the name of a beloved classic to better advertise themselves not minding the fact that their work doesn't bear any clear resemblance to its original canon. Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles was not in this category. The subtle hints to the original Alice in Wonderland made me squeal with absolute delight! I mean, we had Dr. Matt Hatta and Dr. Waite R. Abbott, how is that not brilliant?!

"In that direction is Hatta, and in that direction... March lives there; they're both mad."

The story follows a fallen society who's battling with a new virus that turns people into starving zombies, or momeraths. Alice's sister falls ill forcing Alice to find a cure. On her quest she meets Chess and Bug who put her on the path of the Red Queen, a tyrant who controls an army and who can grant her access to the facility from which the virus first broke free.

"Rule number one: Always protect your queen."

Here we have an Alice battling momeraths with a machete, collars that chop people's heads off, mad scientists and no cumbersome romance, what else do you need? The ending felt a bit anti-climatic though and left me with a quizzical look on my face but this doesn't mean that I wouldn't be interested in a possible sequel. This was an engaging story that was just so eerie as to make you want to discover what's next! Totally recommended!

I am always here for an Alice retelling. And yes, there are a bunch of them. But I felt like this one stood out from others that I read because the story would have been just as good without the Alice link, rather than depending on it. This meant that the plot moved smoothly, where sometimes a retelling can have bits that feel like they have been forced to fit the original story. The characters were interesting in their own right, and the Alice-y bits add fun to an already compelling plot - I loved seeing how the characters we know from traditional Wonderland would pop up.

I also liked that the momerath (Wanderland's zombies) weren't just there for the sake of having zombies. I haven't read a lot of zombie-ish books before, so didn't really know quite what to expect, but I felt the world building was good enough that the momerath really fit into the story. There was plenty of blood and brain matter, but without it being enough to feel gratuitous.

One of my favourite parts of the book was a bonus chapter at the end, which re-tells an earlier chapter from another character's perspective. I loved seeing what J.M. Sullivan could do from behind a different set of eyes, and for me it was perhaps some of the best writing in the book. I also made me really excited to see what J.M. Sullivan has in store for these characters - and is, as readers - next.

Obviously I really enjoyed this. I had originally given it 3.5 stars(out of 5), but that alternative chapter bumped me up to 4 (more please!)

Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles by J.M. Sullivan is out now from Pen Name Publishing. I received an e-book copy in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many revisions on this tale. I liked this twist that author, J.M. Sullivan took for this book. Of course, there was the undead but it also had a bit of a dystopian feel to it that I enjoyed.

The world of "Wanderland" is not all mystical. In fact, you could call it "upside down". Things you thought you knew about your favorite characters are not the same in this book. For example: Rabbit is a doctor, Mad Hatter is know as Matt Hatta, a mad scientist. the Queen, she is more evil, and my favorite Cheshire Cat aka Chess, a boy. The way that Chess kept pushing Alice's buttons made me smile and laugh. Yet, as much as the momerath were supposed to be feared, I did not fear them as much as I did the evil Queen. You do not want to get on her bad side. Although, I don't think she has a good side. The ending was a bit of a surprise. It left me looking forward to the next book.

About a 3.5 stars for me. While I love retellings of my favorite stories (like Alice), I'm thinking this just wasn't for me. The beginning really grabbed me with its interesting POV with the suspenseful diary entries and Alice looking through it all, and even the present time of their now 'normal' life totally convinced me to enjoy myself. It was scary, suspenseful and all the good things you want with monsters that have terrorized the world. As it continued, however, the pacing of the action started to lengthen in detail, and the plot itself began to shorten. Does that make sense? Scenes were basically getting to the point a lot faster (which I'm totally fine with) but the action scenes were turning into pages. It's just my personal take on this, but it really started to drag for me when the fighting scenes got longer despite the intensity levels rising. Just an overall weird balance thing for me.

Alice's age is mentioned in the blurb, but to be honest, I kept envisioning a kid with the way she acted. The other characters were interesting, but only a small few stood on their own for me. The rest seemed to lean on the original ideas the retelling was honoring. With this book, it seemed like it'd be a better 'retelling of Alice with the Apocalypse' rather than 'a book with little Alice references'. I think it's just not for me because the writing style was off with the flow I got, the characters were two-dimensional or all over the place (and some just... man smh idk) but I will say that though I cringed at some parts, I also went "...WHOA" with some of them. Especially with some of the references being used differently, those were totally awesome.

So I'm on the fence. While I don't think I meshed with it, I did still appreciate some of the smaller great moments, and think that if you enjoy Alice retellings with an Apocalypse twist, check this out. I think you'll be surprised.

There are times when I get very excited when reading the synopsis and then I get the book, start reading and think to myself: "What possessed you to get this book?" And I have no one to blame but myself. And what bothers me too, is that most of the reviews are good, but I just couldn't even finish this book. I gave up at 50% and I hate not finishing books.

This is a badly written retelling of a children's classic Alice in Wonderland. It is set in post apocalyptic world of today where a plague has swept the world, turning the dead into 'momerath' or 'rath' (nicknamed after 'moment of wrath.' Why they couldn't be named zombies, after 10 million movies and TV shows about them, I have no idea). The main protagonist is Alice, who has absolutely no combat training and has no idea how to survive out there, always being protected by her sister Denah, and who now has to get the cure to save her sister who is a carrier. So our heroine embarks on a journey to Phoenix to find the magic cure and in the process miraculously knows how to use a machete, combat 'momeraths' and becomes one badass young lady. I couldn't care less, it felt unbelievable, no of the characters were original, nothing stood out and it just left me confused and really angry. Once I start getting angry at the book, I stop. I read to relax and this book did not make me relax, it made me hate Alice in Wonderland.

When I first started reading this it was a fun Where’s Waldo type of game to see how Sullivan was going to incorporate Lewis Carroll, his plethora of characters and references to one of the best fantasy books of our childhood. Amidst the fun of iconic childhood references there was plenty of mystery, danger and excitement to thrill the adult side.

Sullivan takes Alice on a journey unlike anything we’ve seen before but using the icons we are all familiar with made it somehow more special especially since she wrote this version of Carroll’s timeless classic in a way that did honor to the story rather than maligning it. Readers will be transported along with Alice as reality melts away to take you off to a new world which thanks to the author’s writing style comes alive.

Even as you find familiarity with the characters, Sullivan definitely added her own spin by developing their personalities and motivations so you can get to know these iterations as she’s created them outside of Carroll’s original idea.

One of the things I liked best is her writing style is so descriptive you can practically see her story come alive in your head like a movie playing on the screen.

Fantastic Alice remake! I love the zombie twists, how all the names and characters were twisted to fit the story, and all the gore!
Some bits could have been written with a bit more detail, but still, absolutely brilliant!