A Blade So Black
Author: L. L. McKinney
Published by: Titan Books
Pages: 400
Format Paperback
My Rating ★★★
Swords will shatter. Hearts will break. Heads will roll.
The first time the Nightmares came it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she’s trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.
Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mother, a high-maintenance best friend, and school. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both world to keep from losing her head…literally.
My thoughts:
A Blade So Black is an urban fantasy story reimagining of Alice in Wonderland in a modern and twisted world.
At the start of the book, Alice is an Atlanta-based teenager, struggling with real-world issues including the recent loss of her father. But things soon become more and more complex as her life is turned upside down, and she is suddenly battling with monstrous creatures in Wonderland, a dark and obscure dream realm she is dragged into by a mysterious stranger who saved her life.
McKinney mixes elements of fantasy and adventure, taking inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and updating it with a twist: the heroin is brave, thrill seeking and can more than hold her own in a fight.
Living a complicated double life, Alice joins forces with Hatta and begins her training. Fighting against her own fears and using a combination of magical weapons and martial arts skills, she is able to defeat the Nightmares in Wonderland. Here, Alice can be viewed as a kind of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ type character. She is likeable, confident and fearless and I really enjoyed seeing such a strong black female protagonist develop throughout the book. All of the main characters are memorable and truly interesting, and I especially enjoyed the scenes in Wonderland very much.
I just wish the plot had been a bit more complex and unpredictable at times. The first few chapters seemed to drag a little and at a few points I felt I had to force myself to keep reading on. I must admit I didn’t love the writing style overall, but the strength of the character development kept me intrigued enough to keep reading.
I was interested in the plot, but honestly the writing in the early parts of the book felt somewhat tedious. It didn’t hook me immediately, and the plot was a little too simplistic, but once the story really got going I found A Blade So Black pretty entertaining, fun and engaging. I only wish the author had delved a little deeper and created a darker and more absorbing plot. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m hoping for a sequel to resolve some of the unanswered questions in future.
This one is well worth a read, although there are definitely better fantasy reads out there. Simply put, it’s a good book that I believe could’ve been much better. The story had such potential but I felt things just got a little lost along the way…
Overall reaction:
Published by: Titan Books
Pages: 400
Format Paperback
My Rating ★★★
Swords will shatter. Hearts will break. Heads will roll.
The first time the Nightmares came it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she’s trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.
Life in real-world Atlanta isn’t always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mother, a high-maintenance best friend, and school. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice’s handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she’ll need to use everything she’s learned in both world to keep from losing her head…literally.
My thoughts:
A Blade So Black is an urban fantasy story reimagining of Alice in Wonderland in a modern and twisted world.
At the start of the book, Alice is an Atlanta-based teenager, struggling with real-world issues including the recent loss of her father. But things soon become more and more complex as her life is turned upside down, and she is suddenly battling with monstrous creatures in Wonderland, a dark and obscure dream realm she is dragged into by a mysterious stranger who saved her life.
McKinney mixes elements of fantasy and adventure, taking inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and updating it with a twist: the heroin is brave, thrill seeking and can more than hold her own in a fight.
Living a complicated double life, Alice joins forces with Hatta and begins her training. Fighting against her own fears and using a combination of magical weapons and martial arts skills, she is able to defeat the Nightmares in Wonderland. Here, Alice can be viewed as a kind of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ type character. She is likeable, confident and fearless and I really enjoyed seeing such a strong black female protagonist develop throughout the book. All of the main characters are memorable and truly interesting, and I especially enjoyed the scenes in Wonderland very much.
I just wish the plot had been a bit more complex and unpredictable at times. The first few chapters seemed to drag a little and at a few points I felt I had to force myself to keep reading on. I must admit I didn’t love the writing style overall, but the strength of the character development kept me intrigued enough to keep reading.
I was interested in the plot, but honestly the writing in the early parts of the book felt somewhat tedious. It didn’t hook me immediately, and the plot was a little too simplistic, but once the story really got going I found A Blade So Black pretty entertaining, fun and engaging. I only wish the author had delved a little deeper and created a darker and more absorbing plot. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m hoping for a sequel to resolve some of the unanswered questions in future.
This one is well worth a read, although there are definitely better fantasy reads out there. Simply put, it’s a good book that I believe could’ve been much better. The story had such potential but I felt things just got a little lost along the way…
Overall reaction: