A dream so dark

L. L. McKinney

Book - 2019

In L. L. McKinney's A Dream So Dark, the thrilling sequel to A Blade So Black, Alice goes deeper into a dark version of Wonderland. Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates high school), Alice must cross the Veil to rescue her friends and stop the Black Knight once and for all. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It's not until she's at her wits end that she realizes--Wonderland is trying to save her. There's a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen's power--and Alice's budding abilities--as their own. Dreams have... never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet's magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.

Saved in:

Young Adult Area Show me where

YOUNG ADULT FICTION/McKinney, L. L.
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Young Adult Area YOUNG ADULT FICTION/McKinney, L. L. Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Fantasy fiction
Paranormal fiction
Published
New York : Imprint 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
L. L. McKinney (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Sequel to: A Blade So Black.
Physical Description
352 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN
9781250153920
9781789093049
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

McKinney's follow-up to A Blade So Black (2018) proves she is a master of urban fantasy. The dust hasn't settled from Alice's last battle, and she already must journey back into Wonderland to permanently defeat the Black Knight and save her friends. But in this installment, her friends aren't the ones who ultimately need saving; it's Alice herself who's in the gravest danger. A mysterious evil, the Poet, has been manipulating events and using Nightmares to raise the dead and this dangerous figure seeks to possess Alice's newfound powers. To defeat this new menace and save the day, Alice must look deep within herself to face the worst of her nature and the flaws of those she loves because the only way to conquer darkness and fear is to face it straight on. McKinney gives readers the pleasure of revisiting beloved characters from A Blade So Black as well as of getting to know entirely new and fascinating ones. The imaginative, lush qualities of Wonderland are further developed, and McKinney provides readers with a sweeping, staggering fantasy world brimming with magic and wonder. The twists and turns of this novel are explosive from start to finish and guaranteed to send readers gleefully down a rabbit hole from which they'll emerge begging for a third installment.--Enishia Davenport Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

McKinney's sequel to A Blade So Black (2018) delves into the corruption of Wonderland's peaceful existence.After an epic battle against the Black Knight and his Fiends, Dreamwalker Alice Kingston works to reckon with the death of her best friend, Chess, who was stabbed during the melee. When Chess is reanimated by Slithe, literally the stuff (blood) of Nightmares, and kidnaps the Poet Maddi, Alice must deal with her mother's declining trust in her as well as attacks from a mysterious bloody lady in order to find her friends. She journeys from our world to Wonderland and literally somewhere In-Between, which is "not here nor there, nor anywhereit's pretty much everywhere," eventually being forced to face the deepest fears held in her heart. Wonderland takes shape through its ethnically diverse peoples, such as Xhosa-speaking healer Naette, and fantastical, Carrollian creatures, like Duma the Bandersnatch, a doglike animal with hooved feet, multicolored fur, and a purple tongue, and is much more interesting than the underdeveloped settings in our world. Readers meet characters whose personal relationships contribute to a complex intrigue that nicely complements the interspersed fight scenes, creating great balance and pacing. The addition of queer-coded Dreamwalker Haruka, a young Japanese woman, and a broader portrait of the Black Knight's history effectively complicate the plot without making it clunky.Rousing, nonstop twists help make this sophomore entry a success. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.