Fantastic Alice

Something to Grin About by Lawrence Watt-Evans. A woman in an abusive relationship suddenly has the Cheshire Cat delivered to her door, sent from her elderly grandmother in England. It's a really funny story about Melody (the woman) attempting to come to terms with a talking cat. Very good.

The Rabbit Within by Gary A. Braunbeck. A man and his son live in a cabin, the man still mourning the death of his wife. It's a rather sad story but still well done.

Epithalamium by Roger Zelazny. Wonderland is in the midst of a coup, a cruel lord taking control and Alice, a fully-grown woman now, is called upon to return to Wonderland and try to striaghten out matters. Good story.

A Common Night by Bruce Holland Rogers.This story concerns a man and his wife who is dying of a brain tumor. The husband ends up running into some of the Wonderland characters and the story is filled with their conversation and various poems. Decent story but, in my opinion, not one of the better ones in the book.

Cocoons by Robin Wayne Bailey. A young boy is in the process of dying, the child obviously abused by his parents. As he dies he encounters the caterpillar from Wonderland. This is a very sad, very moving story and well done.

Hollywood Squares by Lawrence Schimel. A waitress who acted in an Alice play once encounters a man and his cat. They aren't what they appeared to be and this story is not very good, frankly.

Another Alice Universe by Janet Asimov. A California girl goes to visit her Aunt Alice who has a mirror through which, you guessed it, the girl falls into Wonderland. The girl lives by logic and all things rational and her trip to Wonderland somewhat confuses her. Fairly good story.

And with Finesse by Janet Pack. This is perhaps my favorite story in the book. Two men are fencing and one ends up hitting the other one in the head. The story then concerns the now unconscious man's trip through Wonderland and of his battles there using the vorpal sword, his encounters with the characters and his basically accepting as reality the events in Wonderland.

Alice's Adventures in the Underground railroad by Tobin Larson.This is another story based on a coup in Wonderland with this time Alice attempting to lead some of the opposition members out of Wonderland and to safety in our world. A rather boring story, one that could have been left out of the book.

Muchness. A scientific experiment involving teleportation of individuals from one city to another brings with it some rather unusual consequences for a woman who becomes the first human being to test the device from the inside, so to speak. Good story.

Transformation and the Postmodern Identity Crisis by Lisa Mason. Imagine that Alice came back to our world and grew up a rather bitter woman who gave a speech covering what happened to various Wonderland characters after they entered our reality. Amusing story.

Teapot by Jane M. Lindskold. A story from the viewpoint of the Dormouse who ends up entering a different reality. All right story but not great.

Who Killed Humpty Dumpty? by Mickey Zucker Reichert. Alice is put on trial for the alleged murder of Humpty Dumpty. The story is really wild as the trial proceeds which the type of craziness you'd expect from Wonderland. Good story.

Wonderland Express by Connie Hirsch. A really, really odd story involving Alice, a couple of very strange characters, a car chase and similar silliness. Fairly decent story but not great.

Waiting for the Elevator by Kevin T. Stein. Alice and the Harlequin are waiting for an elevator. One of the worst stories in the book; it should have been left out, actually.

Conundrums to Guess by Peter Crowther.Basically a horror story, it's interesting but not outstanding.

A Pig's Tale by Esther M. Friesner. A slightly humorous story about how Alice in Wonderland becomes subject to various academic-type analyses and the effect those have on Wonderland itself. Fair.

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