![]() Braswell shows us a whole new Agrabah, a whole new storyline. For me, the narrative was wonderful and went deep into the heart of the story, but the overall plot felt somewhat… basic. In conclusion, the title really sums this book up. Without giving anything away, prepare for a few “I can’t believe you just did that to my childhood” moments! It does fall in to the Young Adult reading bracket and isn’t particularly explicit, but there are some gruesome moments throughout which can be particularly heart-wrenching if you hold the story, setting, and characters close to your heart. This book is much, much darker than the Aladdin we know. These inaccuracies were not something I expected, and did ruin the read. Another example is that the author refers to Jafar as a sorcerer, literally two pages before he becomes one. I read that line about five times and still don’t understand it. For instance, ‘ buried under the same stone steps they helped lay’. ![]() Some sentences just didn’t make sense, and other times words were used in places where they didn’t fit. However, something about this novel which really let me down was the apparent clumsiness in editing, at least in the edition I own. It was difficult reading the dialogue in his voice, not least because he kept calling Jasmine “sweetcheeks”, and the decision to not hold him as a key character in the novel is very strange considering his immense personality (and popularity) in the movie.įor more information on booking your next trip with our official travel agent sponsor, the Vacationeer, visit avel. Also, the original Genie is acclaimed for being a very visual character, and as it transpires, it is very hard to present this in a novel. Throughout the story, he is controlled by Jafar, and haunted by his backstory, leaving him in a permanent state of despondency. If you are a big fan of the Genie (or djinn), this book might not be for you. One character which I really felt was a let-down was the Genie. Even the Genie refers to him as “an insane, power hungry, evil… dictator with delusions of godhood”. Braswell chooses to write him as “a madman of truly demonic purposes.” If you like hating on your villains, this book will appeal. Other characters are brought in, which works, but Jafar is definitely the standout. Aladdin is allowed to portray emotions other than that lovey-dovey gooeyness one might expect from a Disney prince storyline. Jasmine is powerful, and yet somehow manages to be both self-centered and altruistic at the same time. The characters were well-built upon and given backstories which answer questions raised by the movie. The escape from the Cave of Wonders scene was particularly well-written, building as much of the panic and tension on paper as made my four-year-old self hide behind the sofa whenever I watched the scene on video. Braswell uses perfect words to paint a brilliantly vibrant picture of Agrabah, building on the base from the film and adding lots more, thus producing a well-researched backdrop to her tale. This is particularly including the Quarter of the Street Rats: an area of Agrabah we never get to explore in the films. To start with, the descriptions in the narrative are gorgeous. Up until that point, we get all the same scenes, all the same dialogue, except built upon with more detail. Aladdin does find the lamp, and it is only once this happens do things start to go awry. In fact, the tagline on the cover of the book “ What if Aladdin had never found the lamp?” is wildly misleading. ![]() ![]() The first six chapters are a mirror re-telling of the classic Disney movie. Was it shining, shimmering, splendid? Read on. This triggers the rise of a terrifying dictatorship, prompting a revolution on the streets of Agrabah lead by slick army of Street Rats.ĭid it show me the world? Most definitely. For reviewing purposes, I will be reading the full series in chronological order of publication, and I will be completely honest and spoiler-free in letting you know what I thought!Ī Whole New World by Liz Braswell follows an alternate plotline of what would have happened if, at the mouth of the Cave of Wonders, Aladdin had passed the magic lamp to Jafar, granting him the power of the Genie… and the reign of Agrabah. Each of the novels is stand-alone, meaning you can read whichever stories intrigue you the most in whichever order you feel like. A Whole New World is the first book in the Twisted Tales series. At the time of writing, the series consists of five titles published over the past four years, with the sixth due in April 2019.
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