‘A Dream So Dark’ Proves to be a Thrilling Sequel

You know that feeling you get when the song you always skip on an album turns out to be pure, unadulterated fire? That’s how I felt when I finally read L.L. McKinney’s Nightmare-Verse series which currently stands at two novels: A Blade So Black and it’s follow-up, A Dream So Dark. I initially passed on the story due to what I thought was a “meh” synopsis of yet another Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland remake. But unlike other adaptations, McKinney’s retooling of Lutwidge Dodgson’s (pseudonym, Lewis Carroll) classic tale is not only modern and diverse, but is a truly inspired tale that builds upon the teen heroine prototype set by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since this is a review of the second book in the Nightmare-Verse series, I’ll try not to give away any major spoilers from the first book.

What if Buffy fell down the rabbit hole instead of Alice? Swords will shatter ⚔️ Hearts will break ? Heads will roll ? Fall into the Nightmare-Verse ♠️https://t.co/I7ortCdAw4 pic.twitter.com/XjylVzIK4k — LL McKinney is on hiatus. (@ElleOnWords) November 8, 2019

A Dream So Dark continues the story of Alice Kingston, a 17-year-old Black girl living in Atlanta handling typical blerd girl things: school, Sailor Moon, cosplay, and saving the world from inter-dimensional monsters known as “nightmares” born out of mankind’s collective subconscious lovingly known as Wonderland. You know, queen shit. In A Blade So Black, the first entry in the series and McKinney’s official debut, Alice discov…