Dear Reader
Review Time!!
Cinder
Review Time!!
Series Synopsis:
So the The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is a series of fairy tale retellings. But they're not just ordinary retellings... oh, no, no ... these retellings have a twist. The Lunar Chronicles are set thousands of years from now, in a dystopic world complete with hover-cars, walking-talking androids, a genetically modified werewolf army, a new plague pandemic and super-humans with mind-control abilities that live on a colony on the moon (Luna) and called themselves Lunar. And just as the world has been given a futuristic make-over, so have our leading ladies been modernized:
1) Linh Cinder (aka Cinderella) is a cyborg, with a mechanical hand and foot. When she's not being bullied by her step-mother and step-sister, she spends her time working as a mechanic in New Beijing, earning her keep by fixing androids and other electrical devices.
 |
| Cinder by Lostie815 |
2) Scarlet Benoit (aka Little Red Riding Hood) delivers fresh produce from her farm to the local town of Rieux. But she can also drive any space ship, a talent and skill she got from her grandmother who's an ex-military pilot of the European Federation.
 |
| Scarlet by Lostie815 |
3) Cress Mira (aka Repunzel) is a skilled hacker, sorry I mean programmer. But she also happens to be a Lunar (not an Earthen) who's lived alone in satellite orbiting the Earth, for seven years, keeping a watchful eye on all the important people.
 |
| Cress by Lostie815 |
4) Princess Winter (aka Snow White). We don't know much about her at the moment except that she is the step-daughter of the Queen of Luna. But come 2015, I have no doubt that I will be just as thrilled and delighted to see how she fits into this new world, as I have been with all the other characters.
 |
| Winter by Lostie815 |
Though each book, Cinder, Scarlet and Cress, plays out the plot of their own fairy tale, the story arc that spans and connects all the books is that of Cinder and her fight against the Evil Luna Queen, Levana.
 |
| Levana by Lostie815 |
Warning: what follows is my review and personal opinion of each book in the series. This may contain spoilers for anyone who has not read any of the books. SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. BE WARNED.
***
This book was absolutely captivating from start to finish, even though it was more of a "set up" novel, introducing us to the key characters (Cinder, Iko, Prince Kaito and Dr. Erland) and the world of The Lunar Chronicles. The plot was well-paced and incredibly enjoyable, and I had a great time finding the symbols and making connections with the fairytale we all know and love. It especially delighted me to read how Marissa Meyer was able to incorporated the "fairy godmother" and the "pumpkin carriage". Not to mention that this has the most well developed fairy tale "prince" I have ever come across, in all the fairytale retellings that I have read (trust me, that is a large number). It is also the second most well developed fairytale/dystopian world I have had the pleasure to read.
To be honest, Cinderella has always been my least favourite fairytale; but I have to admit that I love this version, so much so that it is now among my all time favourites. And I will say this, I believe Cinder is a great role model young girls, though I never thought that about Cinderella, even as a young girl myself. Which goes to show the mastery with which Marissa Meyer has crafted this book. However, though I feel genuine affection for the overly-burdened and charming Prince Kai, Iko the Android is my favourite character and every scene involving her made me smile.
Scarlet
A phenomenal sequel to what started out as a wonderfully imaginative series. I loved it, especially Marissa Meyers continued incorporation of symbolism and little references of the original fairy tale. I read the entire thing in one sitting, without skimming through a single word. Not only were the new characters that were introduced (Scarlet, the Grandmother, Wolf and Captain Thorne) entirely loveable, I was also really glad to see the character development that Cinder underwent and rejoiced at meeting Iko once again, though in a different form.
The only downfall of this book is that I felt that the romance between Scarlet and Wolf felt a little forced and rushed; I think it needed time to grow but because of the multiple story arcs and the super-fast pacing of the novel, it just didn't get the room to seem natural. And on the topic of romance, I'm sure I'm not the only one to miss the Kai-Cinder relationship. The entire time I was reading the book, somewhere at the back of my mind, the teenage girl inside me kept wishing that they would at least just "comm" each other.
Also, it bothered me that the characters were just not asking the right questions. They eventually came to the right conclusions and revelations ... eventually. But, I suppose if they had been asking the right questions to begin with, it would make for a much shorter story. But overall, I really did love this book.
The only downfall of this book is that I felt that the romance between Scarlet and Wolf felt a little forced and rushed; I think it needed time to grow but because of the multiple story arcs and the super-fast pacing of the novel, it just didn't get the room to seem natural. And on the topic of romance, I'm sure I'm not the only one to miss the Kai-Cinder relationship. The entire time I was reading the book, somewhere at the back of my mind, the teenage girl inside me kept wishing that they would at least just "comm" each other.
Cress
Though it might sound tediously repetitive and cliche, I LOVED Cress!!! I just couldn't put it down. Marissa Meyer has definitely out did herself with Cress. Though, to be honest, I might not have loved it to this extent if Meyer hadn't already set such a strong foundation in the first two books and made me care so much about the characters.
The plot is, again, incredibly fast paced and action packed, balanced wonderfully by a huge dose of character development for Cress, Throne, Cinder and Kai, as well as Dr.Erland and, surprsingly, for sort-of-newcomer Jacin. I really liked the way all the characters, especially the heroines, are very distinct from each other, with their own traits and peculiarities, which isn't always the case when reading fairy tale retellings or sprawling epics. Levana remains the evil queen you love to hate and I was glad to see how one particular character got their just desserts.
The only minor grievance I had was that the Scarlet and Wolf plot line could have done with some work. Again, I felt the issue here was that they needed more time to grow, which is clearly not available in such a hectic, almost crowded, plot. I can only imagine how difficult it is to juggle so many central characters. Be warned though, this book does venture into some really dark territory, just like the original Grimm and Anderson fairy tales. That happens to be one of my favourite aspects of Meyer's writing: her faithfulness to the original stories, while still being unique and new.
Nevertheless, there are still some very humorous scenes, that are reminiscent of Shakespeare's style of a comedy of errors and miscommunication, along with many touching scenes that warm the heart. Overall impression: I'll say it again, I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!! It is definitely up there among my favourite YA, along with Cinder.
Waiting a whole year for Winter (2015) is going to be painful and will require a great strength of will on my part.
The plot is, again, incredibly fast paced and action packed, balanced wonderfully by a huge dose of character development for Cress, Throne, Cinder and Kai, as well as Dr.Erland and, surprsingly, for sort-of-newcomer Jacin. I really liked the way all the characters, especially the heroines, are very distinct from each other, with their own traits and peculiarities, which isn't always the case when reading fairy tale retellings or sprawling epics. Levana remains the evil queen you love to hate and I was glad to see how one particular character got their just desserts.
The only minor grievance I had was that the Scarlet and Wolf plot line could have done with some work. Again, I felt the issue here was that they needed more time to grow, which is clearly not available in such a hectic, almost crowded, plot. I can only imagine how difficult it is to juggle so many central characters. Be warned though, this book does venture into some really dark territory, just like the original Grimm and Anderson fairy tales. That happens to be one of my favourite aspects of Meyer's writing: her faithfulness to the original stories, while still being unique and new.
Nevertheless, there are still some very humorous scenes, that are reminiscent of Shakespeare's style of a comedy of errors and miscommunication, along with many touching scenes that warm the heart. Overall impression: I'll say it again, I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!! It is definitely up there among my favourite YA, along with Cinder.
Waiting a whole year for Winter (2015) is going to be painful and will require a great strength of will on my part.
 |
| Characters of The Lunar Chronicles by Lostie815 |
Novellas
Glitches - This tells the story of how Cinder came to live with her step-mother, Linh Adri. It's sweet and funny, though equally sad and though it adds nothing new to the overall story, it's essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about Cinder, her mysterious adoptive father and how Iko came to be.
Queen's Army - This short piece takes place several years before Scarlet and tells us the story of how Wolf had no choice but to become part of Queen's Army and how came to be Alpha. But most importantly, we get to see the Luna colonies for the first time and the extent of beautiful-terror that is Levana.
The Little Android - Set about a year or two before Cinder begins, this is a short story retelling Anderson's famous The Little Mermaid. It is brilliant but bittersweet, though an improvement, in my opinion, on the original story, which had just been painfully tragic. Marissa Meyer is a truly marvelous writer; the amount of character development, plot and heart she has managed to fit into such a short space ... amazing.
Until the next blog, next book and next review, take care and keep reading.
Nida
