Categories:
YA SF/fantasy; fairy-tales retold
Series:
The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher:
Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2012
Book
Source: Public library
Take the basic plot of “Cinderella,”
throw in a touch of Snow White, mix liberally with science fiction (cyborgs,
androids, a powerful lunar colony, and a post-World-War-IV world of six or
seven nation-states) and fantasy (Lunars have “glamour,” an ability to
influence the perceptions and thoughts of others), add plague and political
intrigue, and top it off with an engaging but reluctant heroine, and you’ve got
Cinder, the first book in Marissa
Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles.
It seems that everyone who reads YA has
been raving about Cinder since it
first came out, and I can see why. I finally managed to get a copy from the
library, after being on the waiting list for months, and I plowed through the
book in a few hours. I probably can’t
say anything about the book that hasn’t already been said, so I’ll keep this short. I loved it, despite the fact that -- as my
daughter points out -- almost everything that happens is predictable if
you know your fantasy tropes. It’s not
the best-written book I’ve read in the last 12 months (that distinction goes to
Patrick Rothfuss’s amazingThe Name of the Wind), but the prose is
solid and readable, Cinder is a wonderful protagonist, and the story is
gripping and exciting and sometimes quite moving.
If you haven’t read Cinder yet, you’re in luck – Scarlet
just came out, which means you’ll be able to go right from Cinder’s cliffhanger ending to the
sequel. From what I can gather, Scarlet focuses on an entirely new
heroine, at least initially, and draws on the Red Riding Hood story. Cinder shows up partway through the book. I’ve
already put it on hold at the library, and this time I’m not quite so far down
the waiting list – huzzah! I’ll review Scarlet as soon as I finish it. There will be two more books after Scarlet, which means we’ll have to wait
until 2015 to finish the series.
The Lunar Chronicles:
1. Cinder (review)
2. Scarlet (review)
3. Cress (review to come)
The Lunar Chronicles:
1. Cinder (review)
2. Scarlet (review)
3. Cress (review to come)
I really loved this book..but yes Name of the Wind rocked my world too!
ReplyDeleteIt's phenomenal writing, isn't it? Rothfuss's talent leaves me awestruck. My daughter discovered The Name of the Wind, and wouldn't rest until I agreed to listen to the audio with her. Now we're listening to The Wise Man's Fear while driving back and forth to her classes at the community college.
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