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| Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer |
"While her sisters were given beautiful dresses and fine slippers, Cinderella had only a filthy smock and wooden shoes."
New Beijing market is rife with skilled vendors and tradesmen working tirelessly night and day peddling their merchandise and skills. Among the occupied booths lining the streets sits Linh Cinder, a highly skilled mechanic who also happens to be a cyborg. One day, Cinder is visited by the handsome and eligible heir to the throne, Prince Kai, who has a very important and secretive task for her to complete- repair one of the prince's androids before the ball. But this android may be holding more secrets than Cinder is prepared to uncover, secrets that could potentially bring about intergalactic war with the Lunars. And her problems escalate when her stepsister and only human friend contracts a deadly plague which has already decimated most of the human population, a plague that may have a cure, for the right price.
I loved, loved, loved Cinder! It had all the workings of a finely wired cyborg, and I devoured every single sentence like it was a cure to the plague. It goes without saying that I have a large chunk of real estate in my heart open for fairytale retellings, a spot now occupied by Marissa Meyer's novel. I loved everything about this book, from the crazy out-of-this world reworking of the classic Cinderella story, the strong female protagonist, the subdued but equally swoon-worthy romance, even the evil Queen Levana and her wicked deeds had me sold. Somehow, Meyer managed to take the original story and create a wholly unique and captivating new tale unlike anything I have ever read before. It was, dare I say, alpha-numeric! (Sorry, a little ReBoot humor for own amusement)
The writing style of Marissa Meyer was very fluid, and I didn't have any issues with the flow of the story or the development of the characters. Her descriptions were vivid but not overdone, an issue I have had in the past, and the dialogue was believable and even humorous at times. I especially appreciated the world-building created by Meyer, and found the creation of the post-apocalyptic/futuristic world to be undeniably realistic. From the start of the book, I was immediately intrigued by New Beijing and this terrifying and desolate wasteland that has become Earth, along with the discovery of the extraterrestrial beings who inhabit the moon, the Lunars. Everything she included in the story served a purpose, which I have to tip my hat to because I have often seen authors go to great lengths to include meaningless additions to their stories, which can be troublesome for readers.
The story itself was drawn out in such a way that it made it impossible for me to sleep until I knew what would happen in the next chapter, and a few of the scenes had me on the edge of my seat in antici......SAY IT!.....pation! One of the best things about the novel, in my opinion, was how Meyer managed to incorporate pretty much every aspect of the original Cinderella fairytale into the story, such as the stepmother and two stepsisters, the prince's ball, the pumpkin carriage, the missing "glass slipper", I mean everything was somehow worked in and I was so pleasantly surprised by this!
The only complaint I would have with this book is that I have to wait a whole year for the next one to come out! I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who haven't read the book yet, but one thing I will say is that the subsequent novels in the series (Scarlet, Cress, and Winter) will continue the adventures of Linh Cinder, and each one will feature a unique take on a different fairytale! I squealed in delight when I found this out, and am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the Lunar Chronicles, the next in line being Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) which will introduce the Red Riding Hood character, Scarlet, as she searches for her grandmother. I am hoping that these will somehow weave intricate new story arcs without deviating too far from Cinder's story. We will have to wait until 2013 to see, and my, what a big wait we have! The better to build up anticipation with, my dears!
"Soon, the whole world would be searching for her...But they would be looking for a ghost."
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Just started reading this book per your rec and am LOVING it!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad your loving it! The author is actually going to be at Mysterious Galaxy this Wednesday :)
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