Have you ever wondered what your favourite fairytales might look like if they were actually set in a far distant future? Where they might have access to advanced technology and could even live on the moon. Well Marissa Meyer’s series ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ may just be what you’re looking for, she takes the fairytales we all love and know, like Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and even Snow White and puts them in a far distant future where technology has advanced far beyond what we currently know and Cinderella is actually a cyborg, living in New Beijing working as a mechanic.
When I first heard of ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ I have to admit I didn’t know to much about it but after seeing it recommended by many other book lovers online, I decided to check it out. After reading the synopsis that described this series I immediately added them to my Wishlist because I thought they sounded like something that I would enjoy and I managed to pick them up in the after Christmas (2020) sales.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
From the first page I was hooked, I did not want to put this series down, I was invested in Cinder’s story, as well as Scarlett’s, Cress’s and Winter’s. (The series includes four novels Cinder (01), Scarlett (02), Cress (03) and Winter (04).)
This series starts off following Cinder’s life in New Beijing, she is working as a Mechanic to support herself, her Stepmother and her two step sisters. Life on Earth isn’t perfect, while mostly peaceful, it has been through four world wars and now there is a virus called Letumosis, which is fatal to humans and has no known cure.
One faithful day while working in her stall at the New Beijing markets, Cinder receives an unexpected visitor, the handsome Prince Kai of the Eastern Commonwealth. After Prince Kai commissions Cinder to fix his much-loved android that his has had since childhood, they strike up a bit of an unexpected friendship which ends up with his asking her to a royal ball. But thing aren’t all sunshine and rainbows, when you have an epidemic going on and the evil Queen Levana of Luna (the moon) breathing down your neck, putting pressure on Prince Kai (and his father before him) to create an alliance which could end up with him having to marry her and in turn that would give her too much power on Earth, which no one wants.
For many years Queen Levana of Luna has threatened war with the Earther Union, for her own selfish reasons and it is only a matter of time before she might decide to act on them.
Character’s
This series while mostly following Cinder also includes perspectives and stories of quite a few characters, including Prince Kai, Scarlett, Wolf and Thorn who are all introduced in book two, as well as, Cress in book 3 and Winter and Jacin in book four. There are also a few other characters points of view in this series, like Queen Levana.
What I love about the characters and storytelling in Marissa Meyer’s ‘Lunar Chronicles’ is that while they are based on characters from some much-loved fairytales, she has defiantly made them unique to her interpretation of the stories. These young women aren’t your average damsels in destress, while Cress might dream of being recued by some handsome prince from her satellite in space, these characters definitely have their own unique traits that I think set them apart from the characters in the original stories.
As each book shares more of Cinder’s story or rather journey because I really feel that is the best way to describe this series, Meyer has effortlessly weaved in the other elements and characters in this series to fit with her version. There were times when I was reading this series and noticed the subtle elements inspired by the original stories, like Cinder running down the steps away from the ball and losing her foot instead of a shoe, or Scarlett’s searching for her missing grandmother, or Thorn becoming the shady thief that Rapunzel meets in her story (Cress being Rapunzel) or even Winter being poisoned by her stepmother in disguise as an old woman. There are really just so many moments where I had to do a double take and smile at how effortlessly she included these elements into the story, you may not even pick up on them if it’s been a while since you read the original versions of these stories.
Each Character is vital to this story, and the way she has weaved all their stories into one while not shifting off course is inspiring, especially for a debut series.
World Building
The world Marissa Meyer has created in ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ isn’t to much different from our own, the differences being that it is set in the future where technology is far more advanced and some time in Earths past some people migrated to the moon but it also has experienced war and illness.
She has also incorporated in a bit of magic, even if it’s not entirely used for good purposes, with some of the Luna inhabitants having the ability to manipulate people, they can make them see a version of themselves that isn’t real, this is called a ‘Glamour’ but they can also use people and make them do whatever they want, like I said not very good.
I like that she has created a world based on our own and merged it with a world where fairytale characters exist even if they aren’t quite the same. Her world has both darkness and light, with war, manipulation and Disease but has elements of lightness that show in the Characters ability to not want give up and to keep fighting for a world or universe where they are free to live in peace without Queen Levana’s Tyranny.
Marissa Meyer has created an enchanting story that kept me hooked from the first chapter of Cinder, she effortlessly weaved a narrative that included a unique retelling of some much-loved classic fairytales while putting her own unique spin on them. While she has written a few books since the release of The Lunar Chronicles this was her Debut series and she did an amazing job. It not only has a gripping storyline but the writing style really gives you everything you need to get to know the characters, which then helps you feel more invested in seeing it through to the end. It really will have you thinking, Just one more chapter.
Who Would I Recommend This For?
I would recommend The Lunar Chronicles for anyone who loves a story re-telling or who wants to read a science-fiction based novel that has strong female lead characters.
Reading Challenge Update:
These books tick off the following prompts for my reading challenge.
If you want to know more about my reading challenge you can check out my original post here.
| A retelling (inspired by another story.) The Lunar Chronicles is inspired by four classic Fairytales Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White | √ |
| Something new to your collection. I purchased this in late December 2020 | √ |
| A Book told from more than one characters perspectives. The Lunar Chronicles tells the story from several character perspectives, including Cinder, Prince Kai, Scarlett, Thorn, Wolf, Cress, Winter,etc. | √ |
| A story set in another time (it could be either the future or the past.) The Lunar Chronicles is set in a far distant future. | √ |
| A bestseller. This series is a New York Times Bestseller | √ |
| A book written by a female author. | √ |
| Something Science fiction. This series comes under the Science Fiction genre. | √ |
| A book series. This series includes four books, Cinder, Scarlett, Cress and Winter. | √ |
I hope you enjoyed this book review. If you want to read more book reviews or check out my 2021 Reading Challenge, you can find them all on my blog via the menu bar.
Until next time, I hope you all have a lovely day.
Erin.
Disclaimer – This post is not sponsored and doesn’t contain any affiliate links, links included are for reference only in case your interest in checking out anything mentioned in this post. Read full Disclaimer here.
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