Cinder

Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

By: Marissa Meyer

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl....

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

©2012 Marissa Meyer (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Just what I was looking for

This was a light, enjoyable listen. On the surface a mix of science fiction, fantasy, coming-of-age and romance (but not too heavy on the romance).

I picked it for a light story to listen to while working in my studio at home. I stayed with it because I enjoyed the characters and the slightly more complex that you'd expect retelling of the story. But I'm looking forward to the next one because I really enjoyed the descriptions of the biological, mechanical, social and political world in which these characters operate. Vivid and evocative without being heavy and dully. I feel like I can picture Cinder's world and I feel like it's a real place (or could be).

I'd recommend it. But you'll have to wait for the next one in the series--because you'll want to stick with this character after the end of this book.

Good Listen

If you could sum up Cinder in three words, what would they be?

Syfi take on a cinderella story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

Cant wait for the next book in the series.

Fabulous Fresh Story on an Familiar Fairytale

Marissa Meyer rides a tight wave between creating something completely new and fresh whilst acknowledging a well known fairy tale. She rides the crest with panache and perfectly brings the story home; this story is loosely based on Cinderella, which for Ms. Meyer, turns out to be just the right amount. I've been on a YA spree of late and am perfectly happy to remain in it with writers like Ms. Meyer. Her blend of SciFi, adventure and romance is spot on. She uses well written, tight dialogue to bring out and develop her characters, deep and rich description to build her world, consisting of a future Earth and Lunar (Moon) and number of difficult scenarios to build interesting relationships. All of this wonderful writing however, is just so much gas for the engine of her fabulous story. Ms. Meyer is fundamentally a storyteller - it is the narrative arc that compels us to stay up much too late into the night reading her novel

As is my practice, I went back and forth between the Kindle and Audible versions (using the magic of Whispersync for Voice to keep moving), although I did a lot more listening than reading given the fabulous narration of Rebecca Soler. She has definitely entered the pantheon of beloved narrator. Her voice is a natural for Cinder so her talents truly shine when she voices Dr. Erland, Prince Kai and the impolite tones of Queen Levana. I also love her enthusiastic Iko. She maintains each character's voice in the the quick give-and-take dialogue Ms. Meyers uses. Overall her pacing gives you a sense of the urgency and excitement of the story while being able to follow it easily. I'm really glad she narrates the other books in the series.

For full review: wp.me/p2XCwQ-Rl

Liked it

Cinder is a very unique take on the fairytale genre - transporting it cleverly to a science fiction settings but retaining the storybook feel. Elements of Cinderella, Snow White, and several other fairy tales are cleverly woven into a complete story in a way that makes an engaging story.

Plot: Cinder is a cyborg - considered less than human and very expendable by a prejudiced society. So she exists quietly on the fringes of society, doing mechanical jobs to make money to support her step mother and step sisters. When a chance encounter with Prince Kai leads to the possibility of attending the big ball, will Cinder take the chance? For she may not just be a simple Cyborg and her fairy godmother may know enough about her to change the course of her life. If the evil Queen Levana doesn't get her first.

I liked the science fiction setting and it is very accessible science. There's a bit of the supernatural in a form of the Lunars (who possess psychological powers). And of course you have the cyborgs, androids, and more. I would never have thought anyone could put all that together and make it work but Meyer does manage it.

In all, I liked (but somehow didn't love) the book. To be a 5 star review, I would have liked to see far more depth in the characters. They were just thin enough to never really be able to get into any of them.

Note that I listened to the audible version of this book and the narrator did a decent job.

Love love love it!

Any additional comments?

It's like Disney fairy tales meets Firefly! Love the futuristic setting as a new take.

Five star YA novel

If you could sum up Cinder in three words, what would they be?

Wonderful lite read

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cinder?

The confrontation at the ball.

Which scene was your favorite?

Her entrance to the ball.

Any additional comments?

This is definitely a five star YA novel. I enjoyed it a lot. It was very easy to to listen to - I was surprised when it was over, it went by so fast. It was sweet and clean and not too complex. My younger self would have wanted to give it six stars I'm sure. However, at my current stage in life, this was pretty light reading and more of a four star for my older self .

Stellar Narration

Cinder is a 16-year-old cyborg mechanic who lives in New Beijing after World War IV. She was in an accident as a kid, and saved with robotic parts, including a robotic foot that stands in for Cinderella’s iconic glass slipper. Cinder is an outsider in society, though she is known as one of the best mechanics in New Beijing. Her accident left her without a memory of her time before, and her past is a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Like the fairy tale, Cinder lives with her awful stepmother and two stepsisters, though with a twist. There is also a prince and a ball, but otherwise Cinder spins it’s own story, and there are a lot of surprises in store. Some of the challenges Cinder faces are the deadly plague that’s hit New Beijing, political unrest, family drama, and managing the attention of the young and single Prince Kai.

The heroine Cinder is my favorite part of the story. She is likable, smart and brave, and very human in spite of her robotic parts and extraordinary abilities. The other characters also added a lot to the story, both the androids and the humans. The romance with Prince Kai is refreshingly done and I can’t wait to see how it develops in future installments.

The plot moves at a swift pace, and quickly pulled me in. It was fun seeing how the Cinderella story played out in Cinder’s dystopian cyborg world. The retelling is similar enough to the original to catch the references but with enough of a twist to keep things interesting. Even though I don’t read a ton of Sci-Fi, it was easy to follow along and I could totally envision the world that Meyer creates.

I listened to the audiobook, and narrator Rebecca Soler does a stellar job with the narration. She gives a lively reading and sounds like how I would imagine Cinder to sound. Her pacing is very good and she reads with the emotion that is called for. She handles the different male and female voices and accents with ease, and injects Cinder’s sense of humor into the reading. I actually liked the narrator so much I downloaded another audiobook that she reads to check out. This is a good audiobook to try if you’ve ever been interested to test out the experience.

Loved this book!

I am honestly surprised by how well written this book is and how much I enjoyed reading it. This book was so intriguing and well written that I finished it in two days. I absolutely recommend.

Amazingly Creative!

I don't give 5 stars to very many books ... this book was so creative, well thought out, not arrested by plot holes, not wrapped up in a 5 minute "happily ever after" ending ... I was very, very impressed!

Skeptic Turned Fan

I am a huge fan of the lunar chronicles and have read the main four. I’ve always had that voice in my head guessing what the characters would look sound and feel and I feel like Rebecca brought this characters to life.