Cinder

In this fascinating retelling of Cinderella, somewhere in the future the Earthens are ruled by an emperor who is dealing with a plague and negotiating with the Lunar queen, who has been threatening war for years. Now, it seems imminent as the emperor himself is dying of the plague. Cinder is a mechanic who just happens to be a cyborg - her mechanical parts make her a second class citizen and ward to Adri, a rather nasty piece of work whose husband died leaving her with Cinder, an orphan whose parents died when she was eleven. Then Prince Kai himself (who, it must be mentioned, is the celebrity heartthrob) brings a robot for Cinder to repair, and he seems most anxious to have it fixed quickly.

This is the first in the series and if I were show more going to find fault with the book, it would be for the way it sets some things up and then leaves you hanging, waiting for the next book (why why why must there be cliffhangers?). I really enjoyed the characters, especially Cinder, and really want to see where it goes next. While the fairy tale is recognizable in places (the evil stepmother, the two stepsisters), it's also reimagined in delightfully surprising ways that fit the feel of this story, which stands well on its own two feet. I found some of the twists predictable, but I still relished the reveal when it came. I'm looking forward to seeing where Scarlet takes the story. show less

Let me preface this review by saying that the original Disney Cinderella is my LEAST favorite princess.

That being said- I absolutely LOVE how Meyer completely transformed the delicate, animal talking, meek, and mild Cinderella into a tomboy, mechanic, grease-wearing cyborg; one who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, to talk back, thrown an opinion in your face kind of girl.

To even compare this to the original Cinderella doesn't even give it justice. This was beautifully written to literally destroy your perception of a fairy tale. Meyer wove such a tale, that you couldn't help to continue reading. While getting to know all the beloved characters, if you pay close enough attention, you can see hints of other fairy tales weaved into show more the book; ironically (I'm assuming) lining up the remainder of her books.

I'm absolutely excited to continue this series. Thank you Marissa Meyer for finally doing a fairy tale justice. show less

Really cool Cinderella-tinged sci fi story. In this case, "Cinderella" is Cinder, a mechanic who repairs androids and happens to be a cyborg (she was given artificial limbs as a child as a result of an accident). She falls in love with Prince Kai, ruler of New Beijing, though she hides her true nature from him just like Cinderella did with her Prince Charming. There is a plague that afflicts thousands, and Cinder's nice stepsister Peony contracts it, and Cinder is carted off by authorities for experiments--scientists think cyborgs may hold the key to a cure. Cinder has something to do with the plague, all right, but not what they think. Great story with unfriendly aliens on the moon, and interstellar political intrigue, and just a dash show more of romance. Bring on the sequel! show less

REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/2011/12/cinder-by-marissa-meyer/

OH BOY. I mean, really. You know those books that have you talking out loud to it, going “OH MY GOD” and “HOLYYYYY EFF” and “WHYYY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” Yeah? Well Cinder by Marissa Meyer is one of those books. And to clear up any possible misreadings of this paragraph, THAT’S A GOOD THING. Because Cinder is AMAZING.

I was literally freaking out throughout at least half of Cinder because it is seriously such a roller coaster of action and plot-ness and monarchies and sci-fi and romance and murder and plague and the future and seriously, not a single down second. Once I started reading Cinder, I did not want to put it down.

And yet? I never show more wanted it to end! I wanted to savour Cinder slowly, reading as little as possible so I would always have more. Clearly, I was conflicted about how to read Cinder.

But the characters – the futurisitic retelling of Cinderella and making it even more badass – it was all just so well done. And even though Cinder is a book with cyborgs and and androids lunar people and crazy mind control, it’s so visual and I could really immerse myself in the world.

And, yes, I’ll be honest, there was one major plot thing I saw coming a mile away (or from the start of the book) – but that’s okay! I don’t care – I WANTED it to happen.

I’m basically just fangirling like crazy at this point, but seriously, if you were thinking about skipping Cinder by Marissa Meyer, don’t. I can’t even recommend it to someone who just likes one genre – if you like books at all, you will love Cinder. show less

[b:Cinder|11235712|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388186881s/11235712.jpg|15545385] is the first book in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles. From what I gather, each book in the series primarily features a different female character. So, you can imagine my frustration when I discovered this ends on a cliff-hanger. I was just really getting into the action of what Cinder was gearing up to do when the books ends suddenly. Usually, I hate cliff-hangers but this was awesome. I only hope that we still get some story from Cinder's point of view in the next books.

Cinder is a sci-fi/steampunk fairytale retelling of Cinderella, but only a few elements of the story match-up with the traditional show more set-up. In this, Cinder is a young cyborg who labors as a mechanic for her adoptive family. After agreeing to do a repair job for Prince Kai, Cinder finds herself forcibly thrown into the political mess of her country. Suddenly, she has to face being a test subject for a plague outbreak, prejudices against her kind, a visiting dignitary with mind control abilities, and an emerging secret from her past.

In Cinder, we are introduced to the impressive world Meyer has created for her characters, which is filled with social tension and unrest. I loved the imbalances of power we see and how all the characters are struggling, no matter what their social standing is. The leaders of the country are shown to be having just as difficult a time as Cinder. They're just dealing with different set of hard issues and decisions. I also really loved the weight these decisions and actions were given in the book. It added a lot of gravity to the story, which I wasn’t expecting to find when I decided to start the series. All in all, this was a great read and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. show less

Cinderella plus Blade Runner? You know I love those crazy combinations. I had actually kept passing on this book forever because I thought it was just a YA romance, like The Selection. I never looked hard enough at the cover to see there’s a titanium bone there. They need to work on the cover art because I had no idea this was cyberpunk.

Now here’s a plot-driven book. First thing that happens is the prince enters Cinderella’s machine shop with an android that needs repairing. Then her evil stepsister catches the Black Shakes and her stepmother blames her. There is also a ball everyone’s getting ready for, because it’s when the prince becomes emperor and looks for a bride. I wanted to find out what happens, even if the story show more doesn’t go much beyond that YA depth of “hey c’mere c’mere c’mere c’mere” “no, get’way get’way get’way get’way get’way” boy-girl relationships, ripped off from Ever After.

Some things are never explained and that bothers me. Like there is never a reason given for why cyborgs are persona non grata here. Our main character seems to be the only one in the cast of characters, but I don’t get what’s wrong with being one? You can have cool laser vision and multi-tool arms and rocket legs. You’re an enhanced human. Why isn’t this seen as a step up? Especially in a world where you’re competing with the moon men who have psychic glamour. Being a cyborg is expensive, so those who get the surgery, elective or not, must be signs of status.

It was intriguing enough I think I’m going to read at least the second one. The book ends on a cliffhanger, which I’m not fond of. I didn’t really care about the characters enough to continue (the main character has that aloof Katniss vibe), but I cared about the world and the plot enough to. show less

I'd had a copy of this book for ages before I got around to reading it. I don't know what took me so long, because it's fantastic and I fell in love almost right away. In some ways it reminds me of my favorite steampunk/automaton novel, The Alchemy of Stone (Ekaterina Sedia), though Sedia's novel is definitely adult to Meyer's YA. I like that the Cinderella undertones are just that, in fact I totally forgot about them until I was about halfway through -- good job, Meyer (especially since I'm a big fan of fair tale retellings). I love Cinder, she's such a fantastic character, everything about her is wonderful. I also love her relationship with the Prince, the secrets that came between them and that were the reason for Cinder's existence. show more I can't rave enough about this book, it, like a few others I've read recently, just hit all my buttons. show less