Scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

When I reviewed Cinder, my main comment was:

My big complaint is that I figured out all the twists about 1/3 of the way through. However, I liked the world enough that I kept reading. Only to find that nothing really resolves, the stage just gets set for the next big adventure.

Some of that "no resolving" is still true. I think this series will end up more like being one long book instead of four separate ones. The world-building and politics involved just keep getting MORE awesome and I did not figure out everything going on with this one.

You guys, it's sooooooooooooooooooooo cooooooooooooooool. We have a few storylines going on here--

1. Scarlet's grandmother has disappeared and the police have closed the case, refusing to see the foul play that Scarlet does, so it's up to Scarlet to find her. She gets help from a street fighter called Wolf.
2. Cinder has escaped from jail with an annoying American who happens to own a spaceship, which is helpful. Of course, the spaceship is stolen, which is why he was in jail in the first place.
3. Queen Levana is not happy about Cinder's escape and gives Emperor Kai three days to find her and hand her over. Kai doesn't understand what the queen wants with her, and grapples with his own feelings at betrayal at Cinder being a Lunar. But he must do what he can to stop a Earth/Luna war, which Earth would surely lose.

I love that Cinder put Iko's personality chip in the spaceship. I love Iko's take at suddenly being a ship. (Also, the ship is called the Rampion, and the next book is Cress which both make me think Rapunzel, but Rapunzel with a spaceship? Very, very intriguing.)

Scarlet lives in France, so we get to see more of Meyer's futuristic world, and get a broader sense of the international politics at play, as well as more the Luna threat.

Cinder is learning to use her Lunar mind-control and glamor gifts, but they always make her feel squeamy and guilty. Until she uses them, which just feels right. This is an interesting issue and I'm curious to see where it goes.

This one also has a lot more action-- more fights, more jumping from trains, more crazy spaceship rides, just a lot more action and movement than Cinder does.

While the immediate story gets (some) resolution, it really just opened up many more questions. This world is so intriguing and Meyer's take on fairy tales is so fresh, I really can't wait for the next one.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Cinder

Cinder Marissa Meyer

Cinder is a cyborg-- a cross between android and human. She's a rarity and a freak, and hides her robotic parts when she can. She's also the best mechanic in New Beijing and the main source of income for her family. A large part of this story is Cinderella (Because you couldn't guess from the title.) The other part involves the Queen of the Moon (who is way freaky and evil) coming to Earth to attempt to marry the prince and TAKE OVER THE WORLD. There are missing princesses, a deadly plague, creepy medical testing, a lot of questionable motives and alliances, PLUS! Evil stepmother + ball.

New Beijing is the capital of the Eastern Commonwealth, which seems to include all of Asia. As such, there is a mish-mash of Asian touches-- a character with the last name of Nguyen (Vietnamese) and a street called Sakura (Japanese). This is TOTALLY on purpose-- as the capital of all of Asia, of course different Asian cultures would blend in this way. As someone who's used to seeing bad Chinese settings, it initially set off some warning bells until I could talk myself down. But that's totally my own issue. I think Meyer was very deliberate in how she combined cultures and created a whole new world.

My big complaint is that I figured out all the twists about 1/3 of the way through. However, I liked the world enough that I kept reading. Only to find that nothing really resolves, the stage just gets set for the next big adventure.

Several people have complained that there's not a lot of spark between Cinder and Prince Kai. There's not. There's some "oo hot guy that I oddly respond to" but no swoon or insta-love. I'm ok with that, because it's not like we're being TOLD that they lurve each other and not seeing it. They're attracted to each other but don't really know each other and I can see this turning into a slow burn that ratchets up over the next few books.

BUT! I loved the world building. I loved the politics. I loved Kai being unexpectedly thrust into power and having no good solutions or answers to very big problems facing his people. Plus, it's a fairy tale retelling. You know how I love those. The titles of the next 3 books have already been announced-- Scarlet, Cress, and Winter. I have ideas where those names come from based on this story, but I'm also hoping for Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow Queen. Too bad we have to wait until 2013.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.