Cinder: A Book Review

“Even in the Future the Story Begins with Once Upon a Time.” 
― Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Melissa Meyer
Published: January 2012
Buy: Amazon or B&N
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library

I picked this one up at the library after first seeing it in a bookstore when it was first released. It sounded decent enough at the time and I figured I'd come back for it in paperback. Then everyone online started reading and reviewing, giving it rather good review, so I grabbed it up (quite a bit behind the review train). I wasn't over whelmed, but it was good. I think fans of retellings would enjoy this. Though, if it hadn't been outright stated, I probably would not have seen the Cinderella correlation. I think I could have enjoyed the book a lot more had I not been trying to peg characters to their counterparts in the original tale. It's seldom good when I compare novels to originals.

As I said above, Cinder is a retelling of the classic Grim tale Cinderella.
Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg living in New Beijing with her adoptive mother, sisters, and a little android name Iko. She is known as the best mechanic in New Beijing, but she is still a second class citizen. Cyborgs are seen a lesser than humans and are used for researching a cure for the plague that has wreaked havoc on the Earth. Cinder hates her life with her step-mother, Adri. Iko and her step-sister Peony are her only friends and even those friendships are at risk of Adri's tyranny. When Prince Kai, the son of the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth, has trouble with his beloved android, he brings it to Cinder with a story of childhood attachment and a joke of "national security." Despite the joke, Cinder thinks there's more to the importance of this old robot. In hopes of impressing the Prince, she starts work. But soon her sister Peony is diagnosed with the plague and Cinder is blamed. In her anger Adri "volunteers" Cinder for research, which no one has survived. Once at the research facility, the doctor quickly realizes Cinder is incredibly special.

As for a retelling of Cinderella, I would say this one is decent enough. There was nothing done exceptionally well, but it was interesting. If I had not known the correlation, I think I would have enjoy the book much much more. It seemed to me that Cinder was her own "fairy godmother," which was equally refreshing and annoying. I've always liked the fairy godmother in other versions. (It could be said Iko was the "fairy godmother," but I don't feel a strong enough argument to believe it.) I felt like the emphasis on the fact that this is a retelling took a lot away and left me waiting for certain things to happen that did not or were not easily recognizable. I wish I'd never known that aspect of the story.

But I did enjoy the book despite the problems I had with it. I really liked Iko and the doctor at the research lab. Iko was such a fun character throughout the book and I loved loving her. The doctor was also interesting, even if predictable. I liked him a lot and liked the role he played in the story.  As for the obvious unique quality to this book, the cyborg/futuristic world, it was interesting. I liked the challenges and new things it provided for the story.

I thought the writing was really good, but, for me, the plot fell a little flat and short of the original. (Grim Brothers left big shoes to fill!) I would recommend this book to those who like sci-fi or fairy tale retellings. It a wonderfully written, neat not-so-little book and I don't think many people who find the idea of it interesting will be disappointed. I certainly do intend to read the next books in the series.

Have you read Cinder? What did you think of it? How do you think it did as far as being a retelling?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: An Adult Book Review

So, a long time ago, many weeks ago, I got an audio book from the library, one which I expected to be great. Why did I expect it to be great? Because the movie the book inspired was fantastic, one of my favorites, in fact. What book was this? Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

 

Like I said, I expected this book to be amazing. I was sadly disappointed. Perhaps it was the fact that I was listening to a man read the book, but I was not impressed. It wasn't bad, but it certainly isn't something I would make a point to read again. I will say, though, this book is entirely out of my normal reading style and may be a wonderful sci-fi comedy, I haven't read any others so I would not know.

This book is, as I said, a Sci-Fi comedy about a man named Arthur. This man is entirely ordinary and unimportant. He lives a normal life, that is, until some men decide to destroy his house to build a by-pass, oh, and some aliens decide to destroy his planets to do the same. His friend, Ford, is from a small planet and had recieved news of the planet's impending doom. Ford, being the good man he is, chooses to save his confused best friend and they hop onto an enemy ship, only to be tossed out into the horrors of space, and picked up by another, less diabolical ship. On this ship, the earthling meets a man, and remeets a woman, with whom he travels the universe and learns much. 

 So much more happens in the book, but that's a simplistic explination.

In truth, the idea of the story and the execution are fantastic. I love the story, the characters, the quirky feel, but the audiobook was not overly pleasant. I believe that the style of the book and the story in general lend themselves more to a visual representation, rather than textual or audio. I really think the movie is much better than the book, which I have never said before. Again, I admit this is certainly not my area of expertise. If you find that sci-fi is your style, or comedy, or especially, sci-fi comedys, then you may love this book, I personally only barely enjoyed it because it reminded me of one of my favorite movies.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? What about the movie?