A Cyborg Twist on an Old Story

A story thrice told. Cinder is a story told many times over, but Melissa Meyers makes it fresh.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Rebecca Soler. She does Scarlett’s French accent so well…I’m getting a head of myself, though. She was my pick for narrator of the year.

The story opens like many future doom and gloom books begin, but soon it is clear this is not a diaspora novel or a post-apocalyptic novel. The title suggests that it is a re-telling of the Cinderella story and it is sorta…It is Cinderella via Star Trek.

It opens as Lyn Cinder struggles to replace her 11-year old’s foot with one that fits her teenage body. Cinder is a Cyborg. In the middle of replacing her foot, she meets Kai, the very cute, heir apparent to most of earth. Cinder is not your typical princess and Kai is not your typical prince, but they are both teenagers.

In addition to very well-rounded and likable characters, the story telling is inventive and the writing adequate. Miss Meyers does overuse the word “thrumming.” I found this odd at first, but downright annoying by book four. Why didn’t  some one along the way say, “Hey, you used this word this 100 times already!”

Part of the fun of this book is looking for the pillars of the Cinderella story like the evil step-sisters, the fairy God-mother and the glass slipper. Hands down it is the best ballroom sequence ever in a Cinderella story.

For the writers, ever read that agents are seeking wicked re-tellings of fairly tales? This is what they talking about.

I recommend this book and the entire series. I enjoyed it so much on audio that I bought and read the books in paper form.

What do you think of Cinder?