The Lunar Chronicles

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The Lunar Chronicles
Author Marissa Meyer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy, young adult fiction, romance, science fiction, dystopian
Publisher Feiwel & Friends
Published2012–2015
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
No. of books6
Website lunarchronicles.universeofmarissameyer.com

The Lunar Chronicles is a series of four young adult science fiction novels, a novella, and a short story collection written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Feiwel & Friends. Each book entails a science fictional twist on a classic fairy tale, including "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rapunzel", and "Snow White". Set in a futuristic world inhabited by various species and creatures, tensions are rising between Earth and its former colony Luna, while both attempt to manage an ongoing pandemic. An animated feature film adaptation, to be produced by Locksmith Animation, was announced in 2019.

Contents

Books

Cinder

Cinder is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles and second chronologically. It was published on January 3, 2012. [1]

Linh Cinder (based on "Cinderella"), [1] a cyborg living with her stepmother and her two stepsisters in New Beijing of the Eastern Commonwealth, works as a mechanic in a booth at the marketplace, where she meets Crown Prince Kai, who requests that she fix his personal former tutor android. After Cinder's younger stepsister, Peony, comes into contact with the plague, Cinder is forcibly volunteered for cure testing. As a result, many previously unknown details regarding Cinder's origins surface. At the same time, tensions are rising between Earth and Luna, a lunar colony where most of the citizens have special abilities, with Prince Kai caught in the middle.

Scarlet

Scarlet is the second book in The Lunar Chronicles and third chronologically. It was published on February 5, 2013. [2]

Scarlet Benoit (based on "Little Red Riding Hood") [2] is the granddaughter of Michelle Benoit, a farmer and former military pilot who has suddenly disappeared. On Scarlet's journey to find her grandmother, she works hesitantly with a street fighter named Wolf, who is a genetically altered Lunar warrior. Unfortunately, as Scarlet's admiration for Wolf grows, his old Lunar pack puts them in unusual circumstances, testing Wolf's loyalties. Deeper connections surface as the pack's malicious intent is finally exposed. Simultaneously, Cinder joins forces with the convict, Carswell Thorne. As the search continues, Scarlet meets Cinder and becomes an ally in her plan to stop the tyranny of Queen Levana and her thaumaturge, Sybil Mira.

Cress

Cress is the third book in The Lunar Chronicles and fourth chronologically. It was published on February 4, 2014. [3]

Crescent Moon, or "Cress" Darnel (based on "Rapunzel"), [3] is an imprisoned shell (a Lunar without special abilities and a Lunar that cannot be affected by mind manipulation) working with Sybil to help Lunar ships. Living alone on a satellite and harboring an enormous crush on Carswell Thorne, she secretly works to sabotage the wicked Lunar queen, and eventually, Cress teams up with Cinder and becomes entangled in her plot to save Earth. As complications arise and the crew is separated, they must do everything they can to prevent a royal wedding putting Earth into Queen Levana's hands. All the while, the plague has begun to mutate and even the Lunars are not safe.

Fairest

Fairest is the novella book in The Lunar Chronicles and first chronologically. It was published on January 27, 2015. [4]

Fairest is a prequel to the other books in the series, telling the backstory and past of Queen Levana (based on the Evil Queen from "Snow White"). [4] Fairest begins when Levana is around 15 years old and covers about ten years of her life, ending about a decade before Cinder is set. Levana has grown up in a poisonous household and has a cruel older sister who has been mentally and physically abusive to her throughout her entire life. After her parents are murdered by a Lunar assassin (a shell), Levana's sister, Channary, is set to become queen. Channary's reign is short-lived, and with Channary's ascension, Levana begins an unexpected downward spiral to becoming heartless when it comes to anything but her people. She is a tyrant.

Winter

Winter is the fourth and final book in The Lunar Chronicles and fifth chronologically. It was published on November 10, 2015. [5]

Winter (based on "Snow White") [5] is Queen Levana's stepdaughter. She has lived on Luna in the palace and has been raised by her stepmother. She has seen how Levana's use of "glamour" (an illusion to cause the user to look more beautiful) has turned her into a heartless tyrant. Winter decided to never use her gift, so she has not used her Lunar "glamour" since she was twelve. A side effect of not using glamour causes loss of sanity for Lunars, and Winter is afflicted with horrible visions. She often sees blood on the walls of the palace. Over the course of the novel, her mental state starts to slowly deteriorate. Winter's only source of comfort from the hallucinations is her guard, childhood friend, and crush, Jacin. Princess Winter and Scarlet become close friends. Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother and knows Levana will not approve of her feelings for Jacin. However, Winter is not as weak as Levana believes her to be, and she has been undermining her stepmother's wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that has been raging for far too long.

Supplementary works

Stars Above

Stars Above is a collection of short tie-in stories set in The Lunar Chronicles universe. It was published on February 2, 2016. It includes four previously individually released novellas and five original stories: [6]

Wires and Nerve

Wires and Nerves is a graphic novel series written by Meyer also based in the world of The Lunar Chronicles. [7] Set after the events of the Lunar Chronicles but before the Stars Above epilogue, it features many of the same characters, with Iko as the protagonist. The first book, Wires and Nerve, Volume 1, illustrated by Douglas Holgate, was released on January 31, 2017. The second book, Wires and Nerve, Volume 2, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, was released on January 30, 2018.

Origins

The idea for the series started with an entry Meyer wrote for an online Sailor Moon fan fiction writing contest in 2008. [6] [8] The contest had a list of 10 things, in which she had to choose two things to use in a short story. From the list, she chose to use a fairy tale character and to set the story in the future. [9] She ended up writing a short story that was a futuristic retelling of Puss in Boots with Sailor Moon characters. [8] [9] It was the first time Meyer ever wrote science fiction, and it inspired her to give sci-fi twists to classic fairy tales. [9]

Meyer chose to adapt Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White as she felt she had the best ideas for them. [6] [10] She chose different parts of the world to set the different books in, because she wanted the series to have "a really big global feel, in part because the issues the characters are facing are big global issues — there's this war happening between Earth and Luna that affects everybody on the planet, and there's this plague that has become an enormous widespread problem." She also wanted readers to know that this wasn't just happening in this one city or in this one country; this was something that affects everybody." [9] She planned to write a series, though she first envisioned it with every book being a standalone story, and it wasn't until later when she was brainstorming and started outlining the books that she decided it was going to become one continuous story in which different fairy tale characters would merge to take down the evil queen instead. [9] [10]

Meyer developed the initial drafts of Cinder, Scarlet and Cress for the November 2008 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). [11] [12] However, all three of those novels had to be mostly scrapped and rewritten during revisions. [12] [13]

Reception

The series is a retelling of fairytales where the female protagonists were originally passive participants. Due to the portrayal of strong female characters as an alternate to the conventional fairytale characters throughout its four books, this series is now considered an example of feminist literature. [9]

Film adaptation

Marissa Meyer has reported that the film/TV rights for The Lunar Chronicles have been optioned and a script is in the works by NBCUniversal with Universal Pictures distribution. [11] In February 2019, Meyer posted on her Instagram story that she was awaiting a phone call from her film agent, but no new news concerning a Lunar Chronicles film or television series has arisen since then. However, in January 2022, Locksmith Animation acquired the film rights. [14] In June 2023, it was announced that Locksmith and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation will produce The Lunar Chronicles, with Warner Bros. Pictures taking over the distribution. It was also announced that Noëlle Raffaele would direct and Kalen Egan and Travis Sentell would write. [15]

Related Research Articles

"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world. The protagonist is a young girl living in forsaken circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune, with her ascension to the throne via marriage. The story of Rhodopis, recounted by the Greek geographer Strabo sometime between 7 BC and AD 23, about a Greek slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, is usually considered to be the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.

Levana is an ancient Roman goddess involved in rituals pertaining to childbirth. Augustine says that dea Levana is invoked when the child is lifted de terra, from the earth or ground. Her function may be paralleled by the Greek Artemis Orthia, if interpreted as the Artemis who lifts or raises children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Snow Queen</span> Fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Snow Queen" is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection. The story centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai. Unlike Andersen's other stories, The Snow Queen is written in a novel-styled narrative, being divided into seven chapters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow White</span> German fairy tale

"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales, numbered as Tale 53. The original German title was Sneewittchen; the modern spelling is Schneewittchen. The Grimms completed their final revision of the story in 1854, which can be found in the 1857 version of Grimms' Fairy Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapunzel</span> German fairy tale

"Rapunzel" is a European fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Brothers Grimm's story was developed from the French literary fairy tale of Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force (1698), which itself is an alternative version of the Italian fairy tale Petrosinella by Giambattista Basile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evil Queen</span> Character in Snow White fairy tale by Brothers Grimm

The Evil Queen, also called the Wicked Queen or just the Queen, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of "Snow White", a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm; similar stories exist worldwide. Other versions of the Queen appear in subsequent adaptations and continuations of the fairy tale, including novels and films. One particularly notable version is Disney's depiction, sometimes known as Queen Grimhilde. The character has also become an archetype that inspired unrelated works.

Scarlet may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wild Swans</span> Short story by Hans Christian Andersen

"The Wild Swans" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been adapted to various media including ballet, television, and film.

Rebecca Soler is an American voice actress based in the New York City area. She has voiced on several audiobooks; her most notable voice work has been the narrator for The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. In anime, she voiced title character Miu Nomura in Piano: The Melody of a Young Girl's Heart, Reanne in Ojamajo Doremi and Battia in Outlanders. In animation, she voiced in Huntik, Viva Piñata, and Winx Club. She has worked with 4Kids Entertainment, NYAV Post, Media Blasters, Central Park Media and DuArt Film & Video. On stage, she has participated in various theater projects, including a play called Becoming Cuba. She is also a producer of a web series called With Friends Like These.

<i>Twelve Months</i> (1980 film) 1980 Japanese film

Twelve Months is a 1980 animated feature film directed by Yugo Serikawa, Kimio Yabuki and Tetsuo Imazawa, produced by Toei Animation from Japan in partnership with Soyuzmultfilm from the Soviet Union. It was based on the 1943 play written by Samuil Marshak which itself was based on the medieval fairy tale of the same name. The music was composed by Vladimir Ivanovich Krivtsov and performed by the National Leningrad Philharmonic under the direction of A. S. Dmitriev.

<i>The Twelve Months</i> (1956 film) 1956 film

The Twelve Months is a 1956 Soviet traditionally animated feature film directed by the "patriarch of Russian animation", Ivan Ivanov-Vano. It was produced at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow and is based on the fairy-tale play of the same name by Samuil Marshak. The scene of action in the animated film isn't specified, but on a picture it is clear that action happens in the West at the turn of the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. The animated film plot quite precisely reflects story events, thus the particular emphasis is placed on ridiculing the shortcomings of an absolute monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow White (Disney character)</span> Title character from Disneys 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White is a fictional character and a main character from Walt Disney Productions' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). She was originally voiced by Adriana Caselotti. The character of Snow White was derived from a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe with the best-known version being the 1812 tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.

<i>Secret of the Wings</i> 2012 film

Secret of the Wings is a 2012 American animated fantasy film, and the fourth installment in the Disney Fairies franchise, produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his 1904 play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in subsequent adaptations, especially in Disney's animated works, and how she ventures to the Winter Woods and meets her twin sister, Periwinkle, who is a frost fairy. The film was directed by Peggy Holmes and co-directed by Bobs Gannaway. Starring the voices of Mae Whitman, Lucy Liu, Megan Hilty, Raven-Symoné and Angela Bartys, it also features new cast members who include Matt Lanter, Timothy Dalton, Lucy Hale and Debby Ryan, while Anjelica Huston narrates.

<i>Cinder</i> (novel) 2012 young adult science fiction novel by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is the 2012 debut young adult science fiction novel of American author Marissa Meyer, published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. It is the first book in The Lunar Chronicles and is followed by Scarlet. The story is loosely based on the classic fairytale Cinderella. Cinder was selected as one of IndieBound's Kids' Next List for winter 2012.

<i>Winter</i> (Meyer novel) Science fiction novel by Marissa Meyer

Winter is a 2015 young adult science fiction novel written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. It is the fourth and final book in The Lunar Chronicles series and the sequel to Cress. The story is loosely based on the fairy tale of "Snow White", similar to its predecessors Cinder, Scarlet and Cress which were loosely based on "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Rapunzel" respectively. It was a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marissa Meyer</span> American novelist (born 1984)

Marissa Meyer is an American novelist. A large portion of her bibliography is centered on retellings of fairy tales. She is best known for her series The Lunar Chronicles, which includes her 2012 debut novel, Cinder.

<i>Scarlet</i> (novel) 2013 novel by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet is a 2013 young adult science fiction novel written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. It is the second novel in The Lunar Chronicles series and the sequel to Cinder. The story is loosely based on the fairy tale of "Little Red Riding Hood," similar to Cinder, which was loosely based on "Cinderella."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic Mirror (Snow White)</span> Mystical object in the story of Snow White

The Magic Mirror is a mystical object that is featured in the story of Snow White, depicted as either a hand mirror or a wall-mounted mirror.

<i>Cress</i> (novel) 2014 novel by Marissa Meyer

Cress is a 2014 young adult science fiction novel written by American author Marissa Meyer and published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. It is the third novel in The Lunar Chronicles series and the sequel to Scarlet. The story is loosely based on the fairy tale of "Rapunzel", similar to its predecessors Cinder and Scarlet which were loosely based on "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood" respectively.

Locksmith Animation Ltd. is a British CGI animation film and series studio founded by Aardman Animations collaborators Julie Lockhart and Sarah Smith with the financial backing of Elisabeth Murdoch on 2014. Based in London, England, Locksmith bills itself as "An independent producer of high-quality animated features and series for global audiences.

References

  1. 1 2 Brissey, Breia (December 20, 2011). "'Cinder' trailer, by Marissa Meyer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Brissey, Breia (November 23, 2012). "See the trailer for 'Scarlet,' book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Truitt, Brian (July 31, 2013). "Cover reveal, excerpt and Q&A: Marissa Meyer's Cress". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Truitt, Brian (June 16, 2014). "Book Buzz: Meyer's 'Fairest' delves into evil". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Brodeur, Nicole (November 6, 2015). "YA author Marissa Meyer reaches for the stars with her 'Lunar Chronicles'". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Weinberger, Aliza (January 30, 2016). "When glass slippers meet cyborgs: Author Marissa Meyer talks ending the Lunar Chronicles". Mashable. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ Kirch, Claire (January 26, 2017). "Q & A with Marissa Meyer". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Meyer, Marissa (July 31, 2012). ""Luna v. 4.2" (The Origins of CINDER)". www.marissameyer.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 White, Caitlin (February 5, 2014). "Q&A: Marissa Meyer Talks Fairy Tales and Feminism". Bustle. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  10. 1 2 Leigh, Tasha (December 21, 2019). "Q&A: Marissa Meyer, Author of 'Supernova'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  11. 1 2 Meyer, Marissa. "FAQ – Marissa Meyer". www.marissameyer.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Grant, Lindsey (May 18, 2012). ""I Sold My NaNoWriMo Novel!" A Q&A with Marissa Meyer". The NaNoWriMo Blog. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ Lefferts, Daniel (November 20, 2014). "How to Succeed at NaNoWriMo: Advice from Hugh Howey, Marissa Meyer, and Others". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ Grobar, Matt (January 25, 2022). "The Lunar Chronicles: Locksmith Animation Options Marissa Meyer's New York Times Bestselling Novel Series For Film". Deadline . Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 9, 2023). "Warner Bros Pictures Animation Inks First-Look Deal With Locksmith Animation; First Pics Are Bad Fairies & The Lunar Chronicles". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 9, 2023.
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