Fairy tales are constantly being retold with infinite amounts of twists and aversions to the original plots. Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles intertwines the stories of several fairy tales, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, in a futuristic setting of cyborgs and moon colonies. In fact, even the villain of the books fits into an ancient archetype: the evil queen of Snow White. The short novella, Fairest, delves into the life and purpose of Levana, the Queen of Luna, before the events of the main series.
For the first three installments, we see Levana is depicted as a cruel and scheming queen who had burned down her three-year-old niece’s nursery with the child inside it to remain the ruler of the moon. She manipulates those around her with her glamour and threats. Altogether, she is an antagonist who is easy to root against. However, readers peek into her painful childhood and the punishing life of Lunar royalty, justifying few of her actions and adding a sympathetic light to the queen of the moon.
With negligent parents, a tortuous sister, and drastically unrequited love, Levana shows to be a ruler who values her planet above all else. She does everything within her power to remain on the throne, for she knows without her, the kingdom will surely revert back to an Earthen colony. Nothing has proven too drastic for her, from developing a lethal virus and an antidote to bargain with Earth to killing her toddler niece in a fire. The one relationship she pursues persistently ends in an unwanted stepchild and a void in her life. Overall, the trauma of her young life leaves Levana a bitter queen who values the only thing she had left: her throne.
Meyer successfully creates a world of scientifically explained magic and politically observant monarchs. Her world-building is phenomenal, giving perks and risks of living on the moon, as well as a beautifully extravagant culture to the Lunars. She exaggerates the scandalous behavior of nobility away from the public eye, adding to the thrill of following the life of a princess. I would recommend this book, and the entire series, to anyone who enjoys the fairy tales we are told as children mixed with the adventure of sci-fi.