Review: Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cinder was an interesting mix - the scifi doesn;t clash with the fantasy, there's enough post-apocalyptic scenarios where technology survives but social structures change - but the juxtaposition of the fairytale feels sometimes very skilful, sometimes very forced, but definitely surreal.
Otherwise it's a standard Hero's Journey plot with some fairly interesting characters and a very predictable revelation, and a very good ending - just enough to keep you thinking (though based on the story so far you can imagine how it would end) and open enough to be unique.
Would i read the next? I do believe so.

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Review: Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one was ok, but only as a standalone - it somehow just didn't have the same sense of scale and horror that the earlier ones had. Now it just felt like everyone's tired, overwhelmed... not really sure of what to do. Makes for a decent marooned-on-a-desert-island kind of story where otherwise minor bit characters assume larger proportions than they deserve because there's literally no others around, and sufficiently advanced technology becomes indistinguishable from magic.
Relatively decent otherwise for the science and space bits, poor on drama and ground ops. Felt too... tied down.

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