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conulyNot very heavy, and it was silly the way that all the characters got neatly paired off within a book of their introduction, but it was enjoyable fiction. All of the plot twists were extremely obvious. I say this as somebody who never catches the plot twist. You could give me an episode of Scooby-Doo and I'll end up going "The hell? It was the grizzled old caretaker and not a ghost? He was trying to protect a fortune by scaring people away using a projector and a sheet? I'll be damned. Never saw that coming!" But I saw all the plot twists in the Cinder series a mile away, and was rightly amused by the way the author kept patiently dropping those little breadcrumbs for everybody slower than me.
Still, I enjoyed the books well enough to order Renegades when it came out. You'll all be pleased to know that her writing has definitely improved - some of the plot turns surprised the heck out of me! And while I think we can all see who is getting paired with whom, it's not blatantly obvious yet! And I will say that Meyer gets credit for putting effort into including disabled characters who are actually disabled, and not just when the plot requires them to be helpless or overcome difficulty or die or inspire others or whatever.
On the other hand, there's nothing really new here, and the worldbuilding needs serious work. The pre-book timeline makes no sense - humanity always had some people with superpowers, and those people were universally living in the shadows, in all eras and locations? But it took just one guy leading a revolution for the mass of them to completely take down society through gang warfare? And now everybody loves the superheroes who saved everything (utterly annihilating all the gangs), except the ones who still fear prodigies, but none of them - not the ones who love 'em or the ones who resent 'em - wants to have their own participatory government back or handle their own basic law enforcement and firefighting needs or anything? (And there's clearly a free press, free enough to make the head honcho uncomfortable on camera, so it's not like they're just well beaten-down.) The main character's politics don't make sense either - she has two entirely contradictory sets of opinions for why superheroes running things is bad. Which is fine in a character - people can be great at handling cognitive dissonance, and she's been swimming in it since she was six! - but I'm not entirely sure the author realizes the issue here, which is a lot less fine.
So while there's definite improvement here, there's also more room for work before I put her on my Favorite Authors list. If you just want a quick, mostly enjoyable read that you don't have to think about - go for it. If you like to think a little more, maybe pick something else.
***********************
The Beautiful Cakes Injected Full of Flowers
Calvin has the correct approach here
Why Don't We Eat Turkey Tails?
Why are children's authors eccentric?
The Ancient Roman Cult That Continues to Vex Scholars
The key to breaking down plastic may be in caterpillars’ guts
Nigeria bobsled women qualify for Winter Olympics
How Africa's Tech Generation Is Changing the Continent
Getting more 'wolflike' is the key to the future for coyotes
Small changes to organ procurement system could lead to more life-saving transplants
Millennials are narcissistic? The evidence is not so simple
Philippines reallows contraceptive devices after certifying them safe
If Parents In Taiwan Are OK With Their Kids' Sex Ed Class, Why Are Others So Upset?
It wasn't spinach that caused man's 'Popeye' arm
US health agency to crack down on risky stem cell offerings
U.S. Navy crew grounded after pilot draws penis in the sky
Stress can lead to risky decisions
What Trophy Hunting Does to the Elephants It Leaves Behind
When Music You Wrote Becomes a Hate Speech Soundtrack
U.S. Illegally Denying Immigrants Their Right to Seek Asylum at the Mexican Border, According to Lawsuit
New Study Finds That 4.2 Million Kids Experience Homelessness Each Year
How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways
Yeah, it isn't autism that causes you to be a bigot. (FFS, he shows up in the comments to sealion the hell out of everybody. Jerkface. Half of Google must be on the spectrum. Autism is not why he got fired. And if he lacks empathy, that's not because of autism either, so everybody claiming that can stfu.)
Italy buries 26 Nigerian women - most without a name
Still, I enjoyed the books well enough to order Renegades when it came out. You'll all be pleased to know that her writing has definitely improved - some of the plot turns surprised the heck out of me! And while I think we can all see who is getting paired with whom, it's not blatantly obvious yet! And I will say that Meyer gets credit for putting effort into including disabled characters who are actually disabled, and not just when the plot requires them to be helpless or overcome difficulty or die or inspire others or whatever.
On the other hand, there's nothing really new here, and the worldbuilding needs serious work. The pre-book timeline makes no sense - humanity always had some people with superpowers, and those people were universally living in the shadows, in all eras and locations? But it took just one guy leading a revolution for the mass of them to completely take down society through gang warfare? And now everybody loves the superheroes who saved everything (utterly annihilating all the gangs), except the ones who still fear prodigies, but none of them - not the ones who love 'em or the ones who resent 'em - wants to have their own participatory government back or handle their own basic law enforcement and firefighting needs or anything? (And there's clearly a free press, free enough to make the head honcho uncomfortable on camera, so it's not like they're just well beaten-down.) The main character's politics don't make sense either - she has two entirely contradictory sets of opinions for why superheroes running things is bad. Which is fine in a character - people can be great at handling cognitive dissonance, and she's been swimming in it since she was six! - but I'm not entirely sure the author realizes the issue here, which is a lot less fine.
So while there's definite improvement here, there's also more room for work before I put her on my Favorite Authors list. If you just want a quick, mostly enjoyable read that you don't have to think about - go for it. If you like to think a little more, maybe pick something else.
The Beautiful Cakes Injected Full of Flowers
Calvin has the correct approach here
Why Don't We Eat Turkey Tails?
Why are children's authors eccentric?
The Ancient Roman Cult That Continues to Vex Scholars
The key to breaking down plastic may be in caterpillars’ guts
Nigeria bobsled women qualify for Winter Olympics
How Africa's Tech Generation Is Changing the Continent
Getting more 'wolflike' is the key to the future for coyotes
Small changes to organ procurement system could lead to more life-saving transplants
Millennials are narcissistic? The evidence is not so simple
Philippines reallows contraceptive devices after certifying them safe
If Parents In Taiwan Are OK With Their Kids' Sex Ed Class, Why Are Others So Upset?
It wasn't spinach that caused man's 'Popeye' arm
US health agency to crack down on risky stem cell offerings
U.S. Navy crew grounded after pilot draws penis in the sky
Stress can lead to risky decisions
What Trophy Hunting Does to the Elephants It Leaves Behind
When Music You Wrote Becomes a Hate Speech Soundtrack
U.S. Illegally Denying Immigrants Their Right to Seek Asylum at the Mexican Border, According to Lawsuit
New Study Finds That 4.2 Million Kids Experience Homelessness Each Year
How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways
Yeah, it isn't autism that causes you to be a bigot. (FFS, he shows up in the comments to sealion the hell out of everybody. Jerkface. Half of Google must be on the spectrum. Autism is not why he got fired. And if he lacks empathy, that's not because of autism either, so everybody claiming that can stfu.)
Italy buries 26 Nigerian women - most without a name
