Title: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)The novelty of this series has worn off. And it's sad, because only days ago I was gushing about how fun Cinder was.
Author: Marissa Meyer
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Warnings: disease, death
Rating: 2 stars
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Scarlet jumped around with locations a lot and it didn't flow at all. It all felt rigid - which was largely due to the undynamic writing style.
There was also a major lack of world building. Cinder gave us such an interesting world to explore, and in Scarlet it isn't explored at all. I managed to forgive this in Cinder because this was Meyer's debut and I hoped that it would improve as the series progressed but I couldn't look past the flaw in it's sequel.
It wasn't even that I wanted to learn anything new about the world in The Lunar Chronicles. It was just that I wanted it explained. I wanted to read some descriptive language that pays attention to detail - anything that could bring this interesting concept of a world to life. What do the space ships look like? What do the cities look like? What makes it different from our world today? It's all left up to the imagination. And that's not what a well crafted book should be. An original concept is nothing if it's not well crafted.
I honestly don't think I've ever been this disappointed in a sequel before. If you find me reading the next two books, it'll only be because I don't like leaving a series unfinished.
That's a really good point about not describing things. I didn't notice that while reading except for the main city in Cinder. I'm sorry it was so disappointing.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, Cress and Winter are better at it while taking place in space, Africa, and Luna. Of course, since I didn't notice this either...:/ I'm not much help.
Yeah I've heard Cress and Winter are better at focusing on the world building, but I might put reading them off for now because it's mainly the writing style that was the problem for me and I don't think it will change.
DeleteBut I totally get why people love the series - the ideas are just so cool but I didn't find the writing vivid enough.
Oh well, plenty of other books to be reading :)
Ah, it is always so disappointing when you read a sequel and it doesn't live up to your expectations :(
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoyed Scarlet when I read it a few years ago, but I have to say that this series isn't a favourite. I don't have any motivation at all to finish it, which I guess speaks volumes.
If you DO end up reading the rest, I hope that they are more enjoyable for you, Helia!
Chiara @ Chiara Sullivan
Disappointing sequels are always the worst, especially when you've heard nothing but praise for the series.
DeleteIt's not so much that it was awful, more that there are simply a lot of other books I could be enjoying more instead of this series. I get what you mean about feeling unmotivated - my only motivation is for sake and completion and the hype surrounding the series.
Thank you, Chiara! If you ever find the moitvation I hope you enjoy them too :)