To Read & To Write

In Marissa Meyer’s “Cinder”, older literary versions of the “Cinderella” story are thrown into a future science fiction world, where Cinder is about half-human and half-cyborg (machine), and is also something else… something mysterious that only one person on Earth knows. Other than being a mechanic fixing pretty much any technological object in New Beijing, she thinks she is nobody but a dirt covered, grease stained abomination. But looks can be deceiving. What is really underneath the metal and flesh? As New Beijing collapses under a plague called letumosis, Cinder discovers the truth about her history, and perhaps the fate of the Earth. “Cinder” is a real page-turner. Much of Meyer’s writing reminds me of William Gibson (author of “Neuromancer”), but unlike his heavily stylized and conceptual writing (which is amazing), Meyer manages to tell a sharp, straightforward sci-fi tale that doesn’t have the reader reaching for meaning but rather, (hopefully) has the reader desperately ...

Malinda Lo's "Ash" is a moving story, which creatively draws up a retelling of older versions of "Cinderella". Young Aisling, nicknamed Ash, once had a powerful, beautiful, and kind mother who believed in magic, but after she dies, Ash has to live under the same roof as her awful, selfish, and worldly stepmother, whose biggest goal is to find an advantageous husband for her eldest daughter Ana. Once Ash's father dies as well, her problems are only made worse by the sting of degradation and strain of oppression. However, Ash has not fallen into the the new fad of logic and reason, touted by philosophers and business men. She still believes in the old fairy tales and folktales of the land from centuries past, and she reads these stories to escape her predicament... and they eventually lead her to the fairy land and Sidhean, the most gorgeous creature she has ever laid eyes on. Sidhean keeps a special secret from her, waiting for the right moment to disclos...