This is the only book of the Lunar Chronicles that I haven’t purchased. And why? Because four of these short stories, which is almost half the book, are available online. I’d already read them. It’s not so much that four of the nine stories are online freebies; it’s more that I don’t see the sense in buying something when I’ve already read a large chunk of it. That said, I recommended it to my library and they bought it, so it’s a win-win all around.
There’s not a lot that’s new here. Even setting aside the stories that I’d already read, the amount of actually new information is minimal. What this collection does is fill in the blanks between books. It provides another point of view for scenes we’ve already seen. It’s because of this that, despite how much I may have enjoyed some of these stories, I don’t think I can give this collection more than three stars. At this point, it seems almost like milking this franchise for all it’s worth.
Read on for my impressions of the nine stories. Note that I did not do any re-reads. Links to my original reviews below.
The Keeper (★★★☆☆): Snippets of Scarlett’s childhood, including a lot of new information about Michelle Benoit. It’s a little disjointed, but it fills in the gaps regarding the connection between Cinder and Scarlett pretty nicely.
Glitches (★★★★☆): You can see my original review here.
The Queen’s Army (★★★★☆): You can see my original review here.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky (★★★★☆): You can see my original review here.
After Sunshine Passes By (★★★★☆): Poor baby Cress. This is the story of how she came to be alone on that satellite. Excuse me while I cry.
The Princess and the Guard (★★★★☆): A very cute story about Winter and Jacin while Winter was growing up. Also includes some not-very-cute parts which made me very sad and/or angry.
The Little Android (★★★☆☆): You can see my original review here.
The Mechanic (★★★★★): Cinder and Kai, the original couple. My original ship from this story. I loved going back to the start and seeing Kai’s perspective when he first met Cinder in that mechanic shop.
Something Old, Something New (★★★☆☆): Like an epilogue to the epilogue, this short story focuses on the wedding of one of our four couples. It’s cute and sweet, but I could have done without the other couple getting in on the action. (No names to avoid spoilers as much as I can.)
In my original review of The Little Android, I said that it was a worthy read for a fan of the Lunar Chronicles, but not Meyer’s best effort. I think that applies also to this collection. It’s a brief, rather enjoyable read, but it’s nothing new or exciting. Still, worth it for those who want to hang on to this series for just a little while longer.
Final rating: ★★★☆☆
The Bibliophagist 