There is nothing more terrifying than a character who can
justify their evil deeds. Queen Levana is just one of those especially
terrifying villains. Just by seeing her ghostly veiled face within the mirror
frame on the cover of ‘Fairest’, you know
that there are going to be some atrocities committed by this character within
the book’s pages. And you would not be wrong.
This novella was published before the final book of The Lunar Chronicles, and it tells the
backstory of the series’ main antagonist. It definitely did not disappoint; I
devoured it in the course of only a few days. Even though her story is told
vaguely through the main series, the series of events leading up to the start
of Cinder feel fresh and unique as
they are told from the villain’s point of view.
I forget from where it comes, but there is a saying that goes
something like ‘The evil queen is just the princess who was never saved’, and I
think that Queen Levana is the personification of this saying. In a scene
reminiscent of the Hound from Game of
Thrones, Levana was disfigured by her sister as a child, leaving her lonely
and petrified of being laughed at, so she uses a glamour to hide her true
appearance and appear beautiful to everyone who lays eyes on her.
Fairest is
essentially the story of what happens when the prince doesn’t love the princess
back. All of the books in the series (Cinder,
Scarlet, Cress and Winter)
reflect a fairy tale and they remain true to them in that they are full of true
love and happily ever afters, whereas this story shows the other side of love.
Levana’s love for her husband is selfish and obsessive as she tries desperately
to pretend that he loves her back.
I find it interesting that in most stories, the hero has a
fatal flaw that they learn to conquer in the end, bringing about their happily
ever after. For Levana, it is the other way around. When she finally conquers
her selfish fatal flaw in the name of saving her kingdom, her story ends in
tragedy, setting up the events of The
Lunar Chronicles.
I really enjoyed this story. Marissa Meyer has quickly
become one of my favourite authors. I love the way that she twists popular
fairy tales into her own stories. The world of The Lunar Chronicles has been completely brought to life and I
simultaneously want to be part of it and stay well away from Levana and all of
her evil tyranny. I am currently reading Stars
Above on my kindle, which is a collection of short stories showing bits of
backstory from all of the supporting characters of the series, and I hope to
read ‘Heartless’, Meyer’s new book,
soon, which I believe is based on the backstory of the Queen of Hearts.
Have you read The
Lunar Chronicles, and if you have, what did you think of it? If you haven’t
read it yet, what are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments.
