Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer [SHORT REVIEW]

TITLE: The Queen's Army
             (Lunar Chronicles #1.5)
AUTHOR: Marissa Meyer
PUBLISHER: Tor
PUB DATE: Nov 23 2012
Summary from Goodreads:

"It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen's army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen—and to himself—that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack."

Rating:

I didn’t really think much of The Queen’s Army when I first read it. I thought it didn’t really make that much sense in the first place and I wondered, considering how far it strayed from the actual story of Cinder, was this even necessary?

When I finally read Scarlet, book two of the Lunar Chronicles. *sigh* that was the only time I came to realize the relevance of The Queen’s Army to the entirety of this series.

The Queen’s Army is a very short story told in the eyes of Ze’ev. A young boy taken in to serve the Lunar Queen. He has been chosen, therefore he must oblige. Once Ze’ev steps into this world, he undergoes changes that are deemed necessary to improve his skills as a soldier, and is drilled to do what his master bids. Ze’ev is special. A soldier the queen sees fit to serve her and her purpose, the one she exactly needs to execute all her plans and once and for all be victorious...

Ze’ev!!! *fans self*

Even without having read Scarlet yet, I had my speculation that Ze’ev seemed like the kind of character that would play a strong part in all that has been going on with the Lunar Queen’s hunger for war and invasion.

In my opinion, I think it is best that you read The Queen’s Army before diving into Scarlet. Otherwise, it might feel a little irrelevant to have this short story. It may be a bit vague and at some point you might question its significance to Cinder’s life... but I guarantee – you’ll see it once you read Scarlet.