Cress (novel)
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| Author | Marissa Meyer |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael O |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Lunar Chronicles |
| Genre | Young adult, Romance, Science fiction, Dystopian |
Publication date | February 4, 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 550 |
| ISBN | 978-0-312-64297-6 |
| Preceded by | Scarlet |
| Followed by | Winter |
Cress is the third novel in Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles, published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. The story is loosely based on the fairy tale of "Rapunzel", similar to its predecessors Cinder and Scarlet which were loosely based on "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood" respectively.[1]
Plot summary
The novel begins with an introduction to Crescent (Cress) Moon Darnel, a sixteen-year-old girl living in a satellite in space that has been her prison for most of her life. She has been contacted by Cinder, the main protagonist of the first novel, and her crew on Thorne's spaceship, the Rampion. After communicating with Cinder's crew, she asks them to rescue her from her satellite which they say they will do. However, an unexpected visit from Thaumaturge Sybil Mira, who is Cress's keeper, throws a wrench into the plans as she discovers Cress' intent to run and plans a trap for Cinder's crew. The trap results in the capture of Scarlet, the protagonist of the previous novel and love interest of Wolf. Jacin Clay, a pilot who brought Sybil to Cress's satellite decides to join Cinder's side, the almost fatal wounding of Wolf rendering him unconscious, and Sybil sending Thorne and Cress to their certain deaths via one of Cress's satellites pods.
The crew has now been separated from one another and Cinder is sure that not only are Cress and Thorne certainly dead but Scarlet will soon have the same fate as will Wolf if she doesn't get him medical attention. Cinder decides to land the Rampion in Africa where she was to meet Dr. Erland. She speaks with him as he reveals through his own perspective that Lunars are able to contract a mutated version of the virus that has been killing many Earthens for more than a decade.
After an accidental safe landing in the Sahara Desert, Thorne has been blinded after hitting his head during the fall and Cress must get him and herself out of the desert and somehow communicate with Cinder and the crew of the Rampion. They nearly die of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation, but are saved by a traveling group of people who sell wares, who are eventually revealed to be Lunar traffickers. They kidnap Cress and take her to Dr. Erland, her father who doesn't know Cress is still alive, and Thorne comes after her. Once the entire group is reunited, Cinder plans an infiltration of the castle to stop the royal wedding, even though she knows it will start a war. After stopping the wedding, she plans to take the crew to Luna, declare herself as the missing Princess Selene, and get the Lunars to rally around her to dethrone Levana.
The plan succeeds, just barely, and only after Cinder kidnaps Prince Kai and brings him on board the Rampion with them. Dr. Erland dies after realizing he has been infected with a mutation of Letumosis and quarantines himself, telling Cress before he dies that he loves her and never wanted to abandon her. Cinder and Sybil Mira battle it out and Cinder succeeds in breaking Mira's mind, driving her insane which leads to her jumping off the roof to her death. They fly the Rampion to Luna, and Queen Levana retaliates by openly declaring war on Earth.
It is also revealed that Princess Winter, the protagonist of the fourth and final book, has Scarlet in her zoo-like palace. She is mentally unstable due to the fact that she refuses to use her Lunar gifts, but tells Scarlet that she is on Scarlet's side.[2]
Characters
- Crescent (Cress) Moon Darnel A prisoner in the beginning of the book, this character resembles Rapunzel from the fairy-tale genre, with long, blonde hair and a lifetime of being isolated in a prison by a witch. After being cast down to Earth and presumed dead, Cress travels with Carswell Thorne, the main romantic interest of Cress for many days, to reunite with Cinder and the rest of the crew. She is exceptionally gifted at programming and hacking.
- Carswell Thorne: From the US republic, Thorne is wanted by several governments for crimes he has committed, the last of which was breaking out of prison with Cinder in the novel Scarlet. In this book, he is blinded and stays that way for the rest of the novel. He is arrogant yet Cress has feelings for him and consistently sees the good in him.
- Linh Cinder: a young female cyborg mechanic and main protagonist in The Lunar Chronicles. Revealed as the Lunar Princess Selene in Cinder, who is still the missing heir to the throne of Luna and niece of Queen Levana.
- Prince Kai: Crown Prince of Eastern Commonwealth, he has become emperor once his father died due to the plague. He is engaged to Queen Levana but is in love with Cinder and is only marrying the Queen of Luna to save the lives of his people.
- Dr. Erland/ Dr. Sage Darnel: Lunar fugitive that took care of Cinder in the first book after spending many years looking for her. Dies from a mutated version of the Letumosis virus in this novel. He is also the father of Cress and believed her to be dead since she was taken from him. Reveals himself as her father as he is dying. He dies when Queen Levana finally discovers he's located on earth and comes to visit him and to tell him that she will be crowned empress.
- Jacin Clay: The pilot who brings Sybil Mira to Cress' satellite. He is glamored by Mira to look like Scarlet, but decides to join Cinder's side half way through Scarlet's kiddnapping. He is concerned with Princess Winter's fate and will do anything to protect her.
- Wolf: Lunar hybrid that is Scarlet's love interest. His main focus throughout the book is winning over Scarlet. Wolf's real name is Ze'ev Kesley.
- Sybil Mira: Cress's captor who forced Cress to do Queen Levana's bidding for many years. She is Queen Levana's right hand and has complete loyalty to Levana. Goes mad at the end due to Cinder's Lunar manipulation and throws herself off a roof.
- Iko: Cinder's android partner. She is given a new android body by Thorne when he meets up with them again and she is in love with it.
- Queen Levana: The cruel queen of Luna, the moon colony. Not above using terrorist and genocidal tactics to obtain power, she is partially responsible for the existence of the plague on Earth since many of her subjects flee there to escape her influence. She uses a powerful glamour to force people to do her bidding. She is likely based on the Evil Queen of Snow White's history.
- Scarlet Benoit: Previous protagonist who joins Cinder, Wolf, Thorne, and later, Cress, to stop Queen Levana from marrying Prince Kai.
- Princess Winter: The step-daughter of Queen Levana, who has a marred face rumored to be forced upon herself at thirteen because she was more beautiful than the Queen. She will be the main protagonist of the fourth book and has become slightly crazy because she has refused to use her Lunar gifts since she was twelve.
Sequels and Adaptations
There will be five books in The Lunar Chronicles, Cress being the third. The first book, Cinder focuses on the fariytale of Cinderella, and the second, Scarlet, refers to Little Red Riding Hood. Fairest is the fourth book, and is a prequel focusing on the main antagonist, Queen Levana. The fifth and final book, named Winter, revolves around the story of Snow White.[3]
References
- ^ Truitt, Brian (July 31, 2013). "Cover reveal, excerpt and Q&A: Marissa Meyer's Cress". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ Ellsworth, Emily (February 2, 2014). "Book review: 'Cress' raises the stakes in the Lunar Chronicles series". Deseret News. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ "Marissa Meyer". Racket. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
