Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cinder | 2012 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
| 2 | Scarlet | 2013 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
| 3 | Cress | 2014 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
| 4 | Fairest | 2015 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
| 5 | Winter | 2015 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
| 6 | Stars Above | 2016 | Marissa Meyer | Buy |
Cinder is a cyborg mechanic living in New Beijing. She’s one of the best mechanics in the city, but cyborgs are treated as second-class citizens. When a plague sweeps through the Eastern Commonwealth and Cinder discovers she’s immune, she gets pulled into a conflict between Earth and the Lunar kingdom, a colony on the moon ruled by a queen who can manipulate minds.
Marissa Meyer wrote Cinder while working at a publishing company in Tacoma. The concept came from a NaNoWriMo project: retell Cinderella in a futuristic setting where the glass slipper is a prosthetic foot. The idea grew into a four-book series, each centered on a different fairy tale heroine. Scarlet is Little Red Riding Hood. Cress is Rapunzel. Winter is Snow White. Their stories interweave as the series progresses, building a larger ensemble.
The worldbuilding blends fairy tale logic with science fiction. Earth is divided into six political entities recovering from a devastating war. Luna has advanced bioelectric technology that allows its people to manipulate perception. The villain, Queen Levana, uses this power to control her subjects and threaten Earth.
Meyer published Fairest, a prequel novella about Levana’s backstory, between Cress and Winter. Stars Above collects short stories set throughout the series timeline. The Lunar Chronicles have sold millions of copies and developed a dedicated fanbase that pushed for adaptations, though no film or television version has been produced as of 2025.