Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles)

Having finished Fairest, a novella of the Lunar Chronicles, I do feel as though I have more insight into Lunar Queen Levana's behavior as we see it in the other books. Fairest follows her from the time she's sixteen and has just lost her parents to assassins; her sister Channary has been named queen. That's less problematic to Levana than the fact that her crush, palace guard Evret Hayle, is married and unavailable. When his wife dies, Levana uses her gifts to ensnare him, but obviously that's not the way to make a happy relationship. The relationship between the two is the main focus of Fairest; the way Levana chooses to ensure that she becomes queen and remains that way is the second, lesser sub-plot. In a short novel, it's easy to see where the plot is going but it's the insight into Levana's thoughts that make this more than just a throwaway story.

All that said, I really wasn't all that thrilled with Fairest. Levana is, of course, the villain in the Lunar Chronicles, but her own self-delusion is really pitiful and her mistreatment of others places her on the same level as the sister she dislikes. I'm aware that I'm not supposed to like her (and I don't) but there was almost a time when I felt sorry for her. It seems whatever she wants, she cannot have, and she takes all this out on the situations and people around her. By the time I was done with the book, I definitely wanted to see her destroyed, not just redeemed (not that I think that's possible). This is a fast read, but not really one that made me think, "Wow, so there's a whole, well-rounded backstory to Levana." I wish it had given me a more multi-dimensional feeling for Levana, because that would certainly have made for a conflicted, exciting next installment.  Instead, it simply reinforces my low opinion and makes me ready to get to Winter...which, I suppose, was the author's intent all along.

~taminator40