Saturday Shorts: The Queen's Army

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. Quoted from Goodreads

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Yes, I know I've raved a lot about the Lunar Chronicles (Cinder and Scarlet) lately, but this was anther wonderful surprise.  It's labeled The Lunar Chronicles 1.5, which makes sense, but I discovered it after I read Scarlet, and I enjoyed it just as much because it was a bout a character I cared about from that book. 

It's a short novella, but there are so many reasons to like it.  First, we get to see the queen from her people's POV. We experience how far she is willing to go to create her army, and what she does to those selected.  

Then we get Z's coming of age story.  It's rather dark and bleak watching him fight for his humanity when they're literally turning him into something else, but it's also fascinating.  You can't help but like and sympathize with him, especially when he seems like one of the only ones who is bothered by what the queen did to them.  

Anyway, you need to read this book. It's an excellent compliment to Cinder and Scarlet, and we get to see the origin of "the big, bad wolf." It's absolutely4 stars for me. If you love the Lunar Chronicles, you have to pick this up, and if you're just thinking about reading this series, this is a great introduction (though it's more a lead in for Scarlet than Cinder).