Reading order · 5 books · 2012 to 2015 · Set in invented worlds
Lunar Chronicles in Order
The Lunar Chronicles retell fairy tales as science fiction. Cinder is a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing, and she is joined by Scarlet, Cress and Winter in the fight against the cruel Queen Levana of the Moon.
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Series facts
The reading order
Every Lunar Chronicles book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
5 books · Set in invented worlds
- 1Cinder2012With Linh CinderLinh Cinder, a cyborg mechanic in New Beijing, is treated as a second-class citizen.Buy on Amazon
- 2Scarlet2013With Linh Cinder and Scarlet BenoitScarlet Benoit’s grandmother has gone missing in France, and Scarlet meets Wolf, a street fighter who may know where she is, while Cinder breaks out of prison.Buy on Amazon
- 3Cress2014With Linh Cinder and CressCress, a gifted hacker, has spent years imprisoned alone on a satellite, working for Queen Levana, until a rescue goes wrong.Buy on Amazon
- 4Fairest2015With Queen LevanaThe story of Queen Levana, the cruel ruler of the Moon, and how she came to be.Buy on Amazon
- 5Winter2015With Linh Cinder and Winter Hayle-BlackburnPrincess Winter, Queen Levana’s stepdaughter, is loved by the people of the Moon, and Cinder leads a revolution.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter in order. Fairest is a prequel about Queen Levana, best read before Winter.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Linh Cinder | Queen Levana | Scarlet Benoit | Winter Hayle-Blackburn | Cress | Emperor Kai | Iko | Wolf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cinder | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ||||
| 2 Scarlet | LLead | MMajor | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 3 Cress | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
| 4 Fairest | ·Minor | LLead | ·Minor | |||||
| 5 Winter | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Lunar Chronicles books
9 characters from Marissa Meyer’s chart, with the number of Lunar Chronicles books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Linh CinderCyborg mechanic | 5 | Cinder 2012 |
| Queen LevanaRuler of Luna | 5 | Cinder 2012 |
| Scarlet BenoitFarmer searching for her grandmother | 3 | Scarlet 2013 |
| Winter Hayle-BlackburnLunar princess | 3 | Cress 2014 |
| CressLunar hacker trapped on a satellite | 2 | Cress 2014 |
| Emperor KaiYoung ruler of the Eastern Commonwealth | 4 | Cinder 2012 |
| IkoAndroid with personality | 4 | Cinder 2012 |
| WolfStreet fighter | 3 | Scarlet 2013 |
| Carswell ThorneRogue captain | 3 | Scarlet 2013 |