Sunday, March 12, 2017

Carve the Mark (Carve the Mark #1) by Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth has come back to familiar territory. As in the Divergent series (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3) Roth creates a new world where people are divided and war is coming.

In this universe, literally because the people in her story are scattered among planets and space ships, and figuratively, some people are fate favored. As it is explained here there are different versions of the future that oracles can see (choices people make can influence the future that comes to pass) but someone who is fate favored has their fate happen in every version of the future. There are also people with something called a current gift. It is something that can do thanks to a force called the current that is said to run through everything.


On Thuvhe, the planet where our main characters live, there are two groups, the Shotet and the Thuvhe.

The current leader of the Shotet group is Ryzek. He is cruel and trying to get out of the fate he has been told is his, to fall at the hands of a Thuvhe family. He uses his sister Cyra and her current gift to help him rule by fear.

Akos is a Thuvhe boy that Ryzek has kidnapped along with Akos' bother Eijeh. Eijeh is going to be an oracle like his mother and Ryzek thinks he can use this to change his fate.

Cyra doesn't want to be what her brother has turned her into. Akos wants to save his brother and get them both back home.

Can people from diametrically opposed groups come to like each other, to work together, to help and heal each other, or to love each other? Friendships, forgiveness, lies,  allegiances of blood and of connivence are al part of the story Roth tells.

It is really hard to review a book where spoilers are to be avoided so I will say that Carve The Mark is, as often happens with books that are the start of a series, a little slow to get started but it picks up and ends up being a good read. I will absolutely read the next book when ever it comes out.

(Finished March 12, 2017)

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