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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve read this one twice and I loved it both times. I think this deserved a bit more hype than it got, because the world building was beautiful and even though the concept of giving pain to everyone you touch has been done before, I was very happy with how it was done in this series and I really loved Cyra and Akos’ relationship progression. All in all, this is a book that stuck with me for a long time, and I would definitely recommend it to any science-fiction or fantasy fans.
So I’ve read this book before and I liked it more than I do now also I see where the hate is coming from but I also see that the Thuvhesites are wrong and Cyra shows that. So it may be showing racism but like in the real world the author shows that it’s the wrong opinion to hate Shotet. Also Rape culture with Cyrus gift again the author shows that she didn’t bring it upon herself and that the doctor had it wrong. I might get some hate for this and I might be optimistic or has BS arguments, but this is what I think, if you made it this far and still hate it why are you reading this? Anyway it’s over all a good book but not the best.
Honestly, I am kind of afraid to review this book. I didn't hate it. The book wasn't all that bad. Sadly, everyone now has decided that this book is basically the devil. No, I don't justify anything that this book did wrong, but come on. Everyone is ganging up on this book while other, equally racist books, are getting showered in praise and glory. If you are going to stand for something, do it thoroughly.
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved Divergent (mostly) and wanted to love this too but it's so caught up in the pain and suffering bit that it skimps on some of the detail that could make it more interesting. I had the uncanny feeling of visualising one of the later Star Trek episodes in my head but only because I couldn't quite picture what the book was trying to depict. Also, being picky, using words such as 'mom' and 'gotten' kept bringing it back down to American YA when it needed to transcend. Not sure if I'll read book 2
So...I wasn't blown away with this book. I went into this interested in seeing what else Roth could write besides Divergent because while I liked Divergent, the series went downhill after that. And this can all be chalked up to one reason: world building. Roth's ideas are great but she lacks the development skills to really make them come alive.
Carve the Mark is the story of two families, both powerful and both at odds with each other. It focuses mostly on Cyra from the Shotet and Akos from Thuvhe. When Akos and his brother are taken captive by the Shotet, Akos is given to Cyra as a servant of sorts. See, in this world, everything and everyone is connected by something called the Current and people develop current gifts when they come of a certain age. Some are powerful and some are harmful. Cyra's is harmful to both herself and other people and by some reason, Akos's current gift can tame Cyra's so that she's not in constant pain. Because of this, he is with her 24/7. Over time the two develop a bond - as most captors and captives do, of course - but Akos never varies from his plan, which is to get him and his brother away from Cyra's family. Especially her crazy tyrant of a brother, Ryzek.
Was that paragraph a little confusing to you? Cause that's how the entire book was for me, honestly. The book just jumps into the story then drags it out over 400 pages until the 10% when interesting things start to happen. The current and the gifts are never really explained, we are just supposed to accept that they're there. So right off, I was already a little out of sorts with this book. But this also goes back to the lack of world building and just relying on the bare minimum. Then there were the characters.
Honestly, I never connected with either of them. For one thing, I think have Cyra's POV in first person and Akos POV in 3rd really threw off the flow. Because of this, Akos seemed cold and one dimensional. And while Cyra was in first person. she was just full of 'woe is me' attitude while doing nothing to change her position. And don't get me started on the "love story". I never felt the connection between them even though I knew from the beginning they would fall in love.
On top of all of that, I felt like nothing was answered. I get that this is a dualogy and Roth wants to save a majority of the reveals for the finale, but you gotta give your readers something - and more questions isn't it. This isn't Lost.
So will I read the sequel? Eh, probably. But it won't be one that I'm rushing out to get.
Carve the Mark is the story of two families, both powerful and both at odds with each other. It focuses mostly on Cyra from the Shotet and Akos from Thuvhe. When Akos and his brother are taken captive by the Shotet, Akos is given to Cyra as a servant of sorts. See, in this world, everything and everyone is connected by something called the Current and people develop current gifts when they come of a certain age. Some are powerful and some are harmful. Cyra's is harmful to both herself and other people and by some reason, Akos's current gift can tame Cyra's so that she's not in constant pain. Because of this, he is with her 24/7. Over time the two develop a bond - as most captors and captives do, of course - but Akos never varies from his plan, which is to get him and his brother away from Cyra's family. Especially her crazy tyrant of a brother, Ryzek.
Was that paragraph a little confusing to you? Cause that's how the entire book was for me, honestly. The book just jumps into the story then drags it out over 400 pages until the 10% when interesting things start to happen. The current and the gifts are never really explained, we are just supposed to accept that they're there. So right off, I was already a little out of sorts with this book. But this also goes back to the lack of world building and just relying on the bare minimum. Then there were the characters.
Honestly, I never connected with either of them. For one thing, I think have Cyra's POV in first person and Akos POV in 3rd really threw off the flow. Because of this, Akos seemed cold and one dimensional. And while Cyra was in first person. she was just full of 'woe is me' attitude while doing nothing to change her position. And don't get me started on the "love story". I never felt the connection between them even though I knew from the beginning they would fall in love.
On top of all of that, I felt like nothing was answered. I get that this is a dualogy and Roth wants to save a majority of the reveals for the finale, but you gotta give your readers something - and more questions isn't it. This isn't Lost.
So will I read the sequel? Eh, probably. But it won't be one that I'm rushing out to get.
So I'm gonna start by saying I've never read any books by Veronica Roth and sci-fi normally isn't my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this book. I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding it because of the racial stereotypes, but the story itself was interesting and I did like the world-building and the concept of currentgifts.
So we have Cyra: a Shotet and sister to tyrant Ryzek. After the deaths of their parents, Ryzek became leader of the Shotet people, and as Cyra has a currentgift which involves giving pain and feeling extreme pain herself, she has become known as Ryzek's Scourge. She's not exactly happy about the fact her brother exploits her abilities and makes her torture and kill people with them, but she harbours a lot of guilt over their mother's death, and doesn't believe she is worth more than her role.
On the other side of the war, we have Akos, a Thuvhesit who is taken from his family, along with his brother Eijeh, to be prisoners of Ryzek. Akos' fate is to die in service to Cyra's family, and his brother Eijeh has an Oracle currentgift, which means he can see visions and futures. Ryzek's fate is to die at the hand of a Thuvhesit chancellor, and he is keen to prevent that and kill the chancellor before they can get him. Akos' currentgift can counteract Cyra's, so he's placed into her service and the two bond. Soon, they discover they need to stop Ryzek before he goes too far..
As I've said, I really liked this book. The friendship between Akos and Cyra was great and.
Overall, a great first book and I can't wait to start the sequel!
So we have Cyra: a Shotet and sister to tyrant Ryzek. After the deaths of their parents, Ryzek became leader of the Shotet people, and as Cyra has a currentgift which involves giving pain and feeling extreme pain herself, she has become known as Ryzek's Scourge. She's not exactly happy about the fact her brother exploits her abilities and makes her torture and kill people with them, but she harbours a lot of guilt over their mother's death, and doesn't believe she is worth more than her role.
On the other side of the war, we have Akos, a Thuvhesit who is taken from his family, along with his brother Eijeh, to be prisoners of Ryzek. Akos' fate is to die in service to Cyra's family, and his brother Eijeh has an Oracle currentgift, which means he can see visions and futures. Ryzek's fate is to die at the hand of a Thuvhesit chancellor, and he is keen to prevent that and kill the chancellor before they can get him. Akos' currentgift can counteract Cyra's, so he's placed into her service and the two bond. Soon, they discover they need to stop Ryzek before he goes too far..
As I've said, I really liked this book. The friendship between Akos and Cyra was great and
Spoiler
I loved the romance. I'm not a huge fan of romance-based fantasy, but I loved it in this case. It didn't feel like it took centre stage over the important stuffOverall, a great first book and I can't wait to start the sequel!