Carve the Mark

Carve the Mark
The cover art of Carve the Mark
Author Veronica Roth
Country United States
Language English
Genre Science fiction, young adult fiction
Publisher Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date
 January 17, 2017
Media type Print (hardcover), e-book, paperback
Pages 480
ISBN 978-0062348630

Carve the Mark is a science fiction young adult novel. It is the fifth novel by Veronica Roth, published on January 17, 2017 by HarperCollins. It is the first book in the duology. The story follows Akos and Cyra, young people from opposing cultures whose fates are intertwined.

Its sequel The Fates Divide was released on 10 April 2018.

Plot

The characters of Carve the Mark live among nine planets. Each planet has different rules, different governments, and different people. The names of the planets are: Othyr, Koloande, Ogra, Essander, Zold, Pitha, Trella, Tepes and Thuvhe/Urek. Although the Shotet and the Thuvhe live on the same planet (Thuvhe/Urek), they have wars and disagree on many things. The Shotet call their planet Urek although the Thuvhesits call it Thuvhe. The people of Shotet live in violence and brutality although the Thuvhesits live in peace and love. In Thuvhe/Urek, there are no years. Instead, the Thuvhesits and Shotet call them seasons. In their galaxy, there is an invisible force called the current. The current flows through every living thing in the galaxy. Every person in the galaxy has a 'currentgift' which may or may not help them. Everyone's currentgifts come at different times, some earlier than others.

The Shotet have a ritual where they use a currentblade (a type of knife) to carve a mark on their arm every time they kill someone or to signify loss. It is the way that the Shotet remember those who are gone. It is also a way that shows respect to the family of the victim. Cyra Noavek is Shotet. Her brother is Ryzek Noavek, the current leader of the Shotet. Cyra's currentgift gives her and others (when she touches them) pain. Her currentgift also creates dark shadows that move around just underneath her skin. Ryzek Noavek became the leader of Shotet when his parents died. His currentgift is the ability to trade memories with other people. He has always used Cyra, his younger sister, to torture his enemies because of her power to create pain. On the other side of the planet, Akos Kereseth and his family were living in peace and happiness. However, the Shotet found out that Akos's older brother, Eijeh, and him were fate favoured. Fate favoured meant that their destiny was set and there was no way to avoid the outcome. Three Shotet soldiers sent by Ryzek broke into their house and killed Akos' father in order to capture the two brothers and take them to Ryzek.

Ryzek switched memories with Eijeh hoping to get Eijeh's currentgift (seeing parts of the future) by doing so. Unfortunately, it did not work although it caused Eijeh and Ryzek to share qualities and also become basically the same person. Akos had made a promise to get Eijeh back no matter what the cost, and he was determinded to keep that promise. Akos became the servant of Cyra Noavek because his currentgift was to interrupt the current. This means that whenever he would touch her, her pain would go away. He taught her how to create painkillers using hushflowers (a commonly known flower in Thuvhe) to help reduce the pain caused from her currentgift. At first they were silent when they were around each other but as time passed they began to form a relationship. Cyra soon wanted to help Akos escape and get him back home safely without him knowing. She did not want Akos to know since he would stubbornly tell her that he would not go anywhere without his brother. Cyra got help from the renegades, a secretive group hoping to kill the Noavek royal family. They made a deal that they would get Akos safely out and take him back to Thuvhe if Cyra would unlock all the pass codes and unlock security gates to help them murder Ryzek. Cyra is caught as she couldn't open the gene lock. Later she is used to torture also to reveal the truth about Isae but as being forced her gift changes so Akos escapes. He is later saved by tea and her team to the but later comes back to Shotet to save Cyra.

Development of the novel

On March 2, 2015, it was officially announced that Veronica Roth had reached a two-book deal with HarperCollins. On May 5, 2016, the title of the first book and the release date were revealed.[1] Carve the Mark was published on January 17, 2017 by HarperCollins and its sequel is anticipated in 2018. HarperCollins described the books as being "in the vein of Star Wars, the story of a boy who forms an unlikely alliance with an enemy."[2]

Reception

Carve the Mark received mixed but mostly positive reviews. Brian Truitt of USA Today wrote that despite the "overwhelming amount of exposition" which opens the novel, the story "excels when settling into the core relationship between its two embattled leads."[3] Kirkus Reviews said that though "the book is not without its flaws," it is "brimming with plot twists and highly likely to please Roth’s fans."[4] Nivea Serreo of Entertainment Weekly gave the book a B.[5] Carol Memmott of the Chicago Tribune said that though Roth has "built a stunning world," the lead characters' "perpetual grimness might make it hard for some readers to fully invest in cheering them on."[6] Danielle Zimmerman of Hypable said the book was "an engaging sci-fi story."[7] The book has also been criticized for its negative stereotypes of non-white characters.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Biedenharn, Isabella (May 5, 2016). "Veronica Roth reveals Carve the Mark, first book in sci-fi duology". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ "HarperCollins Publishers Announces Two-Book Deal with Veronica Roth". HarperCollins. March 2, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ Truitt, Brian (2017-01-17). "A strong heroine carves her mark in Veronica Roth's latest". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  4. ↑ "CARVE THE MARK". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  5. ↑ Serreo, Nivea (2017-01-18). "Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth: EW Review". EW. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  6. ↑ Memmott, Carol (2017-01-16). "Review: Veronica Roth's 'Carve the Mark' dazzles the mind but not quite the heart". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  7. ↑ Zimmerman, Danielle (2017-01-18). "'Carve the Mark' book review: An engaging sci-fi tale in a(nother) galaxy far, far away". Hypable. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  8. ↑ Molly (2017-02-21). "Veronica Roth Addresses CARVE THE MARK Racism Allegations". The Fandom. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
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