I just love fantasy science fiction stories. I marvel at an author’s ability to create a world full of details and things that do not exist in reality. This book is a great example of that.

I loved the culturally rich world that Roth has created in this book. Each planet, each division of people, has their own unique traits and traditions. I loved how the Shotet are revered as brutal and harsh people but aren’t nearly as brutal as they are perceived. I loved the controversy between Thuvhe and Shotet, it made for great friction and conflict in the story. I loved that each planet and its inhabitants were different and unique from the others in the galaxy. I also loved how the Shotet people fit into all of that. (Sorry, no details there, I don’t want to spoil anything.) All great choices in this story.

The characters are fairly well developed. The only character I am disappointed in is Eijeh, Akos’ brother. I would have liked to get a better feel for his character to better understand why he’s so important to Akos, but I also feel like that may have been a strategic decision considering his story line thus far. (You’ll know why if you’ve read this book or will read it.) Otherwise, even the characters that don’t show up until the last 20% of the book are developed enough to add depth to the story. Since the story is told from Cyra and Akos’ POV you obviously get the most development of their characters. I love both of these characters so much. I am so, so, so glad that Roth did not make Cyra a needy, self-pitying character (think Tris turned up a notch and then add in tremendous power.) Cyra is perceived as the most brutal and powerful of the Shotet, but her character is still humble, vulnerable, and self-aware. Akos’ character is just great. He is not an alpha hero in this world but his resilience and loyalty is a great touch for this story.

The story is unique and interesting. Fair warning now, some of the scenes are very graphic and violent. I didn’t mind most of the violence, in fact I expected it, but I know some people might have an issue with it. There is a touch of romance between Cyra and Akos (expected, honestly) but it does not overtake the story or even drive it for that matter. It’s a nice “something to fight for” element that adds layers to the story as a whole. The conflict is reasonably okay. I could have used for it to be a little bit more dramatic for the sake of quickening the pace of the story up, but I’m not altogether disappointed either. Did said story pull me through this 468 page book like the wild ride that the Divergent series was? No, but that’s not a reason to hate on it like I’ve seen from some reviews. I do like what’s going on in the story and will be reading the sequel in 2018, but I do hope that the pace is a bit faster next time.

So what made me ding the star rating you ask?

First of all, I felt immense confusion for about the first 75-100 pages of this book. I get that world building sometimes requires making shi*t up, but in this book you are THROWN into this world without any idea of what’s going on. No warm up, no slow and methodical introduction to new terms or concepts. Its just BOOM, you’re in this world and scrambling to figure out what the heck “currentstream”, “hushflower”, and “currentgift” are. *scratches temple* I made it through 10 pages having no real grasp of what I was reading before I found the term explanation appendix in the back of the book. *light bulb* That helped quite a bit, but there were still instances that I felt could have been handled differently as far as how they were brought into the story and what these elements were. For example, an “Armored One”. You “learn” about the Armored Ones after the initial confusion from the first 75 pages or so (rough estimate there, I didn’t look it up specifically to really know), but you don’t really get to understand what an Armored One actually is until somewhere around 350 pages in (again, rough estimate.) I made the obvious assumptions about what it was, which proved to be fairly good, but I would have liked to understand the significance of what it was much sooner so that I could fully appreciate that element throughout the story.

Second, POV. As I mentioned, POV is from Cyra and Akos. The issue I have with it is that Cyra’s chapters are in first-person and Akos’ are in third-person. This isn’t the end of the world, but I found it disconcerting and distracting. I’d be reading along in Cyra’s chapter and then proceed in to one for Akos and get pulled out of the story as I wondered if I had really noticed the change or just thought I noticed the change. I eventually had to stop reading to confirm the wanderings of my mind and put it to rest so that I could focus on the story line again. Uniformity would have flowed better. (I personally would have preferred third-person, if you must know.)

Third, and really this one came up only after I had already finished the book; questionable racist content. I myself, did not notice this as I was reading it, but I have read reviews where it has been pointed out and can see the issue. While I didn’t notice it because I do not think in racist stereotype divisions, I can see how others might be unhappy with the defining trait choices that were made when creating the protagonist and antagonist groups. The Shotet are described as aggressive brown-skinned, nomadic people portrayed as the antagonists or villains, while the Thuvhesit are fair-skinned, peace loving people portrayed as the victims or protagonists. I honestly didn’t read these details and think anything of it; I didn’t see racial stereotypes, only identifying markers for each group. If the traits had been flipped on these two groups of people, (Shotet being brown-skinned and peaceful and Thuvhesit being fair-skinned and aggressive or however), I would have read it the same way; with no notice of racial stereotyping, only a protagonist group and an antagonist group. But, as I said, I get the fuss that some readers are making. It’s completely understandable.

Overall I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but there were times were it felt slow and confusing. I’m hoping that now that the world, it’s characters, and the conflict has been reasonably well defined that it will be a faster pace for the following book.

Full review: wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/review-carve-the-mark-by-veronica-roth/ ( )

Actual Rating: 4.5
I will release my full review of "Carve the Mark" closer to its January 17, 2017 release day, but for now I can say this:

As far as storytelling, world building, and characterization goes, Veronica Roth has really matured as a writer. Everything fitted together and flowed much more nicely than her writing in her "Divergent" series.
I really REALLY enjoyed this book! It was a fantastic read full of space and planets, a variety of intriguing cultures and peoples, and a story that just sucked me in!
There were a few YA cliches that were very irritating, and a couple weak points, but nothing too bad.
Already can't wait for book 2!!!
( )

2.5 stars

I listened to the audio so spellings of names may be off: Akos and Cyra (Sirah, or likely any other number of spellings) are the main characters. They are in space, not sure if they live on different planets, maybe? They spend some time on a spaceship. Cyra’s world is quite violent, but Akos’ isn’t. Somehow they meet. Cyra and her brother are not getting along (can’t recall his name, but starts with an R); he seems to be a king or some kind of leader of his world.

This one got my interest (a little bit) about half way through, but even so, it’s fantasy, so names, places, hard to understand or remember. I don’t like trying to learn different fantastical worlds (it takes way too long to get to the story as one tries to puzzle out all those weird names). Oh, yeah, I hated that they referred to ages by various numbers of “seasons” – when I hear “season”, I think four seasons in a year, so divide that number by 4 and you’ve got years (but then, maybe this isn’t the case on the planets these kids live on). I don’t think that’s what the author meant (four seasons in a year), but it bothered me. The book did get the extra ½ star for catching my attention at least through some/part/more of the second half. ( )

first in a series ( )

Couldn't finish this one; too many good books and not enough time for those that can't hold my interest. Perhaps I've been reading too much of this genre (teenage sci fi with an organic touch?). ( )