BOOK REVIEW

“The Fates Divide (Carve the Mark, book 2)” by Veronica Roth. New York: Katherine Tegen Books reprint edition (Harper Collins), 2019. 480 pages, $12.99 (paperback).

The Fates have ruled the lives of Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth since their birth. They are inescapable, and both feel trapped. Despite their fates, Akos is in love with Cyra. When Cyra’s father, Lazmet – the tyrant who should have been dead – reclaims the Shotet throne, Akos believes that he will soon die. Lazmet and the Chancellor, Isae, ignite a war and Cyra and Akos are desperate to stop it at any cost. Cyra believes that she will have to take the life of the man who may (or may not) be her father. For Akos, it could mean dying for her. However, with a stunning twist, both will learn that the fates may not always be what they seem.

I loved “Carve the Mark” because of the unique world Roth created. The idea of space travel, planets working together and, more important, the Current gifts were very intriguing. I wished there had been more buildup of this in the first book, and we did see more of it in the second. World building is such a crucial piece to any sci-fi or fantasy book and overall Roth does a good job of allowing us to see and live in the worlds she creates.

After both books, my favorite thing about this duology is still the Current gifts. I think that this is a unique idea, and perfect for a sci-fi book. The gifts vary and while I wanted to find out a reason for why they would be given to each person, that never does happen. In some ways, it does tie into their fate, and who they become as a person. So the question becomes, are they who they are because of their gifts, or were their gifts given to them because of who they would become? Ah, the age-old questions that can never be answered.

Cyra and Akos’ relationship was frustrating. I understand that Cyra was afraid that Akos only loved her because of his fate, but at the same time, it was clear that they had feelings for each other. His insistent need to be able to get answers to questions that didn’t seem to matter really only caused more problems and drove me crazy. This relationship started very early in book one, with almost no buildup, and that was frustrating. Through much of book two, it seems to be completely falling apart. By the end, I was rather happy with what they overcame and how their relationship plays out, but it was certainly a rocky road to get there.

There were a few viewpoint chapters from Akos’ mom (Sifa) and his brother (Eijeh). Honestly, the Sifa chapters were OK but not necessary. The Eijeh chapters just felt like a hard stop and disruption to the story, and I did not feel like it helped the plot move along at all. Eijeh felt very distant to me, and as important as he became, I wish we had known him as a character better. Eijeh’s narration in the end, for the epilogue, worked very well. I still think this could have been done without his earlier chapters. Though those chapters do help us begin to see where he is at in his head, it felt like there was no connection to how we got there, or why it was suddenly important that we understand his point of view.

I honestly have conflicting emotions on this book, and the overall story. I am not sure I felt like there was enough lead-up to where the characters went in the second book. Isae certainly seems to shift as a whole character and by how she is driven. Though Cisi helps us understand her a bit better from her point of view, it felt motivated simply as a way to drive the plot and not by how the character actually acted in book one. Maybe it had been too long since I read it, but I had a hard time with anything that dealt with her character. Her friend that she calls to her side as an adviser also makes no sense whatsoever – he has no political experience, and although loyal to her, it seems that she completely ignores the issues that he brings with him and causes with Cisi and everyone else.

On the mention of Cisi, I liked her character and her current gift. The issues she has with it show us the journey that many face with their gifts, and how others cannot understand them. While I always enjoyed her point of view chapters, I did wish she would not lament on her lack of control of her gift for how it affected herself. I saw her strengthen her ability to use it on others, and wondered if there was really no way that she could not figure out how to overcome its power on her.

In “Carve the Mark” it felt like there was more for the main characters to overcome. With “The Fates Divide” so much of it rested on them running away from what had happened in the previous book and then dealing with the fallout. The plot twist halfway through was something I suspected for a very short amount of time and then thought that surely it was not what would happen. It does make for a great change in the story, and it certainly makes one ponder more about Sifa and the Oracles.

Spoiler alert: I was not very fond of Lazmet becoming the big bad villain for the second half of the books. His complete and utter evil made him feel almost flat as a villain. There were no redeeming qualities, no real reason that others followed him except that he was cruel and had a current gift that was difficult to overcome. Akos also greatly frustrated me throughout the ending of the book. All in all, it ends well and I enjoyed the happy ending (for the most part) that we do get from the story. Especially Cyra’s final use of her current gift.

Roth is a New York Times best-selling author, lives in Chicago and writes full time. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.

– Reviewed by Fallon Willoughby, first-year experience instructor, Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College.