Carve the Mark

I was in desperate need of a new audio book to run too. I looked on the back of this one at the library and found that Austin Butler read for Akos. I recalled the name, and thought it was the same guy who voiced for Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices Series. I was mistaken and when looking it up, the narrator is actually the main male character in the Shannara Chronicles. Pleasant surprise.

Even with my mistake I listened to and and wasn't too thrilled by it.

The story happens in a universe where a group of planets are in connection with each other. Space travel is a thing and there is a strange occurrence that happens across their universe that changes people as a type of puberty where they get different powers depending on the type of person and personality they have.

While most of the planets are aligned as one people, there is one that is split by two peoples that have a volatile vendetta against each other. Akos is kidnapped with his brother, an Oracle and taken to the other side of the Divide. He is physically abused to "thicken his skin" and later given to Cyra, a girl who constantly is in pain and can give that pain to others often killing them, as a steward to help her with her pain. However Cyra isn't the "knife" that most people see her as. Only he can actually stop her pain and open her eyes the how things really are.

This story if full of plot and intrigue. The characters are very well developed and do grow as people. I really like how Cyra was developing and continued to do so throughout the novel. The plot was very good.

Much like her Divergent series though, it felt like she lacked in setting. Not nearly as bad as her first series, but there was still some. I don't know what the main city looked like besides old mixed with new. I don't know what their ships or guns look like. There was many things missing that it felt like there were holes in the world. This is very important, I think, to not miss especially when making a new universe, not only world. I feel like she did miss this.

In other books I have this feeling of "I need to know what happens next!" but for this one I didn't mind waiting until Monday when I was a the gym again. I didn't care for Akos. It might have had something to do with Austin Butler's reading of the Akos parts. Butler's reading wasn't the best. It actually seemed rather monotone and dull comparative to Emily Rankin who read for Cyra. His voice didn't change for the characters unless the girls were whining or screaming. It was very dull to listen to.

I do understand that reading it yourself is different than listening and you can come away with different experiences, so I would give it a good review for mid-teen readers. They would enjoy it. An older audience who doesn't care for setting would enjoy it too.