After the events at the end of Carve the Mark, both of our heroes are untethered, even to each other. The most interesting of these relationships is still definitely Cyra and Akos’s. While the novel’s pace was just a click or two too slow for me, it gives the reader ample time to analyze the intricate and fascinating ties, both fated and chosen, that bind the characters together. It’s hard to even count how many enemies become allies and allies become enemies (or, at the very least, antagonists). Just when you think you understand a character’s motivations and their relationship with another character (*cough* Cyra and Akos *cough*), something comes along and complicates everything. Those who loved Carve the Mark will really enjoy spending more time with the characters from the first novel and meeting all of the new characters in this one.

The exploration of relationships and creation of new character dynamics slow the story’s pace down considerably, which then raises the stakes of the galaxy-wide conflict our heroes are facing. Yes, political intrigue, pain, and physical suffering are still present, but they’re not the driving force of the novel. The Fates Divide is much more deliberate and slow-moving. The political intrigue, as well as the constant threat of pain and suffering, set a pretty quick pace in Carve the Mark. It’s a really fascinating, yet subtle, switch.Īnother way The Fates Divide is different from its predecessor is the pacing and urgency of the story itself. The world-building in Carve the Mark was done through the characters of Cyra, Akos, and company, but the world-building in The Fates Divide is what complicates and develops the characters’ interpersonal relationships. It focuses less on the larger world and more on how the characters perceive it.

While the first novel was very much a world-building novel that focused on just one or two specific locations, The Fates Divide is somehow more of an introspective character piece that spans across different planets. That being said, though they’re two novels in the same series that tell a continuous story, The Fates Divide is very different from Carve the Mark. The Fates Divide has everything fans loved about Carve the Mark: Our favorite characters, space travel, dangerous yet alluring locations, interplanetary tensions… All the good stuff. Related: ‘Carve the Mark’ book review: An engaging sci-fi tale in a(nother) galaxy far, far away ‘The Fates Divide’ book review

The fates divide by veronica roth