Honestly, the Carve the Mark book series had a rough start. When Veronica Roth dropped the first book back in 2017, the expectations were basically impossible to meet. She was coming off the massive, world-conquering success of Divergent, and everyone wanted Divergent in space. Instead, she gave us something way weirder, way darker, and—if we're being totally real—much more complex than a simple faction-based dystopia.
It’s a story about pain. Not just "oh, my heart hurts" pain, but actual, physical, chronic agony that defines who you are.
The series, which consists of Carve the Mark and its sequel The Fates Divide, takes place in a galaxy where everyone has a "currentgift." Think of it like a superpower, but tied to the "Current," a mystical energy flowing through everything. Some people can heal. Some can manipulate shadows. Our protagonist, Cyra Noavek, has a gift that makes her feel constant, excruciating pain while also allowing her to inflict that same pain on others with a single touch. Her brother Ryzek, the local tyrant of the Shotet people, uses her as a literal torture weapon.
Then you have Akos Kereseth. He’s from Thuvhe, the "peaceful" nation that shares a planet with the Shotet. Akos is kidnapped by Ryzek’s men because his "fate" (everyone in this galaxy has a predetermined fate) says he’ll die serving the Noavek family. His gift? He can negate the Current. When he touches Cyra, her pain stops.
It’s a "forced proximity" trope taken to a cosmic level.
The World-Building That Split the Internet
The Carve the Mark book series didn't just get reviews; it got debates. Some people loved the intricate planetary politics, while others were deeply uncomfortable with how Roth handled the Shotet culture. There was a lot of discourse around whether the Shotet—who are darker-skinned and nomadic—were being unfairly coded as "violent" compared to the lighter-skinned, sedentary Thuvhe.
Roth eventually addressed this, noting that she wanted to explore how cultures are perceived by outsiders versus how they actually function. The Shotet aren't just "the bad guys." They are a people who value "carving" their skin to mark their kills, sure, but they also have a deep sense of history and survival. It’s messy. It’s supposed to be messy.
📖 Related: Gwendoline Butler Dead in a Row: Why This 1957 Mystery Still Packs a Punch
The galaxy itself is vibrant. We aren't talking about sterile Star Trek hallways. We’re talking about a planet where it’s always winter on one side and always summer on the other. We’re talking about scavenger ships and flower-based technology. Roth moved away from the sleek, metallic sci-fi aesthetic and went for something that feels more organic and "used."
Let’s talk about the Fates
One of the coolest, and honestly most frustrating, parts of the Carve the Mark book series is the concept of Fates. In this universe, the "Oracles" see the future of high-ranking families. These Fates are absolute. If the Oracle says you’re going to die in a specific way, you are.
This creates a massive philosophical tension. If your life is already written, do your choices even matter? Cyra and Akos spend two whole books trying to figure out if they can outrun destiny.
- Cyra’s fate: To be the scourge of her people.
- Akos’s fate: To die in service to the Noaveks.
It’s heavy stuff. It makes the romance between them feel desperate and fleeting because, according to the universe, it can’t possibly end well.
Why the Sequel, The Fates Divide, Changed Everything
A lot of people stopped after book one. That was a mistake. The Fates Divide expands the scope so much that the first book feels like a prologue. We find out that the "Current" isn't just some magic juice; it has a source, and that source is tied to the history of the entire galaxy.
The perspective shifts, too. We get more voices, more political maneuvering, and a much clearer look at the Assembly—the galactic government that supposedly keeps the peace but is actually just as corrupt as Ryzek.
👉 See also: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
The series handles trauma in a way most YA sci-fi avoids. Cyra doesn't just "get over" being a human weapon. She has PTSD. She has chronic pain that doesn't just vanish because she falls in love. Roth, who has been open about her own struggles with anxiety, writes these internal battles with a level of empathy that feels incredibly authentic.
The Reality of the "Controversy"
You can't discuss the Carve the Mark book series without acknowledging the backlash it faced regarding disability and race representation. Critics like Justina Ireland pointed out that Cyra’s chronic pain is portrayed as something that makes her "strong" or "dangerous," which can be a slippery slope in disability representation.
However, many readers with chronic illnesses actually championed the book. They saw themselves in Cyra. They recognized the exhaustion of waking up every day in a body that feels like it’s betraying you. It’s a polarizing series precisely because it takes big swings. It doesn't play it safe.
The series is also surprisingly violent. If you’re coming from Divergent, you might be shocked at how high the body count gets. Ryzek is a genuinely terrifying villain because he isn't just a "dark lord"—he’s a manipulative, narcissistic brother who knows exactly how to break his sister’s spirit.
What You Need to Know Before Reading
If you're looking to dive into the Carve the Mark book series today, here is the basic layout.
- Book 1: Carve the Mark (Published 2017). Introduces the world, the kidnapping of Akos, and the beginning of the rebellion against Ryzek.
- Book 2: The Fates Divide (Published 2018). The conclusion. It deals with the fallout of the first book's revolution and the truth about the Fates.
- The Format: It’s a duology. No more books are coming. It’s a closed loop.
Is it perfect? No. The pacing in the middle of the first book can feel like a slog through deep space. Some of the sci-fi jargon—like "hushflower" and "sojourn ships"—takes a minute to wrap your head around. But the emotional payoff? It’s massive.
✨ Don't miss: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
The ending of The Fates Divide is one of those endings that makes you want to throw the book across the room, but in a "how did she actually do that?" kind of way. It subverts the "Chosen One" trope by making the characters choose themselves.
Actionable Steps for New Readers
If you're going to pick up the Carve the Mark book series, do it with these three things in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Pay attention to the epigraphs. Each chapter often starts with a little snippet of galactic history or lore. Don't skip these. They explain the "Current" much better than the actual dialogue sometimes does.
- Focus on the internal, not just the external. The space battles are cool, but the real "plot" is Cyra’s journey toward self-forgiveness. If you read it as a character study, it’s a 10/10.
- Listen to the audiobook. The narrators (Austin Butler and Rebecca Soler) do an incredible job of distinguishing the voices of the two main cultures. It makes the world feel much more immersive.
Get the physical copies if you can. The cover art by Joel Tippie is genuinely some of the best in the YA genre, featuring intricate gold foil and celestial patterns that actually mean something once you finish the story.
Stop comparing it to Divergent. It’s a different beast entirely. It’s more ambitious, more painful, and ultimately more rewarding for readers who want their sci-fi with a heavy dose of grit and philosophy.
Next Steps:
- Pick up Carve the Mark from your local library or bookstore.
- Check out the official "World of Carve the Mark" map usually found in the front of the book to track the characters' travels between Thuvhe and Shotet.
- Read Veronica Roth’s blog posts from 2017-2018 where she discusses the development of the "Current" and the physics of her galaxy.