Marked A House of Night Novel Review
Marked: A House of Night Novel Review
PC Cast House of Night Series
Credit: AmazonPros
Easy to read, a change from the "normal" vampire books. Great reading for teenagers and grown-ups alike. Any fan of Twilight, Vampire Academy or Vampire Diaries will love this book.
Cons...
Not that there are many about the House Of Night Series!
Marked is aimed at a teenage audience and along with all the other House of Night series can contain a little too much teenspeak! This is language that is familiar to teenagers but less used by the older generation. It sometime reads a little like listening to your teenage daughter talking on the phone to her friends, but beyond that the writing is great. It seems to be that you can see which bits of the story were contributed by PC. Cast and which were added by Kristen Cast, although I could be completely way off base about that.
Full Review
Reading Twilight awoke in me an even greater thirst for good Vampire stories than I had ever had before. Finishing the series left me crying out "What next???" Then I happened upon the first of the House of Night series - Marked, by mother and daughter team P.C and Kristin Cast.
A slightly different take on the Vampyre theme (I use the altered spelling as this is how it is spelt in the House of Night Series), in the House of Night books, certain teenagers during some point in their adolescence are identified and then "Marked" as having a potentially fatal Vampyre gene in their dna. The only possible solution to this condition is to go to a special training academy, surrounded by adult vampyres and train and learn all about being a Vampyre. For some children even being at the school and surrounded by the older Vampyres is not enough and their body rejects the change with fatal consequences. Others embrace the change and go on to become amazingly talented, supremely attractive, Vampyres with the world at their feet.
A Bit About the Story!
We enter the story just as the main character Zoey Montgomery is worrying about an upcoming geometry test and whether or not the school quarterback is her boyfriend or not, typical teenage dramas. The presence of a Vampyre tracker in the school corridor quickly puts paid to those worries and Zoey begins on a terrifying journey that will cause her to turn away from the life she knew and begin to embrace the destiny her Cherokee ancestry had prepared for her.
The entire series is written from the perspective of the teens involved, a component to the writing strongly influenced by the younger member of the writing duo, Kristin, then a teenager herself. A fantastic and insightful look at the social structure of teen society, addressing issues such as bullying, self-confidence, fitting in and relationships, the first story in the House of Night series, is well written with a fascinating tweak on the now familiar Vampire story. Common known beliefs about Vampires are pushed aside and new ideas about a whole new culture of Vampirism begins to dominate the perceptions as you reach the gripping climax at the end of the first book.
In Story Relationships.
I especially liked the relationship between Zoey and her new room-mate Stevie Rae; two people who in embracing the changes that happen to them start to find a place to belong. I was also fascinated reading about some of the Cherokee culture they describe in the book and if there is a criticism at all it is that sometimes the conversation becomes a little too "teen" and I often found myself wanting to tell them to speak properly. I have a feeling, from listening to my teenage daughter however, that this is more a symptom of my age than a fault in the writing style!
Vampyre History.
The use of ancient Vampire symbols to create the tattoos and to represent the relationship between the Goddess Nyx and the vampires under her care was truly inspired and it made me wish to research and understand more about Vampire symbolism. I also liked some of the female Vampire names in the book such as Nefertiti and Zoey's own Vampire name, Zoey Redbird. In beginning their new life as fledgling Vampires the pupils of the Houses of Night were invited to decide upon a name that they felt was truly their own. Some made their choices close to home and others found inspiration in history and mythology and it was interesting as the book progressed to see how the female Vampire names corresponded to the personalities you attribute to them in your mind!
Other than that, they delicately handle a huge number of issues facing modern teenagers, with a gentleness that is heart-warming, and strength that is spine stiffening. My own teenager is a tremendous fan of all the books in the series and we are both awaiting the next instalment with great anticipation. If you want to find something else to read in the Vampire genre then I can thoroughly recommend starting with Marked and then moving on to the rest of the House of Night series.
In Closing
The House of Night series book Marked is an excellent reading, one the gets you involved from the beginning and keeps you there. If vampires really did exist and becoming one was like this book, I would sign up in a heartbeat (or lack thereof!). The only thing I would say if you are thinking of buying this book, is buy the next few in the series as well, because once you stop reading them, you wont want to stop!
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