By David Jooste
Hey guys and girls, especially the girls this week, and some guys I guess. 🙂
This week a bring you a review of Marked, the first book in the House of Night series.
Zoey Redbird is just you normal everyday teenage girl, till the day she gets marked as a soon to be vampire.
Zoey’s world is turned upside down as she is thrust into this new world hidden in the depths of the night. A normal school with teachers and classes, everything you would expect from school, even the cute boy and the school b*. Then of course there is the fact that classes run from 8pm till 3am and everyone’s vampires.
Behind all this is still a deeper mystery, why was Zoey chosen by the Vampire Goddess Nyx as here vessel, why was she given such powerful abilities , why is she nearly a fully developed vampire when it usually takes four years to turn completely
But the biggest mystery of all, what is really going on at the House of Night?
Well there you have a summary of the story. 🙂
From the start you can see that this book is aimed at the young female market, and I’m sure they will love it. From the terminology used, issues the characters are faced with, down to the finest detail. Girls will love it and immediately find themselves relating to the characters.
It is definitely well written towards its intended market. Well done. 🙂
The best I have seen it described, and i thought so myself was Harry Potter + Twilight = Marked. And that is exactly what you get at the basis, still the story is so much more than that.
The storyline is not too complicated and it has a nice smooth flow. For first time readers it will be a joy and for the rest it will still offer an interesting experience.
Now I’m a huge vampire fan; Stephenie Meyer, Ann Rice, love them all. In House of Night however vampire takes on a whole new existence.
No makers or sires, you are simply destined to become one.
However there is still the little problem of hoping your body accepts the 4 year long transformation you go through at the school, if not sorry you die. 😮
Still the authors made it work for them in this setting, good on you.:-)
Personally I was not that impressed at the start but it eventually grew on me till I could not put it down, was even a little upset when the book ended so quickly.
Still it has a great ending and it leaves a nice bit of mystery open for the next installment, Betrayed.
The characters are also loveable, from our lead Zoey, to her best friends Stevie Rae, the Twins and Damien. Even the antagonist Aphrodite, is perfect in here role.
Zoey goes thorough some major changes in her life; a new school, a new state of being, her gifts, and the role that she discovers she needs to play.
Through this first book you see how she develops from here insecurities to the self confident person she becomes towards the end of the book. You also find her discovering her place at the House of Night and finally fitting in and belonging somewhere.
Over all this is a great book for the younger readers as they find the characters in situations similar to the ones they themselves might face daily. It develops into a smooth flowing storyline and the characters do grow on you.
More mature reader however might not find it as enticing. It does after all deal with mainly teenage girl type issues.
7/10
Now for a further tit-bit of new on the House of Night series, after making sure, it seams that House of Night will also be turned into a series of movies :-), stating with Marked. The first one, as far as i could find out, is set for release in 2011.
If you want to find out more about House of Night then you can find the offical website for the series here, and it’s definately worth the look.
Or if you would like to buy the book our SA readers can find it here,
UK readers can find it here, and US readers can find it here.
Dave de Burgh 