Book Review: Marked, by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Marked
Authors: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Paperback, 306 pages
Published by St. Martin's Griffin, 2007
Genre: YA vampire romance, paranormal romance, urban fantasy




Having greatly enjoyed The Twilight Saga, I am now forever hooked on the young adult genre, especially where vampire romances are concerned. I have therefore been browsing ever since, hoping to find similar romance novels.  Thus I discovered the House of Night series, among others. 

I finished Marked, the first book in the series, about a month ago; I have actually been putting off writing this review, because I have again come across a book which has inspired very mixed feelings.  I both like and dislike this book.


The premise for the vampire world in this series is definitely a very original, intriguing one: some people have inherited ‘the vampyre gene’; their transformation begins when they reach a certain age, and are then singled out by a Tracker, a vampyre (this is how the authors spell the word) whose special assignment is finding and marking new fledglings. 

So it is that Zoey Montgomery, sixteen-year-old normal, average high-school student, is Marked, when a Tracker suddenly appears at her locker one afternoon.   Pointing a finger at her, he recites the formal words that identify a new vampyre fledgling.  The Mark appears on her forehead at once – a sapphire-colored, crescent moon.

Zoey’s life is completely changed.  She has to deal with the reactions of her mother and stepfather, and ends up running away to find her Cherokee grandmother, who, far from condemning her, lovingly accepts the change, and takes her to the House of Night, a special boarding school for those who have been Marked. 

Zoey leaves everything behind – her old school, her friends, even her family, for they have rejected her - to begin an entirely new existence.  She now has new friends, entirely new school subjects, a new name – Zoey Redbird -- and even a new religion.

The book reeled me in from the start, immediately immersing me in Zoey’s world.  I related to her right away, as I remembered my own rebellious struggles with my parents, as well as the injustices of high-school social life.

My first inkling that I would not wholeheartedly love the book came in Chapter Two, in which the authors first drop the F-bomb -- twice.  I couldn’t help cringing, as well as feeling a surge of anger toward P.C. and Kristin Cast.  I completely dislike coming across this word, whether in young adult or adult fiction.  However, I feel that it’s even more inappropriate in a YA novel.  Unfortunately, this book is peppered with the word.


Then, just after Zoey is admitted to the House of Night, she unwittingly gets a sordid little glimpse of....an act of oral sex taking place in a darkened school hallway.  True, the Casts don't go into details, but they write enough that the reader knows what's going on.  I realize that they were trying to make a certain character look manipulative, shallow, and despicable, as well as to highlight, in contrast, Zoey's innocence and noble character.  Subsequent incidents in the story bring out this contrast in a completely satisfactory manner, however, so this scene is entirely unnecessary, not to mention inappropriate for a YA novel.      

I plunged ahead in spite of these things, since I was, indeed, intrigued and fascinated by the story.  Then the next problem surfaced – bigotry.  This is a charge commonly leveled at right-wingers and Christian Fundamentalists.  Ironically, left-wingers and minority religious groups are rarely accused of it.  Yet, we are all human, whatever our politics or religion may be, and thus, all equally susceptible to the errors of the human species. 

I was thus extremely disappointed to discover an anti-Christian bias in this novel, while at the same time, there was heavy proselytizing for Wicca.  The authors, who are a mother/daughter team, don’t call Christians by name, identifying them as “People of Faith” instead; this is, ironically, a rather beautiful title.   Their portrayal of anyone who is Christian is stereotypically negative – all Christians are intolerant and narrow-minded.  What is most offensive, however, is the characterization of all Christian men as “pedophiles”.  Here’s the actual quote, from page 27 of the book, so anyone who doubts me can look it up for themselves: 

“…by another equally hysterical call that would activate the dreaded People of Faith prayer tree.  Within thirty minutes our house would begin to fill up with fat women and their beady-eyed pedophile husbands.”  (emphasis added)

My enjoyment of the storyline was entirely marred by these things, but that’s not all I found objectionable.  Equally irritating is the authors’ constant attention to political correctness, as well as their preachy way of presenting it.   There’s a token gay vampire, as well as a token black one.  The Wiccan religion – which, in this book, contains some very beautiful rituals in honor of the Greek goddess Nyx, the patron of all vampyres --  is presented as a much more preferable alternative to Christianity. 

There’s certainly nothing wrong with presenting political or religious views in fiction.  It’s the way it’s done, however, that makes the difference.  A fiction writer should never allow these views to get in the way of telling the story.  That’s just what the Casts have done here.  The plot is intriguing, fascinating, to the point that I was compelled to finish the book, but I had to grit my teeth while reading, most of the time.

The way Wicca is tied into the story is quite effective.  I found it totally fascinating, especially as Zoey emerged as a strong leader, a very likely contender for the title of High Priestess.  I especially liked the way she refused to be cowed by Aphrodite, and took matters into her own hands to deal with the challenges she was inevitably confronted with.  I found her to be a very likable character.  If it weren't for her anti-Christian bias (indeed, she seems to be a spokesperson for the authors' own feelings), I would have added her to my roster of favorite fictional heroines, right next to Jane Eyre and Bella Swan.    

Unfortunately, I cannot give this novel my enthusiastic endorsement, because of the reasons stated above.  In spite of their excellent story-telling skills, the Casts' inclusion of these disturbing elements created too much of a barrier to this reader's full enjoyment of the book.  If the rest of the books in the series contain similar elements (and they probably do), then I know I will not want to read them .

MY RATING: