11 October 2014

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Melissa Marr's Carnival of Souls - don't you love that title? - begins with a rather fascinating premise***. For her safety, the daughter of a daimon king is spirited away to live in the human world under the protection of a witch. The truth hidden from her, she grows up ignorant of who she really is and the danger of her future. Back in the daimon world, called The City, Kaleb and Aya fight for power, he to escape the horror of his low social caste and her to escape the expectations of her gender.

The City is a fascinating place. The characters are relatively intriguing; although the wow factor has more to do with who they are than what they do. Outside of Kaleb and Zevi, I cared very little for the characters in this story. Nothing much happens here, and the action that does take place is either repetitive, only superficially related, or summarized as a past event. The story reads like a profile of characters and place, a brainstorm that could form the basis of an amazing story if some action were added in.

I had a few problems outside the lack of action as well. MINOR PLOT SPOILER Earlier I mentioned that Aya is fighting for power denied her because of her gender; however, further reading proves this only half-true. While Aya does seem to desire power enough to help make The City a better place, her real reason for gaining power is so she doesn't have to "breed" (I hate that word but it's what's used in the book and very appropriate here). As a female daimon, she has no real power; she will be sold off married to a male who will own her body and soul, and she will be expected to (forced to) bear children. Aya doesn't seem to mind this so much except that having a child will expose her secret - that she is a half-witch. If she wasn't a half-witch, it seems she wold just go right along with these horrifying gender roles. Not so awesome. END SPOILER

I would like to reiterate though, that despite my serious problems with this book, the world Marr has created here is pretty intriguing. I just wish more happened in that world. It is possible that Marr is using this book as a mere jumping off point for the rest of the series, but making the first book so slowly paced is a real risk. I am not sure if I will bother picking up the next in the series.

If any of you have read further installments, is it worth it?

***Well, if you read the comments below - two comments published this month actually - you will see that this book has a  new title - Untamed City: Carnival of Secrets. So there you have it. A title change, which is too bad since, as I say in the first line of this review, I really do like the original title.

5 comments:

  1. The premise actually sounds pretty good; too bad it isn't done well. The cover is great though!

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  2. The title, the cover, and the premise all grab my attention, but most of the reviews I've read of this one have been negative, so I think I'll probably pass on it. Thanks for thoughtful review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've had this book for ages, but I've never gotten around to reading it. I love me some world-building, so I may give it a try. If you hear the sequels are good, let me know! I'll definitely go after it, if so.

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  4. I am writing concerning a detail page posted on your site for CARNIVAL OF SOULS by Melissa Marr.

    We announced several major changes to this book back on 1/31/14 and we are requesting the following updates to your site to reflect these changes & prevent reader confusion.

    • Please change the title to UNTAMED CITY: CARNIVAL OF SECRETS.
    • Please update the description; I’ve included the new official updated description below for reference.

    I’d really appreciate your assistance in making these changes. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, thanks.

    In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the carnival, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

    All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the carnival.

    From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

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  5. andrea pappenheimerTue Dec 23, 02:35:00 PM CST

    Hello – I believe I sent an earlier request, in October 2014, and have not yet heard back regarding this issue.

    Would you please advise as to when the information in the link below will be corrected?

    http://www.eclectic-eccentric.com/2014/10/carnival-of-souls-by-melissa-marr.html

    The correct title of this book is UNTAMED CITY: CARNIVAL OF SECRETS.

    The correct descriptive copy is as follows:

    In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the carnival, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live. All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival. From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

    I really appreciate your help with this. Please let me know if you have questions.

    Many thanks,


    Andrea Pappenheimer
    SVP, Director of Sales
    Associate Publisher
    HarperCollins Children’s Books
    Andrea.pappenheimer@harpercollins.com
    212-207-7716

    ReplyDelete

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