Death Marked

by Leah Cypess

Overview

A young sorceress's entire life has been shaped to destroy the empire controlling her world. She could change history. But everything she thinks she knows is a lie. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Death Sworn will thrill fans of Leigh Bardugo and Robin LaFevers.

At seventeen, Ileni lost her magical power and was exiled to the hidden caves of the assassins. She trained the assassins in magic—and fell in love with one of them. And she discovered her entire life had been built on a lie. After all of this, she wants to see the truth for herself. She infiltrates the Imperial Academy of Sorcery. She will see everything she despises about the corrupt empire—its thirst for power, merciless control, and careless violence. But she also finds something she never expected—friends, and a place to belong. Ileni no longer knows whose side she is on. Leah Cypess spins an intricate and beautiful conclusion to Death Sworn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062221254
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	279,964
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Leah Cypess wrote her first short story—in which the narrator was an ice cream cone—at the age of six. She has degrees in biology, journalism, and law, and has traveled to Iceland, Israel, Jordan, and Costa Rica, among other places. She now lives with her family in Maryland. She is also the author of the acclaimed fantasy novels Death Marked, Mistwood, and Nightspell.

Editorial Reviews

Spellbinding. . . . Cypess is an author to continue watching and reading.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Mesmerizing.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Death Sworn: “In a striking start to a new series full of magic and murder, Cypess has created a heroine at the intersection of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna and George R. R. Martin’s Arya Stark.” — Booklist

“[I]t’s impossible not to fall deep into the dark yet alluring world of sorcery and secret assassins.” — Teen Vogue

“A thoughtful exploration of identity and responsibility wrapped in a twisty, suspenseful mystery and set in a gorgeously realized fantasy world.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Cypess masterfully depicts battles with daggers, spells, and wits. The surprising conclusion leaves readers hoping for a sequel.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

From the Publisher

Spellbinding. . . . Cypess is an author to continue watching and reading.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

[I]t’s impossible not to fall deep into the dark yet alluring world of sorcery and secret assassins.

Teen Vogue

Praise for Death Sworn: “In a striking start to a new series full of magic and murder, Cypess has created a heroine at the intersection of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna and George R. R. Martin’s Arya Stark.

Booklist

Praise for Death Sworn: “In a striking start to a new series full of magic and murder, Cypess has created a heroine at the intersection of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna and George R. R. Martin’s Arya Stark.

Booklist

01/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—In this thrilling sequel to Death Sworn (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 2013), Ileni has been separated from the dreamy and dark-eyed assassin Sorin in order to fulfill her destiny. In the midst of dangerous spell weavers, the formerly powerful sorceress has returned to the Empire that exiled her to infiltrate the Imperial Academy. The institution is where the best enchanters in the land train and hone their skills under the unforgiving hand of Karyn and the strongest learn to wield their power and serve the Empire. The protagonist hopes to destroy the Empire from within. But in the middle of her enemy's heart, she starts to doubt everything she's been raised to believe. Appealing to fans of Robin LaFevers's "His Fair Assassin" series and Kristin Cashore's Graceling (both Houghton Harcourt), there is some violence, but nothing too graphic. This novel will especially be appreciated by readers who enjoyed Cypess's previous volumes.—Clair Segal, LREI, New York City

School Library Journal

2015-01-10
A sorceress without magic navigates lies, treachery and despair in this thoughtful conclusion to the fantasy duology that began with Death Sworn (2014).Betrayed by her people and honed as a weapon, Ileni has left the Assassins' Caves to investigate the tyrannical Empire for herself…before she agrees to destroy it. Accepting a double-edged offer from the Imperial Academy, she falls into tentative friendships with her fellow students of magic, but she can no more forget that their power is fueled by cruelty and death than she can resist its seductive allure. Meanwhile, both assassins and sorcerers have their own plans. Readers expecting glorious triumphs and love-conquering-all climaxes will be disappointed, as such tropes of epic fantasy are brutally demolished in spare, restrained prose. If the expanse of a vast Empire is only hinted at and the secondary characters barely sketched, the narrow focus on Ileni's internal struggles is mesmerizing. While not entirely likable—she can be arrogant, judgmental and self-pitying—Ileni remains painfully sympathetic. She longs for righteous certainty in a noble cause, aches to achieve a heroic destiny through some great good deed, but she's confronted on every side with ambiguity, complexity and nothing but bad options. Yet rather than being crushed by her shattered ideals, Ileni embraces compromise and learns to reach for the grace of tiny victories. Somber and disquieting but alight with flickers of hope. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews