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Sacred Scars
Sacred Scars
Sacred Scars
Audiobook15 hours

Sacred Scars

Written by Kathleen Duey

Narrated by Andy Paris

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

The author of National Book Award finalist Skin Hunger, Kathleen Duey continues her breathtaking Resurrection of Magic series with Sacred Scars. In one thread of Duey's compelling dual story line, Sadima finds herself taking refuge in a cave rumored to have once been populated by magicians of untold power. And many years past Sadima's time, Hahp faces daunting challenges at an academy of magic.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 2, 2010
ISBN9781449805142
Sacred Scars
Author

Kathleen Duey

Kathleen Duey’s works include the middle grade American Diaries and Survivors series, as well as the well-reviewed chapter book series The Unicorn’s Secret and its companion series, The Faeries’ Promise. She is also the National Book Award–nominated author of Skin Hunger. She lives in Fallbrook, California.

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Reviews for Sacred Scars

Rating: 4.148437574999999 out of 5 stars
4/5

64 ratings10 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is not a stand alone book, but the depth, development, and story are worth all of the minutes listening or reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent! This book is wonderfully long and compelling. Very attached to the characters and eagerly anticipating the next book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As with the Empire Strikes back, you need the information, but you ache for the resolution of the third book. *sigh*
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I have mixed feelings about this book. I find the magic systems really interesting and I really like several of the characters, but the bleak awfulness of the reality that these characters live in definitely started to get to me and I found some of the choices the author made (like having a character that i thought was very queer coded be a child abuser) to be pretty gross. I was also really upset by what happens to Sadima. I understood why it happens narratively but it made me really angry and I have no where to direct that feeling.

    Part of the reason I liked this book was its complexity and the very grey morality of the characters. But I did get frustrated with how little insight we got into some of them. I want to know how certain people got the way they are and since this is the end of the series thats never going to happen. I found out what happened to the author partway thru the book and found that pretty upsetting also.

    I'll be honest this book kinda made me feel bad. But it also made me think a lot so I can't say I wish I hadn't read it even though I don't think I would recommend it to others.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you haven’t read book one, Skin Hunger, then be warned, this follows on directly from that so there are spoilers for events in book one.

    The book opens with with Sadima. At the end of Skin Hunger she, Franklin, and Somiss were driven out of their home by a fire and have escaped to live in caves. There, hiding out in the tunnels, Somiss continues his research and Franklin continues to work for him, while Sadima continues to plot her escape. She also is determined to rescue the orphaned boys that Somiss has locked up in a cage. Not to mention persuading Franklin that he needs to run, he needs to escape from Somiss rather than waiting for Somiss to turn good.

    In Hahp’s storyline he is still struggling at wizard school. Desperately trying to learn enough to be allowed to eat. But as time passes he realises that what he really wants is to get all the students together and turn on the wizards. To bring them and their twisted torture-house of a school down. But how can he do that when part of what the wizards do so well is keep the students at each other’s throats. They aren’t even allowed to talk, how can they possibly band together and help each other survive.

    I quite liked the first book in this series, although I found in interesting rather than gripping, and I liked parts of it but didn’t enjoy it all. This one I thought was far far better. All the set up has been done; we know so much more about Somiss and Franklin now. I found Sacred Scars to be a
    much more enthralling read. Sadima’s story is the one I prefer, but Hahp’s is important too, and I’m constantly wondering how she fits into Hahp’s.

    Sadima’s story change so much in this book. You really feel for her, she is an utterly different person at the end compared to who she was back in book one. Or even at the start of the book. And more and more I had to blame Franklin. At times in Skin Hunger I did feel sorry for him, but I also wanted Sadima to just slap him and leave. He was far too caught up in what Somiss wanted. Understandably due to his childhood and upbringing, but not an excuse for what he lets happen, and then participates in. I’d have to agree with Gerrard, in many ways Franklin is worse that Somiss. He knows what he does is wrong and evil, but he still does it.

    I do hope we get more of Jux’s storyline. We know where he and the other boys ended up, because of Hahp’s story, but how did he get there?

    Sadima’s story covers a huge amount of time. In some ways it skips over years far too quickly, but I understand why Duey did that. Reading about a happy, average life wouldn’t be all that entertaining. So she had to just give a flavour, and she does a good job, I really had a sense of who Sadima became once she returned to Limori and South End. And although Charlie and Grurr didn’t feature for very long they certainly made an impact.

    Book three is currently been rewritten. I can’t wait to see what’ll happen to Sadima in it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ok, first off, this book has probably one of the best covers ever. I absolutely adore it.
    With that said, on top of the amazing cover (or... should i say underneath?) is a book that is totally and completely spectacular.
    So, i feel that fantasy has been a tad bit ignored in this sudden vampire/urban fantasy craze. So, when i find a truly good fantasy, i get way excited.
    This is the second book in the... hmm i'm gonna say trilogy, but don't quote me on that one. I'm not 100% sure. Like the first one Skin Hunger (which, if you've never read, go do it N O W. seriously. You will NOT be disappointed) this book is in the same style as the first, switching from Sadima to Hahp, two people living centuries apart.
    Now, very few authors do this which i kind of understand. I have another book done in this style and i had found that the chapters about one character dragged so all i wanted to read was the chapters about the other character.
    This one, though, i'm excited when it's Hahp, or Sadima. Both they're stories are so dark and heartbreaking.
    Another plus about this book. Very very dark (and you all know how much i love a good dark fantasy)
    In this one, Hahp and the other students (now whittled down to 6) continue to learn magic in attempts to destroy the school they've been sent to and kill the wizards for putting them through the torture of starvation, betrayal, and pain. (and if that alone doesn't make you want to read it... well then, you're crazy)
    Centuries earlier, Sadima works in the cavern that Somiss & Franklin have been forced into to go into hiding. She copies the songs and tries to plan a way to escape with the orphans that Somiss has captured. When she manages... well.... that part shocked me so much that i'm definitely not going to tell you what happened.
    I am now so very very excited to read the next (last?) book. Because i really really really want to know about what happens to not only Sadima and Hahp, but Franklin as well. ;)
    So, i'm changing my ranking system from 1-5 stars to 1-10 stars. Just cause i can better rate a book.
    This one definitely gets 10 stars =D
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved Skin Hunger and was very excited to read this book. It just about killed me though, I thought this was a duology and it ends up it is a trilogy...and the last book has had an undetermined release date for the last 3 years...ugh. This is an absolutely wonderful story, but it has absolutely no resolution at the end.I listened to this on audiobook and it was very well done. I really enjoy the narrator and he does an excellent job distinguising different character voices and conveying emotion.Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, have been driven out of Limòri and are living in an abandoned cave. Somiss has kidnapped a variety of young street children that he is trying to teach to copy and/or use magic. Somiss remains violent and very secretive. Meanwhile the other half of the story is about Hahp, who is struggling to survive the wizard’s increasingly dangerous tests. Hahp is making a lot of progress and he slowly is learning that his roommate, Gerrard, knows more about the wizard school than he is letting on. Hahp is desperately trying to form a pact between the students so that they can destroy this evil wizard school once and for all.Okay I am still in shock a little bit over how the book ended (right in the middle of everything) and because the next book has an undetermined release date (and has for 3 years). I am going to take a deep breath now and try to calm down so I can write this review.This is such an absolutely excellent and creative fantasy series. It is just a wonderful read and I have been completely engaged by this book and absolutely ensnared by this world.The characters just pull you in completely. The story moves deliberately but builds a ton of suspense as well. You just know things aren’t going to end well for Sadima and you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then when it does, you are like...woah!...I totally didn’t see that coming. Same goes for Hahp, you are constantly waiting for the next crazy test he will have to survive or the next big mental leap he will make in using magic. It is just amazing how Duey keeps you so ensnared in the story.This book gives you more hints about the time difference between the two storylines. In the first book you are uncertain about the time frame for Sadima’s story versus Hahp’s. In this book that is clearer, obviously Sadima’s story takes place a long, long time before Hahp is even born. Still it is very engaging to try to fit the puzzle pieces from each story together to form a complete timeline. As the story continues you begin to recognize more and more overlap and more and more names that match between the two stories.The biggest negative to this book is that it ends absolutely in the middle of the story with nothing resolved. Seriously I thought I hadn’t downloaded the whole audiobook or something. We are right in the middle of a ton of things and the book is all like “the end”. I absolutely hate that when authors do that.Overall this is an incredibly creative and well written fantasy novel. It is really like nothing I have ever read before. It has very compelling characters and the plot just grabs you and won’t let go. It is a really incredibly read and I recommend it to all fantasy lovers out there. Just be warned the story is not at all resolved and it...will...kill...you...to have to wait to know what is going to happen next. With the undetermined release date, I would recommend waiting until the third book at least has a release date before delving into this trilogy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't know what to say about this book. It's riveting, compelling and terribly dark. It's also the middle book of a trilogy, and it simply STOPS with no resolution of anything it raises. It's well-written but I have no idea where it's going. I won't know how I feel about this one until after the third one comes out. I can't recommend reading it, not yet, but I think ultimately I will be able to. I'm impressed with Duey's world, with her sense of magic and what magicians were, are and can be. The characters are complex and fascinating. I passionately want to know what happens next. I question the decision to publish this in parts when it's so obviously a single book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The braided stories from the first book continue: Hahp, a boy trying to survive a terrible school of magic long enough to kill his tormentor Somiss, and Sadima, a woman who also has reasons to hate and fear Somiss—hundreds of years earlier. Their stories center around the (religious, for Sadima) question of whether magic is always bad, not just despite the good things it can bring but perhaps because of them. There is also substantial child abuse/child harm and nonexplicit rape; it is a grim story. I think I have to read the third book when it comes out just to see whether Somiss gets what’s coming to him, and whether that’s an ok thing for the world.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The two stories alternate again, the boys go through more torture but seem to be learning something from it; Sadima first helps transcribe songs, then escapes, then finds herself without memory and stuck in a town.It's interesting, I wasn't as entralled as I was by the first one and the torture of the students seems to be going on a bit too long, yes I want to read the last book in the series but I'm not as enthustiac about it as I was about going from book 1 to book 2.