Four: A Divergent Collection

Four: A Divergent Collection

First Edition Cover
Author Veronica Roth
Cover artist Joel Tipple
Country United States
Series Divergent trilogy
Published 2014 (HarperCollins)
Media type Print (hardcover)
Pages 304
ISBN 9780062345219

Four: A Divergent Collection is a collection of five short stories from the Divergent trilogy, told from Tobias Eaton's (Four) perspective, and written by Veronica Roth.[1][2][3][4][5] The first story of the collection, Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene, was released as an e-book on April 23, 2012.[6] The second story, The Transfer, was released on September 3, 2013.[7] The third story titled The Initiate, [8][9] the fourth story The Son[10][11] and the fifth and final story The Traitor were released on July 8, 2014.[12][13] Simultaneously with the release of last three short stories, a collected edition of the five short stories titled Four: A Divergent Collection was released on July 8, 2014, which also features three exclusive scenes.[14][15]

Background

According to Roth, these stories serve as a prequel to the Divergent trilogy. She said that "The e-shorts will address Tobias’s backstory and some of the mysterious things going on in the world before Tris chose Dauntless. Together, they form a kind of Tobias-centered Divergent prequel, though there is some overlap."[16]

Talking about her decision to write from the perspective of Four, Roth said, "In my mind, he has a distinct history and a complex psychology, so there’s always a lot to draw from when he’s on the page, and it’s an opportunity for me to break from Tris’s sparse, straightforward voice and try to introduce just a little bit more poetic language, I also know, from many tweets and blog comments and in-person comments, that Divergent readers are interested in hearing more of his voice, which made him an obvious candidate! My readers have given me so much enthusiasm and honesty and wisdom. The opportunity to write something that I knew they wanted to read was really appealing to me."[16]

In July 2014, Roth revealed that she initially wrote Divergent from Four's point of view and at that time the character Tris was not present in the story. She explained that "it was the super rough draft. I've been calling it the "proto-draft." It happened before the rough draft, which sounds crazy. It was just was a couple of pages from his perspective, and it just didn't work in the same way that Tris's voice worked because she's kind of surprising as the narrator of that particular story. But as I wrote the series, he became more complicated and his story started to feel urgent also. So, it's great that they let me keep writing about him!"[17]

Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene

Free Four is the first story of the series and retells the events of chapter thirteen of Divergent. It was released on April 23, 2012.[6][18][19]

The Transfer

The Transfer

First Edition Cover
Author Veronica Roth
Cover artist Joel Tipple
Country United States
Series Divergent trilogy
Published 2013 (HarperCollins)
Media type e-book
Pages 50
ISBN 9780062285638

The Transfer features Four as a 16-year-old before his Choosing Day Ceremony and as a Dauntless initiate. It was published by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins and released on September 3, 2013.[4][7][20][21][22]

Plot

16 year old Tobias Eaton was born in Abnegation. His father, Marcus Eaton, is an Abnegation council member, who is abusive to him. Tobias meets Tori, who administers his aptitude test. He chooses Dauntless as his faction at his choosing ceremony against his father's wishes. Later, he meets Eric, a fellow dauntless initiate, along with his instructor Amar. The latter gives him the name Four, after finding out that he has only four fears.

Cover

The cover of The Transfer features a circle of train cars, which are colliding in four different places.[23] Joel Tipple, who designed this cover, is also designing the covers for rest of the series.[16]

Reception

BiblioFiend in its review said that "The Transfer gave an immense amount of depth to a character who always seemed so secretive and hard. Getting inside Four’s mind was a great way to understand his motives and reasoning for choosing to leave Abnegation."[24]

The Initiate

The Initiate

First Edition Cover
Author Veronica Roth
Cover artist Joel Tipple
Country United States
Series Divergent trilogy
Published 2014 (HarperCollins)
Media type e-book
Pages 65
ISBN 9780062285652

The Initiate reveals Four's life as a Dauntless initiate. It was published by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins and released on July 8, 2014.[4][25][26]

Plot

Tobias "Four" Eaton goes through his Dauntless initiation stages, as well as getting his first tattoo and completing an epic dare. His understanding of being Dauntless member and the dangers of it develops and he eventually finds his passion in training new initiates.

Cover

The cover of The Initiate features a circle of syringes filled with blue coloured serum, all of them pointing at the centre of the circle. Like all the previous covers in the Divergent trilogy, Joel Tipple designed this cover.[16]

The Son

The Son

First Edition Cover
Author Veronica Roth
Cover artist Joel Tipple
Country United States
Series Divergent trilogy
Published 2014 (HarperCollins)
Media type e-book
Pages 65
ISBN 9780062285669

The Son explores Four's life as a Dauntless member. It was published by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins and released on July 8, 2014.[4][27][28]

Plot

Tobias "Four" Eaton, a Dauntless member and instructor for non-Dauntless born initiates, tries to find his place in Dauntless society. He suspects that some foul planning is taking place within Dauntless leadership and also discovers a secret from his past which threatens his future.

Cover

The cover of The Son features a circle of dark inky cloud, with lightning striking at two different points of circle. Like all the previous covers in the Divergent trilogy, Joel Tipple designed this cover.[16]

The Traitor

The Traitor

First Edition Cover
Author Veronica Roth
Cover artist Joel Tipple
Country United States
Series Divergent trilogy
Published 2014 (HarperCollins)
Media type e-book
Pages 84
ISBN 9780062285676

The Traitor narrates early parts of Divergent from Four's point of view. It was published by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins and released on July 8, 2014.[4][29][30]

Plot

Set two years after the events of The Son, Tobias "Four" Eaton is starting to get to know Tris, a new transfer initiate from Abnegation. At the same time, he discovers Erudite's plan to attack and kill Abnegation members and makes a plan to save them.

Cover

The cover of The Traitor features a greenish circle of crows flying away. Like all the previous covers in the Divergent trilogy, Joel Tipple designed this cover.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "New ‘Divergent’ stories! Veronica Roth to publish 4 short stories about Four". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  2. ↑ "‘Divergent’ short story ‘The Transfer’ starring Four released". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Four: A Divergent Story Collection By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "'Divergent' author Veronica Roth to release e-stories from Four's point-of-view". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  5. ↑ "'Divergent' author Veronica Roth will pen four original short stories". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene [NOOK Book] by Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Transfer: A Divergent Story By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ "The Initiate: A Divergent Story By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Initiate: A Divergent Story [Kindle Edition] Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Son: A Divergent Story By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Son: A Divergent Story [Kindle Edition] Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Traitor: A Divergent Story By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Traitor: A Divergent Story [Kindle Edition] Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Four: A Divergent Story Collection By Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  15. ↑ "See the cover for Veronica Roth's 'Four: A Divergent Collection' -- EXCLUSIVE". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 "E-Stories for 'Divergent' Fans Awaiting 'Allegiant'". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Why Veronica Roth's New Book Is About Four and What She Missed in Divergent". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene [Kindle Edition]". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.5)". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Transfer: A Divergent Story (Insurgent Trilogy) [Kindle Edition] Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  21. ↑ "The Transfer: A Divergent Story (Divergent 0.1)". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  22. ↑ "The Transfer: A Divergent Story by Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Cover reveal: ‘Divergent’ short story ‘The Transfer’ by Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Short story Review: ‘The Transfer’ by Veronica Roth". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Four: The Initiate: A Divergent Story by Veronica Roth". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Four: The Initiate: A Divergent Story (Divergent Series) [Kindle Edition]". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Four: The Son: A Divergent Story by Veronica Roth". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Four: The Son: A Divergent Story (Divergent Series) [Kindle Edition]". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Four: The Traitor: A Divergent Story by Veronica Roth". Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Four: The Traitor: A Divergent Story (Divergent Series) [Kindle Edition]". Retrieved July 8, 2014.

External links