Author: Catherine Fisher
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of the Penguin Group
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Hardcover, 384 pages
ISBN 10: 0803736738
ISBN 13: 978080373673
The Book Depository / Amazon
Goodreads description:
Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old Order are hunted by the governing Watch yet revered by the people, and the great energy that connects all seems to also be destroying all. The only hope for the world lies in Galen, a man of the old Order and a Keeper of relics, and his sixteen-year-old apprentice, Raffi. They know of a secret relic with great power that has been hidden for centuries. As they search for it, they will be tested beyond their limits. For there are monsters - some human, some not - that also want the relic's power and will stop at nothing to get it.
My Take:
Galen Harn is a Keeper, otherwise known as a Relic Master. He is part of the Order that is tasked with keeping the relics of the Makers safe. Raffael Morel (Raffi) is his scholar, an apprentice of sorts, who left his family to train with Galen as a future Keeper.
The biggest problem? The Order of the Keepers has been outlawed, with a reward of 2000 marks for anyone who captures a Keeper. Most of the people in the villages live in poverty, but secretly still practice the faith, but there's always a chance that someone will turn them in, so they live in hiding in the woods near a cromlech. Cromlech's are stone formations said to have been built by the Sekoi, the first race. Because of their reputed powers, many people stay away from these formations.
When a horseman seeks them out and tells them that his settlement has found a Relic, Galen, who has been hurt in an explosion of the last Relic, decides to journey to the settlement. After some trickery (which I really won't get into; seems too much of a spoiler), the two find themselves heading for the destroyed city of the Makers, Tasceron.
Along their journey, they are followed and eventually joined by Carys Arrin, a young girl who, unknown to them, is a member of the Watch. The Watch is the group that has outlawed the Order of the Keepers and are the cause of the destruction of Tasceron. They also go into villages and take the brightest young children from their parents to raise them in the Watch, teaching them that the powers of the Order are an illusion. The watch children are also taught that they are orphans. Carys has tasked herself with capturing the Keeper, but chooses to wait until he journeys into Tasceron, where he wants to find the "owl" that is a messenger between their people and the Makers. If she can both capture Galen and bring in one of the most powerful Relics, she is certain to rise in the ranks of the Watch.
What can I say? This book is classified as YA/Fantasy, and it obviously has some fantasy and sci-fi elements, but it is a great story, full of twists and turns, with a bridge that takes you back to where you started, firestorms, secret Orders, and magic. There are some books that you open and want to read right through, and this is one of them. It's not predictable (although early on I started to have an idea of who the Makers actually were), and Galen knows a lot more than we give him credit for.
Parents: this is a book that you can feel good about letting your middle reader read - there is no sex, violence, or even profanity.
This is the first in a series of four, scheduled to come out on a monthly basis through August, 2011. The next one comes out in June, and I want it. Right now. I can't wait to see what happens with Carys and how her doubts play out and who the Makers actually are, and what new powers Galen may or may not have, and how Raffi matures, and what happens with the Sekoi that helped them out.
QUOTES (from an ARC; may be different in finished copy):
Alberic nodded. "But the Order is finished," he said sweetly. "Broken, outlawed. Dead."
"The power remains."
It's quite clear the Watch have lied to us, and that makes me angry. The Order do have powers and they're real. It makes me wonder how much else I don't know. The Watch wants all relics - to destroy them, according to our teachers - and yet, I wonder. What if someone high up wants this power for themself?
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 5 out 5 starsBOOK RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
BLOGGERS: Have you reviewed this book? If so, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section; I will also add your link to the body of my review.
Relic Master website
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WIN IT: As sometimes happens, I received TWO copies of the ARC for this title, so I will be giving one away to you, my readers. If the winner is an international entrant, and shipping is prohibitive, I reserve the right to order a finished copy from The Book Depository (International entrants, please check the link to make certain they ship to you before entering).
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ELIGIBILITY: Open Internationally
End Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST
This book is included in my list for the 2011 ARC Reading Challenge
Disclosure: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher through Shelf Awareness to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and I was not required to post a positive review.
