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Relic Master #1-2
Relic Master Part 1
It is a devastated world where nothing is what it Ancient relics possess 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 lies in Galen, a man of the old Order and a Keeper of relics, and his 16-year-old apprentice, Raffi. They know of a relic with great power that has been hidden for centuries. As they search for it, they will be hunted, spied on, and 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. “A gritty and enjoyable tale of adventure, poised on the dividing line between science fiction and fantasy . . . Should easily please Fisher's fans, as well as those hungry for dystopian reading material.”— Publishers Weekly , on The Dark City
752 pages, Paperback
First published June 13, 2013
14 people are currently reading
474 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Fisher
65 books1,608 followersCatherine Fisher was born in Newport, Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history. She has worked in education and archaeology and as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy.
Catherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups of all ages. She leads sessions for teachers and librarians and is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator. She lives in Newport, Gwent.
Catherine has won many awards and much critical acclaim for her work. Her poetry has appeared in leading periodicals and anthologies and her volume Immrama won the WAC Young Writers' Prize. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 1990.
Her first novel, The Conjuror's Game, was shortlisted for the Smarties Books prize and The Snow-Walker's Son for the W.H.Smith Award. Equally acclaimed is her quartet The Book of the Crow, a classic of fantasy fiction.
The Oracle, the first volume in the Oracle trilogy, blends Egyptian and Greek elements of magic and adventure and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Books prize. The trilogy was an international bestseller and has appeared in over twenty languages. The Candleman won the Welsh Books Council's Tir Na n'Og Prize and Catherine was also shortlisted for the remarkable Corbenic, a modern re-inventing of the Grail legend.
Her futuristic novel Incarceron was published to widespread praise in 2007, winning the Mythopoeic Society of America's Children's Fiction Award and selected by The Times as its Children's Book of the Year. The sequel, Sapphique, was published in September 2008.
Catherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups of all ages. She leads sessions for teachers and librarians and is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator. She lives in Newport, Gwent.
Catherine has won many awards and much critical acclaim for her work. Her poetry has appeared in leading periodicals and anthologies and her volume Immrama won the WAC Young Writers' Prize. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 1990.
Her first novel, The Conjuror's Game, was shortlisted for the Smarties Books prize and The Snow-Walker's Son for the W.H.Smith Award. Equally acclaimed is her quartet The Book of the Crow, a classic of fantasy fiction.
The Oracle, the first volume in the Oracle trilogy, blends Egyptian and Greek elements of magic and adventure and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Books prize. The trilogy was an international bestseller and has appeared in over twenty languages. The Candleman won the Welsh Books Council's Tir Na n'Og Prize and Catherine was also shortlisted for the remarkable Corbenic, a modern re-inventing of the Grail legend.
Her futuristic novel Incarceron was published to widespread praise in 2007, winning the Mythopoeic Society of America's Children's Fiction Award and selected by The Times as its Children's Book of the Year. The sequel, Sapphique, was published in September 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 7, 2015
Sometimes, it’s all about an escape from reality. A good book, like a good movie, does not need to have a deeper purpose or meaning. It does not need to bring up questions about life and existence and our purpose here.
Sometimes it can just be a fun ride through the tunnels of imagination.
And that is what I think of when I reflect on Relic Master, Part 1, which is actually two books combined into one volume: The Dark City and The Lost Heiress. Now, if you take a look at titles like The Dark City and The Lost Heiress, and you think you’re going to be diving into something with the depth of Schindler’s List, well … I don’t know what to tell you.
As for me, I did not expect much. And I got a fun ride out of it. Relic Master is the first in at least a 2-volume series about Galen Harn, a relic master, or keeper of ancient artifacts that hold extraordinary powers, and his 16-year-old pupil and apprentice, Raffi. In their world, Galen and Raffi used to be part of The Order, a type of government that has been destroyed and replaced by The Watch, evil warlords and soldiers who definitely form your prototypical military society. Galen and Raffi, always on the run from The Watch, whose main purpose seems to be destroying any remnants of the old Order, are searching for a way to restore Galen’s powers to him – powers he lost in an accident before the book’s opening – and, along the way, assimilate a crew of unusual sidekicks: first, the Sekoi, a cat-like creature with a penchant for gold and immersive storytelling, and second, Carys Arrin, a Watch soldier in training who was sent by her superiors to capture Galen.
Adventures abound as this unusual cotillion of heroes works their way towards the ancient city of Tasceron, where their world was founded and many relics belonging to their deities are rumored to lie hidden. And among the usual arrows, swords, and ambushes, the heroes have to fight against their own personal issues with trust, loyalty, and faith along the way.
As I said, a fun ride. I was especially impressed with Fisher’s imagination and her use of mystery. It is pretty obvious from the get-go that these relics Galen and Raffi are charged with protecting are old pieces of technology – at one point she describes a “device” that is surely a digital wrist watch – so while the premise of the story sounds like fantasy, there is a question: is this science fiction? Is Anara, the world in which Galen, Raffi, the Sekoi, and Carys inhabit, an off-shoot of Earth? And if so, what happened here? The characters refer to their gods as The Makers, and they believe the Makers created Anara and then left, taking the knowledge of creation with them. Hence the question of faith the characters all face in their own way: what do you believe about the reality of your world? Galen and Raffi believe the Makers are gods; Carys believes it’s all hogwash. And there are just enough crumbs dropped in this first volume to let you, as the reader know, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
If, as I suspect is the case, Anara is a colony established by humans in the years of super-advanced technology (in a time when chips and machines can be implanted in your brain that enhance your abilities and give you “powers”), then Fisher has done a superb job setting that up as the big reveal. And I think it is highly creative as well. Not a world that coincides alongside our own, as in the Harry Potter novels, but a world that exists long after our own and in such a way as to form its own mythology and reality around itself.
I love it!
Sometimes it can just be a fun ride through the tunnels of imagination.
And that is what I think of when I reflect on Relic Master, Part 1, which is actually two books combined into one volume: The Dark City and The Lost Heiress. Now, if you take a look at titles like The Dark City and The Lost Heiress, and you think you’re going to be diving into something with the depth of Schindler’s List, well … I don’t know what to tell you.
As for me, I did not expect much. And I got a fun ride out of it. Relic Master is the first in at least a 2-volume series about Galen Harn, a relic master, or keeper of ancient artifacts that hold extraordinary powers, and his 16-year-old pupil and apprentice, Raffi. In their world, Galen and Raffi used to be part of The Order, a type of government that has been destroyed and replaced by The Watch, evil warlords and soldiers who definitely form your prototypical military society. Galen and Raffi, always on the run from The Watch, whose main purpose seems to be destroying any remnants of the old Order, are searching for a way to restore Galen’s powers to him – powers he lost in an accident before the book’s opening – and, along the way, assimilate a crew of unusual sidekicks: first, the Sekoi, a cat-like creature with a penchant for gold and immersive storytelling, and second, Carys Arrin, a Watch soldier in training who was sent by her superiors to capture Galen.
Adventures abound as this unusual cotillion of heroes works their way towards the ancient city of Tasceron, where their world was founded and many relics belonging to their deities are rumored to lie hidden. And among the usual arrows, swords, and ambushes, the heroes have to fight against their own personal issues with trust, loyalty, and faith along the way.
As I said, a fun ride. I was especially impressed with Fisher’s imagination and her use of mystery. It is pretty obvious from the get-go that these relics Galen and Raffi are charged with protecting are old pieces of technology – at one point she describes a “device” that is surely a digital wrist watch – so while the premise of the story sounds like fantasy, there is a question: is this science fiction? Is Anara, the world in which Galen, Raffi, the Sekoi, and Carys inhabit, an off-shoot of Earth? And if so, what happened here? The characters refer to their gods as The Makers, and they believe the Makers created Anara and then left, taking the knowledge of creation with them. Hence the question of faith the characters all face in their own way: what do you believe about the reality of your world? Galen and Raffi believe the Makers are gods; Carys believes it’s all hogwash. And there are just enough crumbs dropped in this first volume to let you, as the reader know, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
If, as I suspect is the case, Anara is a colony established by humans in the years of super-advanced technology (in a time when chips and machines can be implanted in your brain that enhance your abilities and give you “powers”), then Fisher has done a superb job setting that up as the big reveal. And I think it is highly creative as well. Not a world that coincides alongside our own, as in the Harry Potter novels, but a world that exists long after our own and in such a way as to form its own mythology and reality around itself.
I love it!
September 11, 2022
this a fast paced, very interesting, apocalyptic novel set on a colonized planet. humans and their apocalypses!
December 20, 2014
I loved this book. The characters are real and conflicted. The final twist was not so surprising to me, but the addition of magical elements is perfect, and brings this book over the top. An easy, quick read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
November 20, 2018
A fun YA adventure book(s). Highly recommend for 10+. There are two in the edition
1. The Dark City
2. The lost Heiress
Raffi is the apprentice to a Relic Master (part sorcerer/part priest). On a planet with 7 moons. They are hunted by the watch. There is a worship element and Raffi & Galen talk about faith. There are cat people called Sekoi which predate the humans on the planet. They are on a quest that could change their world.
1. The Dark City
2. The lost Heiress
Raffi is the apprentice to a Relic Master (part sorcerer/part priest). On a planet with 7 moons. They are hunted by the watch. There is a worship element and Raffi & Galen talk about faith. There are cat people called Sekoi which predate the humans on the planet. They are on a quest that could change their world.
July 6, 2018
This was great. How you slowly realize what’s going on is amazing.
September 9, 2018
Good for over the age of 8 tad bit of "magic". looking forward to reading the next book.
February 15, 2020
At first I didn’t like how it was written. The further I got into the story the mort I was interested. I can’t wait to get the last two books.
July 13, 2025
Amazing, the twists and turns, the world building, and the switch of characters' points of view. perfect
May 15, 2016
This is not a bad book, it truly isn't, but I have an issue with one aspect of it that have resulted in my giving it only two stars. The issue of which I speak is the characters. They are completely generic. First there is Raffi, the main character, although for the life of me I cannot determine why he's the main character, because he's an idiot. Seriously, if there is something stupid that most people wouldn't even think of doing, don't worry, he'll do it every time. What's worse is that repeatedly the author shamelessly uses her protagonist's stupidity to advance the plot, such as the time in book two when Raffi carelessly leaves some special beads of his out for the Watch (the bad guys) to find and then know to chase after them. In addition to furthering the plot, Raffi's stupidity is also used to make the other characters look better, because every time he is in danger, never once does he get out of it on his own; he sits there crying about it until his friends come to bail him out. This would be acceptable if Raffi starts out all whiny and helpless and gradually grows a backbone, but by the end of both books he's still as useless as ever. I've been picking on Raffi, but the other characters are just as bad. Galen, Raffi's teacher, is a rude jerk who, although he is presented as a wise relic master, isn't really all that smart. (I present the fact that he picked Raffi of all people to be his relic-master apprentice as evidence of this. And also the fact that he went up to an ancient, dangerous relic and FREAKING TOUCHED IT without considering that he might get hurt--which, yes, he did.) There's also the girl Carys, who is the stereotypical "I'm a bad guy but I don't want to be and I'm kinda mysterious because no one knows who's side I'm really on and I don't know either" character, which would be OK, if she had any other defining aspects about her, but of course she doesn't. Another probem with the characters is that they all speak in the exact same way, which makes them even more generic. Basically, all of the characters are so utterly lifeless, stereotyped, and/or annoying, that we're left with a story that would be interesting if we gave a crap about the people who make it mean anything.
I will say that characterization is a huge thing for me, and if I don't like the characters in a book, I'm usually out. If characters aren't as big a deal for you, and you're looking for a light fantasy adventure, I'd give this series a shot. It does have a lot of great action scenes, and the plot is entertaining.
I will say that characterization is a huge thing for me, and if I don't like the characters in a book, I'm usually out. If characters aren't as big a deal for you, and you're looking for a light fantasy adventure, I'd give this series a shot. It does have a lot of great action scenes, and the plot is entertaining.
August 12, 2013
A book very much in keeping with her other novels, Incarceron, and Sapphique. Though admittedly, this felt a little less oppressive than the other two, RM still was a futuristic world that was thrown back in time. Seemed similar in concept to Card's pathfinder/ruins.
August 14, 2013
This book has everything i love in a book.
It provides a blend between sci-fi and fantasy which instead of clash, strengthen each other.
It's an easy read yet a gripping tale with twists, turns and a lot of action to keep you interested
It provides a blend between sci-fi and fantasy which instead of clash, strengthen each other.
It's an easy read yet a gripping tale with twists, turns and a lot of action to keep you interested
June 11, 2014
This is exactly like incarceron. It's like she just tried again but instead of "key" she says "relic"
I mean there's a crumbling world that has technological power, the old order which would be the sapients, the Watch which would be the all seeing eye of incarceration. Blek just why.
I mean there's a crumbling world that has technological power, the old order which would be the sapients, the Watch which would be the all seeing eye of incarceration. Blek just why.
August 28, 2014
An exciting beginning to an epic adventure!
To read my full review, click here.
To read my full review, click here.
July 1, 2015
I really enjoy Catherine Fisher's fast paced writing style.
Reading book two at this moment.
Reading book two at this moment.
January 26, 2015
I had an awesome time reading this series with my fav man!
March 22, 2015
I loved it! Can't wait till part 2 gets delivered!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews