The Dark City

Relic Master #1

by Catherine Fisher

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.
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Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Dystopia

376 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 1998

About the author

Catherine 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.

Reviews

[Crowinator · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me in a lot of ways, not all bad but not all good either. For one thing, it's not really a new series: Relic Master was published in the UK starting in 1998, and I can only assume it's being repackaged here because of the success of Incarceron and Sapphique. It's some of Fisher's earlier work and it shows; it lacks the depth and more sophisticated writing of her later books. However, the marketing behind its release is quite good -- four books published in four consecutive months, with very distinctive (and shiny!) covers that call to mind the mix of fantasy and science fiction. It's not gimmicky, so much, but it is designed to increase attention to the series (though I do think the whole "buy all four books and get a new piece of the map of Anara" is a little cheesy, I think some kids do eat that stuff up).

Another surprising thing, it's definitely more of a middle grade read than young adult. Even though two of the main characters -- Raffi and Carys -- are supposed to be older (sixteen years old, I think), they read more like 12 or 13 year old, Raffi more so. It's not just because there's no romance, or even acknowledgement of interest in relationships; it's also because they exist to move the plot forward without a lot of depth to their characters. It's all action-reaction. They are both apprentices trying to prove themselves to their Masters (Raffi trying to be worthy of Galen; Carys trying to impress the Watch) but the way they talk and think seem younger than they should. The episodic nature of the plot (probably because of its serial format) is something also seen more in middle grade novels, which usually have less of a complicated plot structure.

Still, despite being younger and more serialized that I expected, there are still some great, trademark Fisher things going on. It starts out reading like a straight fantasy, with a strange new form of magic, but the Relics that the Order is protecting are clearly technological gadgets from, perhaps, our modern world or sometime in our future. At first I thought this would go the same route as Joni Sensel's The Farwalker's Quest, where the world is incredibly similar to ours, but after a devastating series of wars/disasters everyone created new ways of life, shunning technology for so long they've been forgotten. And actually, this book was a lot like that, and I think they would be interesting to read together, although in Fisher's case it turns out to be a (fairly well-used) science fiction plot whereby a colonized planet has been abandoned or lost by its original colonists, who have since become legends, seen as gods, and their gadgets turned into holy relics. Even though I've seen this before, Fisher led into it really well and surprised me with the ending scene, and I think for kids who haven't read this sort of story before, it will blow their mind a bit. Fisher is good at doing that in her later books, and it was fun to read this one where she's already bending genres and having unexpected mind-blowing twists.

The story is very fast-paced and action-heavy, but the world of Anara is still intriguing, and there's a lot of its history still to learn in later books. The characters and world still have a large amount of back story that is only hinted at, and I'm interested to see how the science fiction twist at the end plays out well in the next three books.

I received an ARC of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мое первое знакомство с Кэтрин Фишер состоялось и к сожалению ваше тройки поставить ее "Городу Мрака" рука не поднимается.

В целом я осталась довольна стилем автора, умеет она мрачно и красиво описывать окружение героев, нагнетать атмосферности. Это мне очень понравилось. Воображалка у автора тоже хорошо работает, но вот подать историю интересно она не смогла.

минусы:

- по сути в первой книги ничего не происходит. Герои идут туда, потому идут сюда, потом опять куда-то идут и все. Люблю я бродилки-выживалки, но нужно чего-то еще. Экшена какого-нибудь, интриг, юмора, романтики. Вообщем, чем-то разбавить однообразие.

- автор не уделяет времени для предыстории. Вот допустим в начале глав эпиграфы из "Литания творцов", "Книги Семи Лун" и т.д. Что такое эта Литания? Что такое книга семи лун? Я вообще, люблю эпиграфы, но в этой книги под час они были на редкость бессмысленны. Зачем они? Кто те люди о которых в них говориться? Не понятно.

- отсутствие интриг. Мы с самого начала знаем кто такая Карис, хотя и не знаем ничего о ней, потому что автор не углубляется в историю героини, так упомянет тут детали из ее прошлого, то там.

- достаточно обычные герои. Кажется что они пришли из других книг, очень типичные - старец-мудрец, одаренный-мальчик и девочка-шпионка. Не было в них какой та изюминки, хотя может это и не плохо. В целом все герои показались мне приятными. Полюбился мне Секоя! Забавный персонаж.


Так что вот так. Не жалею что прочитала. Вряд ли возьмусь за продолжение (не зацепила меня настолько история), но планирую дочитать "Инкарцерон" в ближайшее время.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed more from this book. I kept on looking for it and even with my sister's constant: OMG STELLA. YOU HAVE TO READ IT." I was disappointed by Fisher.

When introduced to a brand new fantasy world, description of the setting is key. I find Fisher fell short on this and at no time did I feel like I was actually present in the world of Anara. Sorry Ashley, I just didn't like this book and felt no guilt when I skipped a couple of the pages. Well, frankly, I didn't really care if I missed some of the stuff because I felt no connection to the story and characters.

3 stars for an interesting concept.

[Julie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/20...

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 stars

BOOK RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been craving some fantasy lately and I got just that with The Dark City. This book is high fantasy with some sci-fi elements mixed in what with the relics being advanced technological gadgets.

The story follows several characters: there’s Master Galen, Raffi, and Carys. Galen is a Relic Master, one of the few that are still alive and is hunted by the Watch. He’s always a little cranky and demanding its but understandable since he’s suffered a great loss. Raffi is Galen’s apprentice and they have been together for four years now. There’s an interesting dynamic between Galen and Raffi since Galen lost all his powers. He’s still the master but now depends on Raffi more and more. I just wonder how Galen’s character will change in the subsequent books with what ended up happening at the end of this book. Carys is a spy for the Watch and her mission is to hunt down Galen. Once she finds out that Galen is searching for an ancient and powerful relic, she decides to join them in hopes of acquiring it for the Watch. But the more time she spends with Galen and Raffi and sees some of the powers they have, she realizes that the Watch has been lying to her and all she has been taught are lies.

In the front of the book there is a map of Anara, the world that the story is set in. Anara looks like a vast and varied world and from this book we’ve only seen a small part of it. The city of Tasceron is described as the city of a million streets and from the amount of goods going into the city we can assume that there are still people living there. Its obvious that the Watch has a great presence there but we hardly see any other townspeople. What we do see are deserted streets and houses and a darkened city so how do the people live in these conditions?

There are so many things yet to be revealed and things that Galen and Raffi don’t know yet. The ending especially opens up a whole new can of worms with more things for me to mull over even after the end of the book. But I guess I don’t have to wait long for the next books because they’ll be releasing through the course of this summer.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed feelings.

Those are my current thoughts on this book. I have so many fixed feelings about this that I honestly didn't know what to rate it.

Let's first look that what the summary on the back of the book says.

The only hope for Anara, a world crumbling to devastation, lies in a master, his apprentice, and the mysteriously powerful and illegal ancient relics they collect. A secret relic with great power has been hidden for centuries, and as Raffi and Galen search for it, they will be hunted, spied on, and tested beyond their limits. For there are monster-some human, some not-that also want the relic's power and will stop at nothing to get it.

For the most part, it follows that story pretty well except that the story doesn't begin with any explanations. The world is already chaotic and the Relic Master and his apprentice are just looking for ancient relics. There is no indication or any hints that these two are the only hope for this fantasy world. But that's probably just a nitpick for me.

The story starts with Raffi and Galen just doing their jobs of finding relics. The meet up with a dwarf who takes one of their relics and will give it back if they help him catch a Sekoi that stole gold from him. And that's their journey except it's not the main focus. Galen apparently lost his powers and now he's going to an ancient city called Tasceron which is where the Emperor used to dwell before the Watch began to hunt the Relic Masters and the world began to move into chaos.

As far as the setting is concerned I'm not sure how this world works. From what I read, it seems that there is a God and other creatures called Makers that are in charge of keeping this world at peace and balance. They have this messenger called the Crow that goes back and forth between the Makers and the Relic Masters and this is where the problem lies. Apparently the Makers left this world and a group called the Watch, which I'm assuming are the villains are trying to destroy the ancient relics and get rid of the Relic Masters.

There is nothing in this book that tells me anything about the conflicting relationship between the Watch and the Relic Masters. Who are the Watch? Why do they want to destroy the ancient relic? Why do they say that the ability of the Relic Masters are just illusions? Do they fear them? What's their deal?

There's also the deal with the seven moons and there not enough explanation about this world and what happened. It says that there are several interpretations from several groups but there really isn't much that is revealed except for what Galen tells us. The Destruction is a period of time when the Emperor died and the Warlords brought chaos to the city and then the world came to be as it is now in the book. I don't know if you understood all that but it tells me that I'm still confused.

Now don't get me wrong. The book is not terrible. I do like it and it is very interesting. My only problem is that the history of this world just doesn't make sense and the cliche of the world relying on Raffi and Galen just didn't seem like it was in the story until the very end of the book.



There are also these quotes that are given right before the chapters that do help but I find myself having a difficult time understanding those and following the story with meh characters.

And speaking of which.



I'm sorry, but I just don't much care for these characters.

Well, I take it back. There are two likable characters. But I'll get to them in a bit.



Raffi is bland. I'm just gonna pull that out there. This character is so boring. He does very poorly on his performance as an apprentice, has little-to-no character, and is pretty dumb.

Another character named Carys is a spy and wants to join their group so she can catch Galen and bring him to the Watchlords. There are a few signs that should have been a clue on what Carys was but he's so dumb that it's shocking to know that he hasn't discovered her secret. When she meets them she is just coincidentally going the same place they're going she asks questions and keeps poking around in their business, AND he senses her listening to their private conversation through a door! COME ON! How many signs do you need? And the worst part is that he didn't even tell his master. But what does he do when he finds out that she is a spy? He gets angry and is shocked that she lied to him but then he decides to trust her anyway. And then he is horrified when she betrays them AGAIN!! Seriously? *sighs* Boy, YOU ARE STUPID!!!

Granted, it doesn't help because there are sections when Carys writes in her journal and she mentions that she is part of the Watch and I'm just reading and waiting for them to find out.

Carys is not that interesting. She is just hunting Galen and wants the reward for herself and deceives Raffi and Galen and I'm cool with that. But then she sees their abilities and begins to have doubts and is wondering if the Watch are telling their people the truth. Then she goes back and forth. She's suppose to be tough but all I see is a little girl who just snaps and stamps her feet if they get suspicious of her.

Well duh! Of course they're going to be suspicious of people. They're keepers for crying out loud! They are constantly hunted and their abilities are illegal. Hello girl!!!!!! You should know this.

ARGH!!!!

But despite my anger, there are a few likable people.



Galen is freaking cool and even though he isn't a nice guy he has so much character and I found myself liking him. He's grumpy, doesn't sleep, has a short temper, keeps secrets, recklessly puts himself in danger, and lost his power as a Relic Master, or a keeper of the Order, and he's upset about that. Since Carys introduced herself and he knew that she was a spy and he USED HER!!! Hahahahaha!!! Carys, U IS OWNED! He knew what she was and didn't tell his apprentice because his apprentice would have given it away and because he says so!! You go Galen!

There's the Sekoi that helps Raffi and Galen and he's also cool. He has a love for gold, gets excited, is suspicious of people that SHOULD be watched, and he is cold when he needs to be. He too is suspicious of Carys and he makes cold remarks to her and seems to be the only person with common sense and I'm here agreeing with him. In the book, the Sekoi has no name and is always called it or the Sekoi. It doesn’t even have an identity, not a male, not a female, not both, not anything! (I just assumed it was a he) Is it bad? I guess not but it would be better if it had a name instead of being known as the Sekoi. I’m sorry, I just don’t like having a likable character being called it or the Sekoi.

For a story that seemed really good and interesting it left me more frustrated and confused more than anything. I really tried to like it. I really did. I did not hate it by all means (I did not hate it at all) it's just that I have so many questions and the characters weren't as likable or as investing as I hoped. I just hope that the next one will answer all my questions and clear things up for me. I will finish this series.

[Rickard Dahlgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lättläst, spännande fantasy om magiker som letar efter Kråkan/The Crow i hopp om en ljusare framtid. Fanns en del potential till långsamma, episka berättelser men författaren drar snabbt igenom händelser som annars kunder förlängas. Detta skapar en snabb handling utan större tankeverksamhet. Helt godkänd läsning trots allt.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)

From start to finish, I was enthralled by this book. It is just sort of thing I really wish I could have stumbled upon as a kid, but am still completely delighted to have discovered now.

I loved everything, especially the plotting, the pacing, and the world-building. The dilemmas that characters faced were intense, powerful, and believable. In terms of Galen, Raffi, and Carys, there was no way to keep from feeling for them as they struggled to overcome great hardships because of themselves, one another, and the situations they were thrust into. They were all quite likable too,and I cannot wait to read more about the Sekoi and his people.

Although I'm usually not a fan of pages that consist only of fragments from some non-existent text, scroll, or tome, I think The Dark City actually benefited from including so many of them since they actually added or enhanced the sections they proceeded. As both the keeper and apprentice headed toward their goal, the world became more and more vivid even as it became more and more complicated in terms of factions, magic, and the relics that need to be gathered in order to save the world from itself as well as a good percentage of its own people. There are a lot of mysteries left to puzzle out, and I am thrilled to find yet another YA novel that was about mentors, students, friendship, trust, and a really, really unique setting. The way Fisher combined technology, magic, science fiction, and fantasy was simply terrific and so well-done.

In conclusion, an excellent first book and one that ought to have come out in the states a long, long time ago. I think fans of any kind of fantasy will find something to enjoy here and ought to seriously consider taking a look at The Dark City. It is a short read and a vastly entertaining one. I for one can't wait to read the rest of the Relic Master books and then as much Catherine Fisher as I can get my hands on.

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself thoroughly engrossed in this tale of fantasy/scifi blend. Usually, I get annoyed by authors who mix magical elements in otherwise supposedly a science fiction world. It always seems to be a cop-out: when something cannot be sufficiently explained with scientific theories or technical knowledge, we just throw in some magical powers and voila, the story can move on. Fisher did something different here: she created a world of magical elements with a few technological gadgets thrown in here and there. The little guessing games of what each object is (an easy one is a pair of binoculars made with the "unfamiliar" materials - plastic? -) entertains and intrigues the reader.

I would have liked to see the Dark City developed a bit more -- the city is too vaguely described and I simply couldn't figure out why there are still people in this place since the readers are not shown how the commerce works to support such a place and its inhabitants.

Still, can't wait for the book to be released (May) so I can promote it to my young readers and can't wait to read the 3 sequels which will come out in quick succession: June, July, and August!

(Based on the Advanced Readers Copy)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Zemba
Modern Fantasy

Relic Master - The Dark City is about a world called Anara. That is where Galen, a master of the Order and his sixteen year old apprentice, Raffi live. They are collecting ancient relics which are forbidden. The relics are illegal. The Watch is out to put a stop to any relic masters that are left. The relics give power to the masters if they use them for good purposes. Galen and Raffi are tricked into going on a quest. They are betrayed, locked up and spied on.

The Dark City is filled with magic, monsters and the unknown. It is captivating. Like most fantasy stories, this one is full of danger, power, and mystery.

Relic Master the Dark City is the first in the Relic Master series. After reading it, you will want to continue the journey into the other books of the series.

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Dark City takes place in fictional Anara, where strange, magical relics contain unimaginable power, and where the beings who made them have long gone, leaving the world to be destroyed by the non-believers and skeptics. Following Relic Master Galen and his apprentice Raffi, we learn about the world on the edge of destruction whose only hope lies on the shoulders of the old Order. The problem is, members of the Order have been hunted to near extinction by the Watch, and Galen and Raffi are on their list as well. With Galen and Raffi on a quest to regain something taken from Galen, they deal with the Watch, spies, and the hope that the makers will return one day.

Plot

The plot is like something that has been done before, but not very well by others. It was done kind of “meh” in this book. The main characters are searching for a certain item that will solve all of their problems, and along the way meet certain obstacles that they manage to overcome by the end of the book/series. Same old, same old. There's not much to say about the plot except it’s something that isn’t all that complex or unique. There’s no glaring plot holes, to say the least, so The Dark City’s got that going for it.

Writing

The writing, much like the plot, was okay and lacked any major flaws that would make the book unreadable. But it was still about average. It thankfully lacks the painful amount of unnecessary commas. A strange thing about the writing is how it switches between the characters. Even though the book is in third person, certain passages focus on one character's thoughts/feelings. The book seems to switch between focus at random, but it wasn't too confusing. I had a real problem in the beginning of the book because of the pacing. It very slow in the beginning, and it was only towards the middle of the book that the pace really picked up. It wasn't glacially slow, but I felt like it could have been done a little better.

The only other thing about the writing that bugged me was the descriptions of buildings/cities/the entire world. I just couldn't picture the structures very well. Whether this is my fault or the book's, you'll have to read to find out. Also, the world building could have been better. The start of the book doesn't have a lot of description of the world, but it gets better as the book goes on, though it could be much, much better. The actual worldbuilding is the worst, as it’s just a mishmash of words random things that are never explained. The reader learns basic history about Anara but nothing else, really.

One thing about the writing that I had a love/hate relationship with was the lack of character description. The characters appearances weren't really described except for vague things like hair color. This meant that I could project different races besides white onto the characters. For example, I saw Raffi as a black boy with dreads, Galen as a Native American, and Carys as Asian. The only bad thing about this is that people see characters who aren't described as POC as white, with the white-as-default mindset.

Characters

There are about four main characters in the book; Raffi, Galen, Carys, and the Sekoi, in that order of prevalence. Raffi is the foremost main character, with most of the book surrounding him. Each character seems to have some personality to differ them from each other, except for Raffi, our main character. Galen is strict and harsh, rarely looking on the bright side and very pessimistic at times. Galen places a great deal of trust in the Gods which seems to be where he can find his hope. Carys is very observational and quiet and she seems to stick more to watching than reading. The Sekoi is very peculiar in its non-human ways and seems to have dry humor and sarcastic thinking.

Raffi just doesn't really have a personality that stands out a lot. It's a shame, because the other characterizations are done well enough to feel a difference between the characters. In all honesty, Raffi's bland personality is what gives him a different feel from the other characters, though I don't think that was Fisher's intention.

Things I Liked

I didn’t really like anything. There is nothing that I can think about specifically that I can say “hey, I kinda liked that”. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not good either.

Things I Didn't Like

There was a large lack of description in The Dark City. Barely anything was given any description. The antagonist is “the Watch”, an ominous group that apparently are trying to kill the keepers of the Order, another group which we know little about. We never even get a concrete explanation about why the Watch is hunting down and killing the keepers! There is also a huge lack of explanation as to what the keepers even are, what the relics are (though I’m sure you can guess), or even what they do. Do they use magic, or some type of psychic energy? Who knows? Definitely not the reader!

I did not like the worldbuilding, or lack of it, actually. The reader gets little tidbits of information, little nuggets of history, but the world in this book is largely bare of any real information. There’s no talks about different cultures, how people live, or even what the religious practices are. This book should be a guide on how not to world build.

Diversity

Galen is disabled because of his leg, I suppose. Two female characters are given names; one is another keeper, whose name I forgot, and the other is Carys, whom I don’t really care about. The first lady has barely any time in the book and Carys is a halfway decent female character (despite my neutral feelings towards her). None of the characters are given a canonical race, nor is it alluded to in the technical sense. Characters are described by their hair color at times, but I’m pretty sure they’re all supposed to be white. Despite this, I imagined Raffi as a black boy with dreads, Galen as a Native American man, Carys as an East Asian girl, and the keeper lady as South Asian. I imagine them this way, but don’t get your hopes up for any actual characters of color, they’re probably supposed to be all white.

Overall

I can’t say I feel any particular way about this book. It was alright but not something I’d read again for fun, but I didn’t struggle too much to get through it. The book was pretty slow in the beginning, and a lot wasn't really explained. The writing is alright, the plot is a little tired, but at least it hasn't really been done a thousand times in YA literature, at least not to my knowledge. I already have the second book, and I hope it’s better than the first.

Here is a link to my notes

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a MG book than a YA, and much tamer than Incarceron was... but still, a fun, quick read filled with action. It’s not fully fantasy nor sci-fi but some blend of the two. I adore Catherine Fisher’s world building and honestly that was my main reason for picking up this series, which is some of her earlier writing (compared to Incarceron).

There wasn’t very much character development, but surprisingly enough that worked for this book. I feel like Raffi ended up being the shallowest character in the book, but Galen and Carys (and the Sekoi — I loved the addition of cat people!!) made up for his lackluster character. (Raffi always seemed to be either angry or surprised and not much in between.)

Definitely going to continue this series.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The story took forever to get interesting and the book in and of itself dragged on. The characters were whiny and shallow and I didn't really enjoy the story overall. Carys was the one good part about this, I really enjoyed her as a character and her moral journey along the way. The last 75 pages or so were pretty good, but not good enough to continue with the series.

[Odin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful start to a great series of books!

[cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review may also be found on A Thousand Little Pages.

Relic Master Galen Harn and his apprentice Raffi know that all is not well the moment they set foot in the settlement that had boldly requested their help a few days before. Drawn by curiosity and the possibility of discovering a relic, the pair nevertheless decides to venture into the castle-like fortress that is the settlement’s stronghold and soon come to regret the decision. After an unpleasant meeting with the leader Alberic, Galen and Raffi are off once again -- this time in search of a thieving Sekoi that had ravaged the settlement and the Crow, who, if found, would prove to be very helpful to Galen indeed. Carys, an orphaned girl in search of her father, soon join the group on their journey to the dark city of Tasceron, where both the Sekoi and the Crow were rumored to be found. However, the Watch is always present at every turn; their deception knows no bounds.

Having read and tremendously enjoyed Ms. Fisher’s Incarceron duology, I was, to say the last, excited to get my hands on the Relic Master series. While Incarceron seems to be geared more toward young adults, The Dark City reads more like a middle grade novel to me, albeit an intense and still relatively interesting one.

The world-building present in The Dark City is subtle and yet comprehensive. The use of magic by Galen and Raffi, while not extensively clarified, was explained enough to be understandable and not overwhelming. The cast of characters were quite darling, also, with their own little quirks and secrets. Even though the plot tended to drag noticeably in the beginning and middle parts of the novel, I think the ending was a success overall.

Book one of the Relic Master series, The Dark City will appeal to middle grade fantasy lovers and readers who are willing to plunge into the fantastical world of the magic-wielding Order and the seemingly omniscient Watch.

Book Source: ARC via TeensReadToo

[Stacey O'Neale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was completed by Amanda Harbin, staff reviewer with the YA Fantasy Guide.

Relic Master is a fun and easy to read adventure story. The main characters are reminiscent of the Harry Potter series in the sense that the story follows a boy and his older mentor. Like the Harry Potter series this book is accessible to both boys and girls! Don’t be misled the similarities to the Harry Potter series do not go much further. The story is simple and easy to follow, but also very engaging. The characters are likeable, fun and understandable. I enjoyed this book very much. The author created a beautiful but dangerous world in which many different species interact with the world and with each other in a way that creates and propels the reader through their exciting adventure.

Relic Master is one of the most unique fantasy/steampunk stories I have read in quite sometime. I not only enjoyed the adventure and pace of the story I also enjoyed the moral of the story. The author did an excellent job of moralizing the story without shoving her beliefs down the readers throat. The ideas within the story are well executed within the structure of the storyline so that the reader learns something, and has a good time as well. I have already picked up the second book in the series from the library as well as another book by this author. I highly recommend picking this book up for a surprising and fun adventure!

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an effort to read outside of my comfort zone and with help from a friend I picked up this book from the library.

I found it very engaging. The characters are very well described and the surrounding are so well described that I felt like I was really there.

Galen Harn is the keeper (Relic Master) of the lost relics. Unfortunately, the Order of the Keepers has been disband and are now considered outlaws. He has to stay under the radar and not let anyone know who he is even though most villagers already know and keep his secret.

His adventure to find and understand each of the relics it full of pit falls and danger. He and his apprentice, Raffael Morel (Raffi), travel for days to find and rescue one of the relics in the city of Maker Terrain. The twists and turns along the way make this book a good first in a series book.

I will for sure be looking for more books in this series.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dark City by Catherine Fisher is really good read. It is about a crippled master, Galen, with a young apprentice with magical abilities, Raffi. They are part of an organization called the Order who are tasked to collect and protect civilians from the power of them and their powers gifted by the Makers help them do this. But sadly enough Galen had an accident ridding him of both his ability to walk right and his magical abilities gifted by the Makers. Twenty years ago an order called the Watch swept over the land nearly killing all in the Order except for a few plunging the world of Anara into darkness.
This book is a good read, it has action, suspense, and well developed characters with a well rounded plot. It leaves enough on edge to keep readers reading onto the next book in the series. For me it is a great fantasy book and put it comparable to greats, in my mind, like Rick Riordan. I would recommend but not to those who do not like or enjoy the fantasy genre.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for all age groups. It has advenure, danger, and magic.

Galen is a relic master. He takes care of the left over "magical" technology that was left behind when "the masters" left his planet. He communes with the planet and is able to handle the mystical objects. He has an apprentice named Raffi, who is using the magic of communicating with the world in his master's place.

They begin an adventure that will lead them to old relics, enemies in disguise, and new friends.

I received my copy from the Library Thing Early Reviewers program. Well worth the read, I plan on continuing with this series,

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous read! It had a feel of a mix between the Seven Realms series, the Chaos Walking (knife of never letting go) series, and the House of Power series! A must read! I can't wait to read the sequels!

[Larry B Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It is well writen and the charactors are great. Its fast paced action keeps your attention and you don't want to put it down. I can not wait too read the next book in the series. This is a great read.

[Ash Conklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kind of disappointed by this book. I read Incarceron and Sapphique which were both amazing so I had high expectations for this series. I didn't feel that wowed by it. I think the plot was interesting, but it wasn't a book that captivated my attention the way Fisher's other books did.

[Gelo Salinio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great adventure novel, I would really recommend this adventure novel to people even if it's a little old (^U^).

[Melissa E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Please note - the spoiler cuts in this review are covering some major plot/character details. If you are the type of person that absolutely does NOT want to know what's coming until you read it for yourself, do not click them.)

Oh, Catherine Fisher! How I worship at this woman's writing altar. She is so ridiculously creative that her books defy classification. You can see that I tagged this one fantasy, science fiction, dystopian...and it is a bit of each of those, without ever being completely any of them. We have fantasy in the sense that there is very real magic, science fiction is present in the multiple moons and existence of space travel, and a dash of dystopia in that we have a once vibrant world slowly crumbling into oblivion. It is an ominous, foreboding setting that I still can't get out of my head. I'm so glad that I have the rest of the series on my shelf waiting to be read!

Setting, without a doubt, is what Ms. Fisher does best. Her worlds are vividly alive, conveyed with an elegant simplicity that I haven't read anywhere else. She doesn't wax poetic about the House of Trees for sixteen pages because she doesn't have to. She gives us this:

"The keeper lifted the globe. It was brilliant now, pulsing with white light. And they saw that the walls around them were no longer made of soil; instead they were strangely woven together; and as Raffi rubbed the dust off he saw that these were branches, hundreds of branches of different trees that had grown and tangled together. Galen held the globe high and they saw a vast doorway in front of them, its doorposts and lintel made of living calarna trees, black with age, and the mark of the Makers, the seven moons, was carved deep in the scented wood."

And that is enough...it's just enough description to get your own imagination going. I absolutely love when an author is capable of getting their vision across while simultaneously leaving room for the reader's mind to paint its own pictures. That is truly a subtle art, and Catherine Fisher can pull it off like a master. She describes Tasceron, the Wounded City, in a similar fashion - conveying the sense of this shattered, metaphysically bleeding place without ever descending into purple prose or excessive detail. It really is fantastic narration, in my opinion. ^_^

The story itself is fast paced and full of layers, another signature of Fisher's writing. Nothing is ever quite what it seems, from characters to history. The world of Anara is a complex and damaged place, its true backstory hidden among the chants and litanies of the Order that are sprinkled throughout the book. Gradually, with these hints and the unfurling of the events in the story, you come to realize that Anara is actually a distant planet colonized by space travelers long ago, who somehow lost contact their parent world. Now, Anara is being torn apart by forces both human and metaphysical - the Order, magic users tied closely to the land, are on the run from the Watch, a military style "police force" of sorts that we do not discover much about in this particular book. We know that the Watch is powerful, they take young children from their families to be conditioned into soldiers, and they are greatly feared by the common folk of the land.

There are also "relics" scattered about Anara, strange remnants of the Makers that crackle with dangerous, little understood remains of old technology. Keepers, members of the Order, are sometimes able to harness the power of these relics...and sometimes they are destroyed by them. Galen, one of the main characters, is powerless throughout most of the book due to an accident with an unknown relic before the story begins. He and his apprentice, Raffi, are on the run from the Watch and trying to find some way to cure Galen and restore his powers. Along the way they are joined by Carys, a scrappy young girl who is actually a spy sent by the Watch to capture Galen. Galen was my favorite character by far, and I would argue that this is primarily his story, even though much of it is told through the eyes of Raffi or Carys. He is a broken man, once a revered Relic Master with untold powers, now forced to rely on the skills of his apprentice. Galen pursues a cure with almost fanatical conviction, certain that somehow or some way, the Makers have left something behind that can fix him. Eventually, he is proven right - in the final chapters that were so good they pushed this book from three to four stars for me. I must confess, I am an absolute sucker for this type of character.

Raffi, thus far, is your standard wide-eyed apprentice type. Charmingly naïve, he grumbles about his student duties but is nonetheless devoted to his master. It will be interesting to see how Fisher develops him throughout the series, because she unfailingly applies that skill with layers to her characters as well. Carys is a little more complex, struggling with divided loyalties, and by the end of the story we are still wondering exactly where she is going to stand when the chips are down. I look forward to seeing more of both of these characters, but Galen is definitely the star!

This is truly an adventure story, focused on the struggles of the characters and the mysteries of Anara's past. There is absolutely no romance whatsoever, so if that is your main interest in the YA genre you will be disappointed. This is a four book series, however, so there is definitely a possibility that such an element will show up later ; we shall see. I actually really enjoy a story that can hold its own without relying on romantic tension or love triangles, so the lack of it didn't bother me in the least.

Finally, I have to address the similarities between this book and Fisher's masterpiece, Incarceron. Although the Relic Master series was released after Incarceron in the US, it was actually written first and published in the UK in 1998. I read Incarceron first, since I live in America, and that was the book that actually introduced me to Fisher's writing and made me such a fangirl of hers. The Relic Master series is clearly the garden that sprouted Incarceron...from the similar wasted, desolate settings to the similar names (Tasceron), that is pretty impossible to miss. I can also draw several parallels between the characters of Galen and Jared.

Not that I am accusing Ms. Fisher of simply repeating herself! There are many distinctions in the two universes, and the eventual Big Twist of Incarceron is entirely different from that in Anara. It is actually quite interesting to see how her style has developed and matured since then, her skill with layers and subtle description is far more evident in the later work. I think Incarceron is better, much more tightly plotted and streamlined, but that is hardly surprising since that series consists of only two books and Relic Master is four. Anyway, I did not call this out to say that the two are a copy of one another, just definitely be prepared for some major echoes if you have read Incarceron & Sapphique. Ms. Fisher is dealing with some similar themes and ideas, just in a very different way.

In short, this was a fantastic book and I can't wait to see how the rest of this series goes! Catherine Fisher continues to amaze me with her imagination - she can echo it all she likes. :)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonder worker and an apprentice are wandering through a sparsely populated, almost desolate landscape, bearing dangerous secrets and in fear of both strangers and of a ruthless authority.

But someone is following their trail with motives of her own. And then a horseman appears to ask for the wonder worker’s help. How will Galen and his young apprentice Raffi respond to this and other potential threats?

“The Relic Master was the first book I wrote as a full-time writer,” the author tells us, “and I think a lot of pent-up energy went sweeping into it.” That transferred energy is evident right from the start and continues right to the end of this first instalment.

The Relic Master conforms to the classic quest trope, but instead of a sought-for object the search involves a mythical figure and perhaps even the restoration of lost magical powers. For the now impotent but still strict Master Galen is reliant on Raffi’s emergent abilities to negotiate the hostile territories they wander through, attempting to locate the relics of a disappeared civilisation, inhabited by scattered societies reliant on a subsistence economy.

We discover that these relics, evidently powerful technological devices, are scattered remains of a superior human society that colonised the planet Anara eons ago but which succumbed to a devastating disaster, leaving fragmented knowledge maintained by a so-called Order of wonder workers. But then there’s the Watch, a repressive group who rule by fear and coercion, opposed to the Order; and there’s also the Sekoi, the indigenous people of Anara, tall seven-fingered beings with cat-like features. The scene is set for jeopardy, conflict, betrayal and the possible achievement of a perilous quest.

I’m always reluctant to get immersed in High Fantasy: amongst many familiar tropes and clichés there are usually so many unfamiliar names to negotiate, often attached to individuals whose characters are insufficiently fleshed out. I’m glad to say that’s not the case here: in fact our main characters not only have recognisable names but are immediately identifiable amongst the people whom they encounter during the quest. For example, Galen shares his name with an classical Greek physician and philosopher, the put-upon Raffi derives his name from Raphael, Carys (the stranger who attached herself to the pair) gets hers from a Welsh root meaning ‘love’, and the diminutive robber leader Alberic translates as ‘elf-king’.

I also wonder about the origin of the Sekoi, the planet’s displaced inhabitants. Is their name related to the Greek term (σηκός in the singular) for the sacred enclosures or sanctuaries open to the sky in ancient Greek temples, implying that their nature sees the land as sacred, not the wasteland the human colonisers have made it?

Not only names but also landscapes feel recognisable, unsurprising as Fisher herself says she was inspired by places such as “Glastonbury, Wells, and whole swathes of Mendip,” while Tasceron, the ‘wounded city’ that represents the trio’s goal, “is a mixture of Oxford and a lot of Rome.” Doubtless by the series’ end the reasons for such familiarity will become clearer.

The Relic Master was a surprisingly immersive read, it’s energy taking me on a bleak journey through desolate and wasted lands, with a trio becoming a quartet of oddly matched and flawed individuals descending a Dantean labyrinth. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated – how will the unequal, almost abusive relationship of master and pupil develop, what of the ambivalent roles of Carys and the Sekoi individual? I would be curious to see where the next stage might take me.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galen is a Relic Master. He commands the old technology that imbues him with magical powers. His 16 yr old apprentice Raffi is learning how to control the magic that he has as well. Their magic allows them to speak with animals and plants, to set protection webs that warn them when intruders are following, and many other magical abilities. Unfortunately the Masters are being hunted by the the Watch, the new governing body. The Watch does not like the Masters and want to see all of them killed and the relics destroyed.
This story has a bit of a rough start. I actually listened to the first 5 chapters twice. It felt as if something was missing from the story. Like the story actually started in the middle. Once I got the hang of Anara and the way it works, I was finally able to follow the story.
While there are many different characters in the story, four are central to the story. Galen and Raffi you already know. I don’t necessary like Galen. He is grumpy and given over to fits of anger and morose. He also has a bit of a suicidal complex. Raffi is a fun and flighty boy. I really do not see him as 16. He definitely feels more like a 10 yr old. He is very polite to his master. He isn’t sassy and doesn’t act like he knows everything like a teen. Raffi also doesn’t show any interest in Caris. Raffi doesn’t even notice that she is a girl. All of these things make me feel like Raffi isn’t really 16. Caris is the third character. It is hard to decide what I feel about her. We get to know her through her journal, but she isn’t a very sympathetic character. Also the book is so short, not much is actually used to tell about Caris. Our final important character is the Sequoy. We don’t even know his name because his people do not give their names. He is a very interesting character. I think he is some kind of an animal. I am a bit confused about what this characters are. Are they animals? People? Who knows.
The basis of this story is crazy!! I love this idea. But I cannot really talking about it much without giving too much away. I am excited to continue reading this story just to find out what will happen next. So very cool.

G - violence but no blood.

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love when media, not just books, is focused on platonic relationships, and mentor and apprentice relationships are something I ADORE. I always picture them to be cute and wholesome but this book couldn't be further from the truth.

Galen isn't uncaring towards Raffi but he is so bitter towards him and makes it seem like he's dragging him around most of the time. I don't know whether this was supposed to be a clever, intentional subversion but it's really interesting to see two people in this dynamic portrayed as such. I really liked both of their characters individually (though Raffi ended up being my fav, sorry.)
You do see why Galen is the way he is, anyways.

I also really liked Carys though I was kind of split on her being a spy, but I think me being mixed on her action in the story is an indicator of good writing.

Besides the characters, the first third was kind of a slog and had me debating whether or not I should drop the book or not. But by the end, I was really looking forward to the next books in the series. An author's writing style is a big indicator if I will like a book and honestly this author's didn't fully capture me, but I think my enjoyment of the book mostly comes from me liking Raffi and Galen. The lore in this book, while drip-fed a lot of the time, is also super cool.

TLDR: Really intriguing dynamic between the two main characters, has some fascinating lore although the first part of the book wasn't too enjoyable for me as well as the general writing style. Still ended up really liking this book and I'm excited to read more.

[Kyle Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Dark City," by Catherine Fisher is a mesmerizing, intriguing tale about loyalty, magic, and legacies. The book is about Galen and his mission to regain his magical powers back. Since his powers are gone he relies on his apprentice Raffi to protect them from the evil Watch who have taken over the city. Galen and Raffi's relationship is very unique. Galen treats Raffi horribly even when Raffi is like a caregiver to him. Galen doesn't treat Raffi very kindly, but at the same time, he also teaches Raffi about the relics and how to do good magic. I really liked the character Carys. You never know which side she is on since she grew up and worked for the watch, but she's currently with the Relic Masters. Carys is also a very relatable character. She has been taught a certain moral, all her life. And then it turns out that was all a lie. This makes her decisions seem arbitrary, but really are backed by a deranged mindset. I enjoyed how there were journal entries of characters. They helped you understand more about the story and the characters true emotions. The journals also tied in nicely with the story because it displayed how certain characters viewed others. I gave this novel 4 stars because it had an interesting idea of relics and magic, and the plot overall was enjoyable. The characters and relationships in the story were also fun and unique. I took off a star because the pacing of the story was off and some plot twists were a little predictable. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to people who like fantasy magic novels.

[Anna Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

My feelings on this book are very weird, I really didn't like most of it and the bits I did like weren't that great either. I'm not a huge fan of this author because the writing is very inconsistent. It's really all over the place and doesn't make much sense.

I enjoyed the story overall but felt a lot was left out. She doesn't get detailed at all in her books and it's about as vague as it can get. A lot of the conversations were very inconsistent as well, some would include what he says or she says, but for the most part, you're left guessing on who's talking. I couldn't tell you what a single character looks like past basics, like hair color and height. She leaves no room to form feelings for the characters she created, none of them grow, and none of them are described well enough to even know if they've grown. I understand she's British and a lot of her wording makes no sense, but there really is a lot going on and none of it I felt was as good as it should have been.

I will say the story itself is good, and that's the only thing that kept me reading it, I really wouldn't recommend this and honestly I couldn't recommend this author to anyone. I just don't understand her writing and it makes me more frustrated trying to read it.

[Jai · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 I'd say.. very fast read but wish world building was further developed than it was.

Review from my book blog (wordpress / livejournal)

I was offered a copy of this book from the publisher at the same time they pitched a giveaway for the whole series on my blog. I’d never read Catherine Fisher before, but I had heard murmurings about Incarceron, and I remember a glowing review from the Book Smugglers. Intrigued by the premise and this praise for the author, I said yes. Although this book is out now, my review is of an ARC copy.

The Premise: Raffi is a teenager who lives on Anara, a world with seven moons. A long time ago, it is said, the Makers came from the sky, and made the seas, the salt and soil, the trees and the animals. They left a long time ago, but they left ancient relics with sublime powers behind on Anara. The Keepers are those who safeguard the relics, but twenty years ago, their Order was destroyed. Now those of them left are in hiding, while those in power, The Watch, continue to root them out. Raffi is an apprentice Keeper, learning magic under the tutelage of his gruff mentor, Galen. They have been careful for a long time, but recently Galen has been reckless and unhappy. Raffi is concerned when a man shows up at their secret hideout, asking for their help. Things don’t seem right, but Galen accepts the job anyway. This kicks off a journey that takes them far from home in search of a powerful relic that could save the world. If they get to it before anyone else does.

My Thoughts: This is the type of story that just begins and lets the world building occur organically. People spoke of Keepers and Watchers and Makers without qualifying what they were, and I gleaned their meaning from the words themselves and the context. Often clues about the world come as quotes from religious texts and scholars of Anara that serve as placeholders between chapters. In order to review the book I had to at least explain what the Keepers and Watchers were, but I did leave a lot out so that people can figure out things on their own. Part of the charm of the story is the puzzle that is Anara, although this technique also has its drawbacks (I’ll come back to that later).

The Dark City is told in the third person but the focus is mostly on the teenager Raffi, occasionally switching focus to a Watcher that is following the two of them across Anara. My ARC was 372 pages, but I easily read the story in a few hours. What made this such a fast read was that the language is very simple and readable. The writing and the story’s focus primarily on adventure puts the story on a middle grade to young adult level. I think I could easily recommend this to my ten year old nephew and be fine, but an older teen (not to mention me), could also read this without feeling bored.

I think the simplicity of the language brings to mind the writing of Megan Whalen Turner, particularly in comparison to her book, The Thief, which also a “journeying in search of a special item” story. In terms of characters, The Dark City doesn’t have the same complexity though. It may be because the story has been broken up into four installments, but in The Dark City, we only begin to go beyond the surface of the main characters. By far the most complex is Galen, Raffi’s tutor, who is very obviously scarred by something that happened to him. Raffi is his worrying, cautious apprentice who we get the story from, but he’s a simpler to understand character. The Watcher is the third member of their group, and their character is one that gives us a glimpse of the other side and what the Watchers believe. There is an interesting dynamic once the Watcher shows up because of the web of lies and suspicion that results, but it never becomes truly diabolical.

I think that the story is more plot centric than it was character centric. And the plot surrounds the mystery of Anara. Throughout the story I wondered why the Watchers originally attacked the Order and the original Anaran rulers, and who the original Makers were. The Order of the Keepers could do magic, and Raffi does show magical ability throughout the story, but the relics that he and Galen safeguard seem awfully familiar. I am certain the relics were technological in nature, but Raffi and Galen treated them as powerful sources of magic. I was very curious about that – are these relics really advanced technology or magic? If it’s not magic, how is the magic that the Keepers can do (not to mention the magic that the race of Cat people that also live on Anara can do) explained? Can they be both? This is where the drawback in the storytelling comes in. I think that it is the intent to hold back information from the reader and to give small pieces of the puzzle as the series goes on, but it can be frustrating. I am used to having my world building established within the first book of a series, but in this series, it is the draw for continuing. A great device for reluctant readers (I also noticed that each chapter ended in a mini-cliffhanger, another technique for keeping a reader reading), but it can feel a little manipulative.

Overall: This is an entertaining adventure story that should appeal to young readers. I love stories that straddle both magic and technology in their world building so that really appealed to me, but I did feel a little frustrated that some information is held back about Anara. This is a technique works for getting reluctant readers into a story, and this is a book whose audience is younger than I am (I’d put this in a high MG to YA range), but I didn’t expect it to work on me too. I feel compelled to keep reading the series just to figure out what’s going on.