Relic Master (The Book of the Crow) — (UK: 1998-2001, US: 2011) Young adult. This series was previously published in the UK as The Book of the Crow. It was released as Relic Master in the US in 2011. Publisher: Raffi is apprenticed to the Relic Master, Galen, whose task it is to keep safe the relics of a bygone age. But his powers are weakening and he and Raffi set off to meet the makers in the City of Crow to find out why. Will they survive? Or will the ever-present Watch eliminate them.
   
 The Dark City
The Dark City is the first of a four-book series by Catherine Fisher published years ago in England and now being released (in its entirety rather than year by year) to the US. Classified as young adult, I’d say it skews toward the upper end of YA while also being one of those YA novels that, though it might read a little thin to adults, can absolutely be enjoyed by them.
The books are set in the near-medieval world of Anara, which is filled with the ruins and artifacts of a highly technological society destroyed by cataclysm a while ago. Myths have grown up about the time of the Makers who “came from the sky on stairways of ice”; of the Crow, the messenger between the Makers and people; of Kest, the Maker who betrayed the others; and of the fall of Tasceron, center of Maker life. The myths have been kept alive as a quasi-religion by the Order of Keepers. The Keepers have mystical powers, along with a tiny bit (often partial or warped) of knowledge with regard to the technological artifacts from the Maker’s time. These artifacts are now seen by the general populace as magical/religious objects — and are often feared, a logical response as many times the found “relics” are dangerous due to malfunction, age, or simple unintentional misuse. Once upon the time the Order thrived and was greatly respected, the Keeper called in to remove relics and their “curses.” Recently, the governing agency — the Watch — has outlawed the Order, decimating its ranks and driving it underground.
The Dark City begins by introducing the reader to two hunted Keepers. Galen is the master, though his powers have been lost in an accident with a relic. Raffi is his young apprentice, who must now step up his abilities if he and Galen are to succeed in their quest to enter the dark city of Tasceron, where Galen believes he can find a cure — so long as they can survive the city itself, which is filled with members of the Watch, monsters, and dangers from the long-ago past. On their way they are joined by Carys, a young female member of the Watch carrying her own secrets and one of the Sekoi, the native race of the world.
The Dark City is a fast, mostly gripping read. It bleeds tension throughout nearly the entire novel, beginning with the rocky relationship between Galen and Raffi, one that has only recently grown worse as Galen takes out his frustration at his loss of power on his young apprentice. Carys’ arrival, and Galen’s suspicious attitude towards her, ratchets up the interpersonal tension more, and then the arrival of the Sekoi does the same. We end up with four people traveling together, some of whom trust some of the others, some of whom seemingly trust none of the others. And the reader is well aware that there are good reasons for mistrust among all of them. While the plot moves along smoothly and quickly, with a few suspenseful scenes, this underlying character-driven tension is perhaps the best part of the book as it runs constantly throughout and drives much of the action.
The characters are well and concisely drawn, for the most part. Carys’ characterization is especially strong and is helped by Fisher’s choice of telling part of Carys’ story in her own voice through a journal. Determined, clever, wry, independent, she is an extremely likable character and the book really comes alive when she is on stage. She, more than the others, grows and changes throughout the novel, and if the growth is a bit predictable, it is no less enjoyable. Raffi is a bit static through much of the novel (not a complaint, merely an observation), but he does develop as time goes on, if more slowly and in smaller steps than Carys. By the end it is clear his experiences and Carys have had a major impact on him, something I assume continues in the second book. The Sekoi gets less page time but is an intriguing character due to his unclear motivations and the general mystery surrounding his race.
The backstory behind the contemporary action works quite well — how the Maker’s arrival from space, their technologies, and their subsequent “fall” were transformed into myth (the book is interspersed with snippets of these myths). It has a bit of feel of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern — that movement from science to “magic” over long periods of time. And for old-timers, it even had a bit of a feel of Andre Norton to it along those same lines. The magic of the Keepers is a bit fuzzy, but I’m hoping it gets clarified as the series continues.
I sped through The Dark City easily, enjoying it every step of the way, and I’m looking forward quite a bit to reading the next three. And since all four are out, I can do that without waiting years in between each installment — another plus. Highly recommended. —Bill Capossere
 The Lost Heiress
The Lost Heiress, Catherine Fisher’s follow-up to The Dark City, picks up the action a short while after the close of the first book. Galen, Raffi, and the Sekoi have left the city of Tasceron behind, while Carys has returned to the Watch. The book opens with a bang when Raffi and the others steal back the blue box relic from Alberic, the dwarf thief-lord who had stolen it from them in book one. Some time after that, Carys informs them that the Watch has discovered that the Emperor — long ago deposed — has a living granddaughter. The story then splits in two. One half follows Galen, Raffi, and the Sekoi as they try to find the titular character, all while avoiding both the Watch and Alberic, who is hot on their trail seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Carys is posted to the Tower of Song, a center of Watch activity and recordkeeping, and once the summer palace of the Emperor. There she hopes to learn more about her own past, even as she wrestles with just which side she is on: The Order of the Keepers, the Watch, or simply her own.
While still a solid read, The Lost Heiress doesn’t quite match the excellence of the first Relic Master book. One problem is the premise spelled out by the title. The lost heir to a crown sought by one side to reinstate and the other to kill is a pretty familiar plot point, and while it only is the heavy focus of action toward the very end, it does drive most of what the characters do, and so the whole book is a bit undermined by the cliché. Another problem is the book’s episodic nature, which has Raffi’s group traveling nearly non-stop and so we as readers seldom stay in one place long enough to get a feel for it. The quick movement from one setting to another undercuts the drama of each separate scene as well as the worldbuilding of each separate place. For example, Raffi’s group visits an Order oasis — a kind of Lothlorien or Andelain for those familiar with Tolkien or Donaldson — but while we’re told of its beauty and special nature, we’re in and out of it so quickly that we never truly feel it. The same holds true for the Tower of Song. Fisher gives us fantastic, tantalizing glimpses of the place and its strange, surreal rooms (the Gallery of Laughter, the Gallery of Tears) but again, it feels like a sketch of an outline of a place rather than a concrete, tangible setting. Which is too bad, because it had such great potential.
The action is often a bit anti-climactic once we’re past the opening 40 pages or so, with several tense scenes all too quickly and easily resolved, sometimes by too-easy magic, sometimes by too coincidental an event, such as a convenient rock fall, sometimes by a character acting a bit implausibly. Similar to the Tower of Song, Fisher sets us up strongly — several of the scenes have lots of potential for intense and/or drawn out tension — but they never quite achieve it. This makes the book feel both overlong and slight, while The Dark City felt exactly right. The one aspect of the plot that is consistently strong is the bit of history/myth we get on the Makers, especially the backstory we’re given on the Maker Kest and how he created horrible creatures and was punished for it. One of those creatures turns out to be still extant and causing trouble and if titles are a clue, will play a major role in the final book (book four). The way we get most of this backstory, via chapter interludes, snippets of myth, told stories, and visions, is nicely handled — concise, smoothly integrated, and doled out in just the right amount: enough to give us a sense of what happened but with enough clear gaps or distortions that we’re constantly wanting more.
If the plotting and world-building is a bit weak, what saves The Lost Heiress is Carys, who remains the most interesting character. She’s the most interesting because she is the most complex, torn between what she’s been taught all her life and what she’s experienced in a few short months. The reader is never really quite sure what side she is on because Carys herself never seems quite sure, and this creates not just a great character but an intense bit of plot tension whenever she is involved in the action with Raffi’s group. Raffi is surprisingly pallid and I hope he becomes more active and simply more interesting as the series continues. Right now he is wholly overshadowed by Carys (save for one act toward the end which seems to come a bit out of the blue from what we know of him). This would be fine if their storylines were together, but as it is, Raffi is a bit weak and passive to carry a separate plot line. It doesn’t help that Galen is a bit one-note and the Sekoi, while interesting for the mystery that still surrounds his motivation and his species, isn’t given much to say or do. When he is given some scenes, he certainly piques one’s interest and desire to know more. Alberic’s arrival does enliven things toward the end and he shows some good potential for future involvement as well, adding a hint of danger and darkness.
The Lost Heiress was, I admit, a bit of a disappointment after The Dark City. It was still a quick read — I read it in a single sitting — and while the plot and settings left me feeling underwhelmed, it was mostly because they didn’t fulfill the potential they had, so at least the underlying base was interesting enough. In other words, I mostly wanted more from Fisher, not less, which is generally a good sign. And Carys’ character arc, along with the back history of the world, made the book certainly worth reading. I’m just hoping that in the succeeding books the main plot strengthens and the other characters begin to rise to the quality of Carys — she can only carry so many books. Recommended. —Bill Capossere
 The Hidden Coronet
The Hidden Coronet is the third book of Catherine Fisher’s Relic Master series, following The Dark City and The Lost Heiress. While book one was quite strong, the sequel was solid but a bit disappointing, hurt by somewhat weak plotting and worldbuilding. The Hidden Coronet is much stronger and a welcome return to the quality of The Dark City.
It begins with several tense scenes — one involving Galen and Raffi trying to rid a house of an evil presence and the other concerning the attempted rescue of several prisoners, including a Keeper, sentenced to hang by the Watch. Eventually, Raffi, Galen, Carys, and the Sekoi from the first two books are back together, their numbers augmented by two: the rescued Keeper Solon and his fellow prisoner Marco, each of whom has his own secrets. Together they set out to seek the legendary Coronet of the Makers, which they believe is a relic of great power which might not only serve them against the evil creature (the Margrave) that Raffi saw in The Lost Heiress, but might also be a solution to the terrible and deadly changes in the weather that have been occurring. But they make troubled allies as mistrust soon begins to spread amongst them all, mistrust which only worsens once circumstances cause them to split, with the Sekoi and Carys heading off to an unusual gathering of the Sekoi people and Galen, Raffi, Solon, and Marco continuing on to the Maker’s Observatory. It all culminates in the best ending of the series so far.
As mentioned, the second book had some issues with plot, as well as with pace. The Hidden Coronet has fixed both problems. The opening conflict with Raffi and Galen in the house has an almost horror feel to it, while the rescue scene is a nick-of-time bit of adventure. Together, the two scenes start the book off running. There’s a bit of an interlude while the group comes together and before the Coronet quest comes into play. But the tension picks up again once they’re on the road — partly due to their attempts to avoid capture by the Watch, partly because of the weather issues cropping up, and partly because of Galen’s issues with keeping the Crow’s power and darkness in control. But the biggest reason for tension is the group dynamics, specifically the lack of trust, something we’ve seen before with the way Carys was under suspicion. She remains a question mark here, but none of the others are completely free of suspicion either. Another strength of the plot is the additional views we receive of the Sekoi and of the Maker’s past and current works. The Sekoi have been a complete cipher up ‘til now and we get some fascinating glimpses into their thinking as well as some concrete answers to some specific questions that have arisen, such as the purpose of the Great Hoard. It all builds up to an extremely strong ending that will probably catch young readers especially by surprise, if not more jaded older ones.
The worldbuilding is still a bit thin, the new settings more sketches than full realizations. As in the first few books, I wish she’d slow down at times and let us linger over some of her ideas and places, especially as what we do get really piques one’s interest and imagination. Part of that, I know, is the YA nature of the book (not every YA should be 700 pages long), so it is, I confess, at least partially an unfair complaint.
As in the prior two books, Carys is the most compelling character. She is still fierce, passionate, active; still an enlivening force in the novel; still a question mark, but now much more fully invested in the relationships and causes she’s become involved in. But here, in the third book, she’s finally being given some characters to match her. The Sekoi, who has always been interesting but up to now has mostly been played as an abstract mystery, blooms into a fully-fledged character here and I especially look forward to his journey forward in light of the ending. Galen, who has so far been somewhat monotone, is “greyed up” a bit as the reader (along with Galen himself and several characters) starts to become a bit uneasy at just what is happening to him with regard to the Crow within him. Solon is a solid character but Marco takes on a parallel role to the one Carys has been playing all along, the character who may or may not be a spy.
Finally, there’s Raffi. I’ve complained before that he has been too passive and even a bit dull. He also is sometimes problematic in that his magic abilities seem too carefully tailored and contrived to fit the dramatic situation — weak when the author needs them weak, strong when the author needs them strong. Both are still problems here. But while he still plays a pivotal if passive role, such as a conduit of necessary visions, I’m beginning to wonder if the problem with him is really a problem with me. Perhaps I’m just assuming he’s a main character and so he isn’t fulfilling my expectations as such. Or perhaps Fisher is simply being more patient than we usually see in developing a relatively weak and passive character into one who becomes independent and strong. There isn’t a lot of time left — only one book to go in the series — so while Raffi still isn’t the most interesting of characters, I’m going to hold off and see what she does with him in book four. There is a part of me that actually likes the idea that this kid hasn’t suddenly freed himself of his fear and passive nature in the relatively short time span of the novels’ events, none of which certainly would make him any less afraid; after all, he gets tossed from one possibly fatal situation to another. Though if this is Fisher’s intent, I would like to see her delve into it a bit more.
Better pacing and plotting, stronger characterization, and an excellent ending make The Hidden Coronet a strong addition to the series, and the novel whets the reader’s appetite for the concluding fourth. I was happy to see the series rebound from the small dip it took in The Lost Heiress. Recommended.
—Bill Capossere
 The Margrave
The Margrave is the fourth and final book of Catherine Fisher’s Relic Master. The series as a whole is a bit thin on worldbuilding, emotional depth, and secondary characterization, but save for a minor drop-off in book two, it is a smoothly exciting read and The Margrave brings it to a satisfyingly strong conclusion.
As in the previous books, the story is split between Raffi’s experiences and Carys’. It begins with a bang as Carys is captured by the Watch at the very beginning. She is quickly brought to the attention of two higher-ups, the castellan Maris Scala and her lover Quist. The two of them decide to escort Carys to the Pits of Maar, the darkest center of the Watch where the Margrave is rumored to live and command the brutal group. Galen, Raffi, and the Sekoi soon follow after to try and rescue her, joined eventually by Alberic the thief warlord from earlier books. Along the way Raffi learns the Margrave is actively seeking him, and by the end of the novel, it should come as no surprise that the two come together. Between Carys’ capture and that meeting, there are battles to be fought, castles to be stormed, alliances to be made and broken, faiths and loyalties to be tested and truths — some painful — to be learned about the planet Anara’s past and the history of its Makers. And nearly all the characters are forced to make difficult ethical and moral decisions.
The pacing is quite strong throughout. The action is quick and exciting, the slower parts are interesting due to revelations of character or resolutions of past mysteries, and Fisher moves between the two smoothly, knowing just when to cut short a battle scene or move us out of the quieter, slower moments.
As has been the case throughout the entire series, The Margrave shines when the focus is on Carys. It’s true that Fisher could be accused of playing the “whose side is she really on” card a bit too often in the series, but it works, so it’s hard to complain about it. Having appeared in the first book already strong and independent, her development has been choosing a side. Here, that aspect of her character mostly taken care of, we get to see her develop in other ways, watching her growing relationship (at a distance) with the characters she has fallen in with. Galen, who started to break out of his one-note characterization in book three, The Hidden Coronet, continues to develop as a more complicated, more self-aware character, as does the Sekoi who along with Carys is my favorite character in the series. The return of Alberic is a welcome choice; I missed his acerbic nature and dialog when he went missing from the books and he adds a funny and sharp edge here. Quist and Scala are a bit sketchy, but they do a nice job of representing two possible paths for the Watch. Raffi, though he does much, much more in this novel, remains the frightened passive character he has been throughout, almost always reacting rather than acting. His growth by the end is welcome, if a bit abrupt, though as I mentioned in my review of The Hidden Coronet, I do kind of like being shown a frightened young boy who, very realistically, stays mostly a frightened young boy from a small village rather than bravely shouldering his responsibilities (and magical sword) to head off and save the world after the requisite single scene where he protests he isn’t all that brave. I’ve complained about his role before, but now that I’ve finished, I think I’ll actually give Fisher credit, whether my reading was her intent or not.
The title character, however, is a much more richly complex character. I can’t say much about him without spoiling the ending, but he gives the series a darker, more mature tone and storyline, making a good book even stronger in its last few chapters.
As mentioned in previous reviews, the worldbuilding, such as it is, is thin. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more detail in the settings, especially as the glimpses we’re given are so evocative. But for a YA novel, it’s certainly sufficient. Some of the plot points are settled a bit too easily, some of the darker questions or acts of the past — nicely handled throughout the book — are glossed a bit too easily at the very end. And we do learn a lot about the Makers via stretches of monologue, but it’s hard to see how that could have been avoided.
All these are relatively minor complaints, however, and several of them can be explained away by the fact that it is a YA series, and one that isn’t demanding a multi-month commitment to get through. Younger YA readers ages 10-13 will probably happily speed right through the series. Older readers may note the lack of rich detail and have some issues with thin plotting or characterization or wish for a bit more interpersonal intensity, but still find it to be a captivating ride that ends in The Margrave with a richer, more sophisticated emotional complexity that had been lacking somewhat in the prior books. Recommended. —Bill Capossere
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