The Dark City (Relic Master Book #1)

My students love Catherine Fisher’s Incarceron and Sapphique novels so I couldn’t wait to read her series called Relic Master, recently released in the United States. Book one, The Dark City, takes us to a new planet called Anara which is falling apart as the leaders of the Order are all but gone, the new evil governing power is called the Watch. One of the only surviving relic masters of the Order of Keepers, Galen, and his apprentice, Raffi, are captured by a dwarf named Alberic. Alberic takes their relic and demands that they must capture a Sekoi who has stolen gold from him in exchange. Galen is burdened with the secret that he has lost all his powers in a devastating explosion – he can no longer sense dangers or communicate with the living things around him. In their search for the Sekoi , the duo are told that the most powerful relic, the Crow, is in the dark city of Tasceron. The Crow is the only thing that can restore Galen’s powers, but the city of Tasceron is filled with deadly dangers. Early in the adventure, the duo is joined by a girl named, Carys, who deceivingly tells them that she is trying to rescue her father from the Watch. This fantasy has magic, suspense, and surprises throughout. Great recommendation for those who love fantasy novels.

Incarceron

I listened to Incarceron by Catherine Fisher on audiobook with numerous interruptions. Therefore, I have a guest blogger giving her insight to this fantasy which is on the Texas Lone Star 2011-12 reading list. My guest blogger is an amazing 8th Grade Language Arts teacher who is working on her Masters degree in Library Science.
I really enjoyed this book and will probably read the next one to see where the story goes. Claudia lives in a world constrained by time. Her world is in the not too distant future, but the ruling class has imposed the Victorian era on everyone, so the people live with the fashions, technologies, and rules of that time. She is about to be married to the prince, who is cruel and stupid, but whose mother is cunning. Her father is the warden of Incarceron, a prison no one can escape. It's been hundreds years since Incarceron's creation, and generations have been born and died there. Finn is one of its inhabitants, but he believes he came from outside Incarceron; he just can't remember his previous life. Finn and Claudia each come into possession of a key that allows them to communicate with each other, and they try to puzzle out the mysteries of Incarceron together while Finn tries to escape his prison and Claudia tries to escape hers. Click on the book trailer video below.