The keepers of the old Order who haven’t been captured and killed by the Watch are all in hiding, so when relic master Galen Harn and his assistant, Raffi, are tracked down in the forest by a man claiming that his village needs help with a relic, Galen and Raffi have good reason to be suspicious. But Galen is bent on investigating the situation, even if it’s a trap. The trip to the village leads them on a quest to the old dark city of Tasceron, where Galen hopes he can find a powerful ancient relic that can help him with his own powers and even restore the Order.

On the way, they evade the Watch and gain some additions to their group, including a Sekoi, one of a race of cat-like creatures known for their storytelling abilities and their greed for gold, and a young woman who is secretly a member of the Watch. The unlikely party manages to get inside the heavily guarded Tasceron and begin the mission Galen so desperately wants to accomplish.

The first book in Catherine Fisher’s Relic Master series, published previously in Great Britain, is an intriguing start to a series of four books that are all being published in quick succession in the United States. The society of the planet Anara is a fairly primitive one, and the ancient relics that are revered for their power truly have some kind of technological capabilities, which seem familiar to readers but magical to the people of Anara. So it’s going to be interesting to see what direction the story heads and what these relics mean.

Rated: None. There is virtually no bad language, and the violence is fairly minimal and not disturbing.