Relic Master: The Margrave Bk. 4 (Book of the Crow) by: Catherine Fisher
Our Price: €4.46 (£3.99)
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Publisher: Red Fox
Release date: 3rd May, 2001
Media: Paperback
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Rating: 
- Powerful and sad, never any easy answers
I took my pseud as a writer from her earlier book The Candle Man, but if I'd read this first I might have chosen Scala, who's a killer but really rather sweet too. Fisher isn't black and white, you can't say that acid-tongued, arrogant Galen is wholly good or that the damaged Margrave is wholly evil. The origins of the planet's gods, already hinted at, become clear here and for me at least were unutterably sad, but I mustn't give it away. A great read, for adults too. And yes, she is a poet, and why would that put anyone off?...
Rating: 
- Rich in language and story
The fourth and probably, as far as I know, final book in the Book of the Crow series, it definitely lives up to the other books in the series. We were left, at the end of the previous book, Flain's Coronet, dying to know what would happen next. The book starts quickly, with no mind-numbing prefaces, and launches into the story. Raffi is afraid of everything, as usual, and Galen is angry with him for this, also as usual. There is plenty of opportunity for the characters to develop their personalities. Raffi starts off at the beginning of the book young, weak, and terrified, as he has always been throughout the series. Finally, he becomes totally exhausted by Galen's anger and unkind comments, and leaves. The reader had often wondered why he had never done that before. Unknown to Raffi, Galen is upset about it, although this doesn't do anything to improve his bad temper! Towards the end of the book Raffi is staying in a building made by the makers. (I won't say anything else about that: I don't want to cause any spoilers!) Raffi changes: he has everything he wants: plentiful, good food, clothes, amusements. He becomes stronger, and more grown up.
Carys is as bright and quick as ever, with ample chance to show it. She also shows she has changed: maybe not as much as Raffis' sudden one, but nethertheless, she is a different person in several ways than the person she was at the beginning of the series. The ending is a surprise about both Raffi and Carys: Carys discovers something that the reader had hoped she would, although never really expected.
Despite the surprising ending, the story still isn't totally finished enough for me. There are still some things I would like to know about what happens next. However, I will have to wait to see if there is another book for that, although I doubt it.
Of course, one of the best things about this book and series is the way they are written. Not only is the overall idea for the story intriguing, but the style is gripping and beautifully written. I have heard this author is also a poet, which could explain the clever, poetic use of language. But don't be put off by this. I don't mean that the whole thing is one long, over complicated description, there is action too. It is better than a lot of fantasy books in that the writer's style is definitely original, and the characters are full of personality. The only reason I did not give it five stars was because it is far too short, you are rushed through it in, if you are a fairly fast reader, just over two hours. I will certainly re-read it: if you are looking for a good fantasy series, whatever your age, although this would appeal most to 10-14 year olds, you should read this series, and ultimately this book.
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