The Margrave by Catherine Fisher

Goodreads: The Margrave
Series: Relic Master #4

Potential spoilers in the summary for those who have not finished the first three Relic Master books!

Summary: Galen swore an oath to kill the Margrave, the terrible evil in the Pits of Maar that controls the Watch and hunts down the Order.  Raffi, however, bears the secret that the Margrave hunts him—and the knowledge threatens to destroy him even as he prepares to become a full-fledged keeper.  Carys, meanwhile, has fallen once again into the hands of the Watch, but her friends suspect her capture may have been deliberate and begin to question her loyalty once more.  Only the coming of the Makers can restore order to the world and stop the advance of the Unfinished Lands, but, with the band broken and suspicious, it may be too late.

Review: Fisher provides a thrilling conclusion to her quartet packed with action and intrigue.  The fast pace will keep readers feverishly turning pages as they seek to learn what fates await the characters they have come to know and love.  Galen, with his heavy burden and hard demeanor, but soft heart.  Raffi the scholar, still unsure about his place in the world.  The mysterious Sekoi.  The clever Carys.  Only faith keeps them pushing forward as the world crumbles to ruins around them.  Readers almost cannot help but cheer the small group on.

Unfortunately, Fisher still tries to maintain ambiguity about Carys’s allegiance.  Her loyalty was never really in doubt and, four books later, the plot device is more than old.  Unpredictability has never proved the author’s strong point and having the characters question the order of events readers know must happen does not qualify as suspense.  Mostly it makes the characters look silly.  Those readers who have made it this far, however, probably are not looking for plot twists, so Fisher has no need to worry.  It is the characters who have captured our hearts.

Aside from stale plot contrivances, however, the book proves engrossing.  The action never flags and the mystery of the Makers looms ever in the background.  Fisher has created a real and interesting world, one that readers love to explore with her.  They, like the characters, have become invested in it and worry about its future.  The final showdown between the Margrave and the motley crew determined to save Anara is one fans of Fisher’s will not want to miss.

Published: 2001 (2011 in the U.S.)

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