reviewsfeedblog's review
4.0
I received a copy of The Relic Guild from Gollancz in exchange for a review, so firstly, a huge thank you to the team. It was one of many exciting book-post packages I received this summer!
Aside from the synopsis, the first thing I look at when deciding if I like a book is the author’s narration style. It’s make-or-break for me; it always has been. I have a natural preference for books narrated in the third person. The narration is also clear and descriptive, balancing the action of the story with descriptions of the Great Labyrinth and Labrys Town etc. The narrative also interchanges between two time periods; the War, which took place forty years previous and the present day. Chapters for each respective time period are clearly marked, making the story easy to follow.
The Relic Guild introduced a whole new concept of magic to me. The members of the Relic Guild are some of the last able to wield magic... and they each have different abilities. These abilities are almost second nature, or like a sixth sense, to the characters. Their attitude to the power differs greatly from each other too. In addition to this: weaponry, portals and other elements of the Labyrinth draw on external forces of magic. I have never found a book that as both “types” of magic, yet Edward Cox makes them work side by side so well.
I love the idea of the Labyrinth. It's a magical place shut off from the rest of the world. In the centre, the remaining citizens live together in Labrys Town. Out in the maze surrounding the town, danger lurks around every corner. No-one can enter nor leave. Well, so they believed. Yet forty years on from the war he lost, Fabian Moor is out for his revenge against the Relic Guild. He may not be stuck in the Labyrinth, but he is a massive threat all the same.
There are a number of characters that have a crucial role to play and they are all distinct, well-developed people. Each member of the Relic Guild has a unique relationship with one another. With the exception of Clara, all were part of the War forty years ago. Clara, a former prostitute of Labrys Town has been hiding her gift. She is the first gifted person to be identified since the War, so she is a welcome surprise when the Relic Guild rescues her from danger. There is a lot of history, grudges and camaraderie between these characters and that is reflected well throughout the book. They feel like a community, a family even, as you would expect from such a close-knit group.
The citizens are protected by the Resident, who also happens to be head of the Relic Guild. His ever-watchful eye puts them in a position to observe the danger and attempt to protect the Labyrinth as disaster unfolds. The war isn’t over.
It has only just begun.
Aside from the synopsis, the first thing I look at when deciding if I like a book is the author’s narration style. It’s make-or-break for me; it always has been. I have a natural preference for books narrated in the third person. The narration is also clear and descriptive, balancing the action of the story with descriptions of the Great Labyrinth and Labrys Town etc. The narrative also interchanges between two time periods; the War, which took place forty years previous and the present day. Chapters for each respective time period are clearly marked, making the story easy to follow.
The Relic Guild introduced a whole new concept of magic to me. The members of the Relic Guild are some of the last able to wield magic... and they each have different abilities. These abilities are almost second nature, or like a sixth sense, to the characters. Their attitude to the power differs greatly from each other too. In addition to this: weaponry, portals and other elements of the Labyrinth draw on external forces of magic. I have never found a book that as both “types” of magic, yet Edward Cox makes them work side by side so well.
I love the idea of the Labyrinth. It's a magical place shut off from the rest of the world. In the centre, the remaining citizens live together in Labrys Town. Out in the maze surrounding the town, danger lurks around every corner. No-one can enter nor leave. Well, so they believed. Yet forty years on from the war he lost, Fabian Moor is out for his revenge against the Relic Guild. He may not be stuck in the Labyrinth, but he is a massive threat all the same.
There are a number of characters that have a crucial role to play and they are all distinct, well-developed people. Each member of the Relic Guild has a unique relationship with one another. With the exception of Clara, all were part of the War forty years ago. Clara, a former prostitute of Labrys Town has been hiding her gift. She is the first gifted person to be identified since the War, so she is a welcome surprise when the Relic Guild rescues her from danger. There is a lot of history, grudges and camaraderie between these characters and that is reflected well throughout the book. They feel like a community, a family even, as you would expect from such a close-knit group.
The citizens are protected by the Resident, who also happens to be head of the Relic Guild. His ever-watchful eye puts them in a position to observe the danger and attempt to protect the Labyrinth as disaster unfolds. The war isn’t over.
It has only just begun.
markyon's review
3.0
This is the latest in a series of debut novels that Gollancz have promoted this year. For me, it’s not a completely successful debut but still quite an entertaining read.
From the back of the book:
“Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.
It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir.
The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.
Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.
The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.”
The Relic Guild holds a great deal of promise. The world building is great, with the Labyrinth composed of lots of dark Victorian-esque streets, trams, strange watching eyes and magic, which together created a rather Mieville, ‘New Weird’ or Gaiman type feel. It didn’t take long before I felt I knew the place.
The book starts well, in an exciting rooftop chase scene. The characters are then introduced. We have Clara, the lost waif of a prostitute who is also a changeling (read werewolf), Marney, an old empath, Samuel, a grumpy assassin who’s clearly seen too much of the world, strange magic, evil villains and god-like overlords.
And yet in the middle I found it dragged a little. We have lots of running about, and rather repetitive exposition, often flashing back to events forty years previous. It did pick up towards the end, when the tale becomes almost Lovecraftian in its echoing of cosmic scale and horror.
Ultimately my overall feeling was that although there was a lot about The Relic Guild I liked, there was little I loved. Perhaps it was the two-hander style, which flitted between ‘the present’ and forty years previous throughout the novel, but did little to enhance the plot. Such changes in perspective, whilst useful, were rather unnecessary and actually became a little galling in that I would just be getting to grips with one part of the tale before being whipped back/forward to the other. Whilst I accept that it is a common enough technique these days, and shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, usually such a process means that things become reconcilable towards the end. Here it seemed more of a narrative trick rather than for any great purpose.
Or perhaps it was the characters, who became rather similar in places – Clara quickly adapts to her new role in the Guild and ends up sounding rather like the younger Marney, who we keep flashing back to. This may be deliberate – showing the reader the effect of being part of the Guild, perhaps – or it may just be that the characterisation is rather cookie-template.
Perhaps my biggest issue is that, in the end, as good as the writing was, and as enjoyable as the world building was, in the end I didn’t really care about the characters, nor felt that they were facing any major world-destroying peril (although this seems more important as we get to the end). This was a shame, as I think that overall the story may have potential and it may be that it only reaches that potential in the next book.
The ending was a little abrupt and really did nothing but set up the next novel. In terms of the resolution of the tale, there was some at the end, but there were also a lot of unfinished elements that may either leave the reader wanting to read the next tale or alternatively feeling a little frustrated at the point that a lot of things happened that seemed to go nowhere.
So in the end, there was little more to say than I enjoyed it, it was a solid, though rather unremarkable debut, entertaining yet also undemanding. It is clear that Edward Cox as a writer has potential, but this one didn’t entirely work for me. The Relic Guild may be a case of a novel where the execution is fine but that the process creates something that in the end seems rather soulless. There may be others who love it more than I did, although for me it was more of a ‘like’ than a ‘love’.
File under ‘enjoyable, a brave effort, but may not be for everyone.’
From the back of the book:
“Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.
It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir.
The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.
Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.
The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth – and the lives of one million humans – Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.”
The Relic Guild holds a great deal of promise. The world building is great, with the Labyrinth composed of lots of dark Victorian-esque streets, trams, strange watching eyes and magic, which together created a rather Mieville, ‘New Weird’ or Gaiman type feel. It didn’t take long before I felt I knew the place.
The book starts well, in an exciting rooftop chase scene. The characters are then introduced. We have Clara, the lost waif of a prostitute who is also a changeling (read werewolf), Marney, an old empath, Samuel, a grumpy assassin who’s clearly seen too much of the world, strange magic, evil villains and god-like overlords.
And yet in the middle I found it dragged a little. We have lots of running about, and rather repetitive exposition, often flashing back to events forty years previous. It did pick up towards the end, when the tale becomes almost Lovecraftian in its echoing of cosmic scale and horror.
Ultimately my overall feeling was that although there was a lot about The Relic Guild I liked, there was little I loved. Perhaps it was the two-hander style, which flitted between ‘the present’ and forty years previous throughout the novel, but did little to enhance the plot. Such changes in perspective, whilst useful, were rather unnecessary and actually became a little galling in that I would just be getting to grips with one part of the tale before being whipped back/forward to the other. Whilst I accept that it is a common enough technique these days, and shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, usually such a process means that things become reconcilable towards the end. Here it seemed more of a narrative trick rather than for any great purpose.
Or perhaps it was the characters, who became rather similar in places – Clara quickly adapts to her new role in the Guild and ends up sounding rather like the younger Marney, who we keep flashing back to. This may be deliberate – showing the reader the effect of being part of the Guild, perhaps – or it may just be that the characterisation is rather cookie-template.
Perhaps my biggest issue is that, in the end, as good as the writing was, and as enjoyable as the world building was, in the end I didn’t really care about the characters, nor felt that they were facing any major world-destroying peril (although this seems more important as we get to the end). This was a shame, as I think that overall the story may have potential and it may be that it only reaches that potential in the next book.
The ending was a little abrupt and really did nothing but set up the next novel. In terms of the resolution of the tale, there was some at the end, but there were also a lot of unfinished elements that may either leave the reader wanting to read the next tale or alternatively feeling a little frustrated at the point that a lot of things happened that seemed to go nowhere.
So in the end, there was little more to say than I enjoyed it, it was a solid, though rather unremarkable debut, entertaining yet also undemanding. It is clear that Edward Cox as a writer has potential, but this one didn’t entirely work for me. The Relic Guild may be a case of a novel where the execution is fine but that the process creates something that in the end seems rather soulless. There may be others who love it more than I did, although for me it was more of a ‘like’ than a ‘love’.
File under ‘enjoyable, a brave effort, but may not be for everyone.’
nomiddlename's review
1.0
This book was not for me. I struggled through to pg 140 or so. It didn't convince me that the world was real, or could work at all. A labyrinth-town sealed off from the rest of the universe for 40 years, a town that previously relied on imports for its economy, a town of 1 million people with what seemed like no land to grow crops, a sewage system but no source of fresh water, no shape-changing magic people been born for 20 years but the main character has access to medicine which keeps her lycanthropy in check. Lots of problems for a pedant like me that I would have been happy to ignore and tell myself "ooh, magic", hoping that my questions would be answered later in the book, had the writing been interesting. It lacks style, seems clumsy, and there isn't an ounce of humour.
readpersephone's review
dnf @ page 122 because i still didn't know what was going on
unfortunately, this just wasn't for me for multiple reasons:
- there was too much exposition and info dumping (lots of overly complex terminology and names in one chunk that made it hard to digest and remember)
- the writing style was too impersonal and dry which made the story bland
- none of the characters showed any semblance of personality till about 100 pages in (it's 3rd person following multiple characters but they weren't particularly distinctive from one another so i couldn't remember who was who half the time)
unfortunately, this just wasn't for me for multiple reasons:
- there was too much exposition and info dumping (lots of overly complex terminology and names in one chunk that made it hard to digest and remember)
- the writing style was too impersonal and dry which made the story bland
- none of the characters showed any semblance of personality till about 100 pages in (it's 3rd person following multiple characters but they weren't particularly distinctive from one another so i couldn't remember who was who half the time)
tclinrow's review against another edition
4.0
The first thing I want to mention was the top-notch narration, as I listened to it as an audio book; there was a whole host of different characters with individual personalities and backgrounds, and all of them were easily distinguished from one another thanks to the variety of tones and accents.
That said, the story was marvelously spun through a myriad of viewpoints, both current and past, weaved into a fascinating and detailed landscape. The Labyrinth was wonderfully imagined, and easy to lose yourself in. The characters were fantastically realised and a combination of hate to love and love to hate that really worked so perfectly for the story. The magic system is complex, but relatively easy to understand, although the author hasn't gone into a great deal of detail up until this point; it seems to be broadly divided into human magic, elf(?) magic and higher magic.
It ended with a lot of open story lines and unanswered questions, so I'm looking forward to the next part of the series.
That said, the story was marvelously spun through a myriad of viewpoints, both current and past, weaved into a fascinating and detailed landscape. The Labyrinth was wonderfully imagined, and easy to lose yourself in. The characters were fantastically realised and a combination of hate to love and love to hate that really worked so perfectly for the story. The magic system is complex, but relatively easy to understand, although the author hasn't gone into a great deal of detail up until this point; it seems to be broadly divided into human magic, elf(?) magic and higher magic.
It ended with a lot of open story lines and unanswered questions, so I'm looking forward to the next part of the series.
civreader's review
4.0
My review is here: http://civilianreader.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/quick-review-the-relic-guild-by-edward-cox-gollancz/
Very good debut fantasy.
Very good debut fantasy.
celia_hf's review
4.0
I was recommended to read this book as soon as it came out. It has been patiently waiting on my TBR Shelf for a while. The only positive thing about waiting so long is that I can rush to the bookstore and buy the sequel.
The biggest forte for this book is world building. The plot is on the slowish side but for good reason: the author has taken his time to construct a complicated and spectacular world from the building of the Labyrinth, the interesting cast of characters (human and non-humans), the magic systems. The end of the first book feels like an introduction to an adventure and I am curious to know where the characters will go and what mysteries surrounding the TimeWatcher.
The biggest forte for this book is world building. The plot is on the slowish side but for good reason: the author has taken his time to construct a complicated and spectacular world from the building of the Labyrinth, the interesting cast of characters (human and non-humans), the magic systems. The end of the first book feels like an introduction to an adventure and I am curious to know where the characters will go and what mysteries surrounding the TimeWatcher.
lauraanne's review against another edition
5.0
This book kept me completely hooked through the whole thing, I couldn't put it down. I just want the next one to be ready now!
Second time: I still loved this book. Although maybe slightly less than the first read but I suppose that was because I knew what was going to happen. I enjoy the way the story is told in both the present in the past so we can discover more about the relic guild and each of its characters and understand better what is happening in the present day.
Second time: I still loved this book. Although maybe slightly less than the first read but I suppose that was because I knew what was going to happen. I enjoy the way the story is told in both the present in the past so we can discover more about the relic guild and each of its characters and understand better what is happening in the present day.
vesperbell's review
3.0
I received my copy of this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway.
I feel a little apprehensive giving this book three stars because I enjoyed it enough to give it a four. Objectively settling for a very high three, which would easily have been a four had it explored more of the world(s) and aspects of the story which were merely hinted at. Instead, we were mostly focused in and around Labrys Town, a town of humans located inside the Great Labyrinth who have been cut off from the Aelfirian Houses beyond the Labyrinth in the aftermath of the Genii war.
The Relic Guild is split into two narratives, the first dealing with the beginnings of a war involving the Aelfirian Houses and the Genii, led by Spiral, a Thaumaturgist (higher magic beings who possess abilities far beyond those of human magickers) who chooses to rebel against The Timewatcher, the creator and overseer of the Labyrinth. The second narrative is set forty years later and deals with the aftermath of the war, a time in which magic is outlawed for the safety of the population and the Relic Guild, a group of magickers put together to protect Labrys Town, has been left in tatters, leaving it unequipped to deal with a new threat.
These two narratives build up the history excellently alongside the present, allowing you the opportunity to see how things happened by living them alongside the characters, avoiding lengthy info dumps. Some characters appear in both narratives, making it possible to understand their motives and connect the events that made them who they are in the present day. Even the characters who do not appear in both narratives are fleshed out with enough detail to stand out, with the unfortunate exception of Clara who is meant to be the protagonist; a reluctant changeling who has been suppressing her powers for her entire life, Clara has the potential to be incredibly interesting as she grows as a magicker and a member of the Relic Guild.
Culminating in a cliffhanger, the two narratives leave more questions than answers which is somewhat frustrating but helps to build anticipation for finding the answers in future books. Edward Cox has clearly planned out an expansive and fascinating world beyond the confines of the Labyrinth, which I cannot wait to explore more of once the story calls for it.
I feel a little apprehensive giving this book three stars because I enjoyed it enough to give it a four. Objectively settling for a very high three, which would easily have been a four had it explored more of the world(s) and aspects of the story which were merely hinted at. Instead, we were mostly focused in and around Labrys Town, a town of humans located inside the Great Labyrinth who have been cut off from the Aelfirian Houses beyond the Labyrinth in the aftermath of the Genii war.
The Relic Guild is split into two narratives, the first dealing with the beginnings of a war involving the Aelfirian Houses and the Genii, led by Spiral, a Thaumaturgist (higher magic beings who possess abilities far beyond those of human magickers) who chooses to rebel against The Timewatcher, the creator and overseer of the Labyrinth. The second narrative is set forty years later and deals with the aftermath of the war, a time in which magic is outlawed for the safety of the population and the Relic Guild, a group of magickers put together to protect Labrys Town, has been left in tatters, leaving it unequipped to deal with a new threat.
These two narratives build up the history excellently alongside the present, allowing you the opportunity to see how things happened by living them alongside the characters, avoiding lengthy info dumps. Some characters appear in both narratives, making it possible to understand their motives and connect the events that made them who they are in the present day. Even the characters who do not appear in both narratives are fleshed out with enough detail to stand out, with the unfortunate exception of Clara who is meant to be the protagonist; a reluctant changeling who has been suppressing her powers for her entire life, Clara has the potential to be incredibly interesting as she grows as a magicker and a member of the Relic Guild.
Culminating in a cliffhanger, the two narratives leave more questions than answers which is somewhat frustrating but helps to build anticipation for finding the answers in future books. Edward Cox has clearly planned out an expansive and fascinating world beyond the confines of the Labyrinth, which I cannot wait to explore more of once the story calls for it.
blodeuedd's review
2.0
In a world where there is only one city, and a labyrinth, our story takes place. There are other places, but they can't be reached. So everyone is just stuck.
There was a great war, now magic is gone (and bad!). So everyone just, well tries to live the best they can.
There are a few POVS. Clara, a whore with a secret (she is a shifter, and that could get her killed. ) And then there is the Relic Guild, a hidden organization with people who still have magic. They need her as an old enemy is rising. Oh those old enemies, they always are so evil.
It was an interesting world and premise. The weird labyrinth. The place where the bad Aelfir were put. The city that just lives on but does not really live. A strange world. I would so have wanted to know more about the Aelfir, oh well :/ They went away after the war.
But I would have wanted more, I did not really feel the world. It was there, but I would have wanted a bit more world building. The same with the characters, I wanted more from them too. I could not truly feel them or their actions.
Still, go Clara, it's always good that a former prostitute gets to shine too. She has promise. And I so want to know more about the Aelfir, what? I was curious.
A strange dark world on the brink of doom.
There was a great war, now magic is gone (and bad!). So everyone just, well tries to live the best they can.
There are a few POVS. Clara, a whore with a secret (she is a shifter, and that could get her killed. ) And then there is the Relic Guild, a hidden organization with people who still have magic. They need her as an old enemy is rising. Oh those old enemies, they always are so evil.
It was an interesting world and premise. The weird labyrinth. The place where the bad Aelfir were put. The city that just lives on but does not really live. A strange world. I would so have wanted to know more about the Aelfir, oh well :/ They went away after the war.
But I would have wanted more, I did not really feel the world. It was there, but I would have wanted a bit more world building. The same with the characters, I wanted more from them too. I could not truly feel them or their actions.
Still, go Clara, it's always good that a former prostitute gets to shine too. She has promise. And I so want to know more about the Aelfir, what? I was curious.
A strange dark world on the brink of doom.