Relics (Petroc Trilogy 1) [Paperback]

Brother Petroc has little knowledge of the skulduggery that he imagines goes on in the higher echelons of his Church. For this young man there is no wish and no need to know anything more; it will be enough for Petroc to make it through to the end of his time as a novice monk and wait for God's call. His fellow young friends of the cloth all have their own variations ofChristian servitude; his own best friend Will has even happily succumbed to the sins of the flesh with local village girls. Petroc later reflects that in his worldly innocence he was a prime target to be used as an ambitious man's patsy. An unwilling player in a political game of thievery, chance and fierce ambition, Petroc has been framed for murder and the theft of a prized religious relic. There is only one man Petroc knows who would not believe such hideous accusations upon his old student. Hurt and frightened beyond belief, Petroc takes to his feet and runs for aid to the country house of the Master Librarian Adric.

Petroc's false accuser will not let him be and it is on the advice of Adric that Petroc goes to find a buyer for his stolen relic and passage out of harm's way. The life at sea of a relic hunter and his crew is an exciting new world to the green young man who discovers to his delight that a rolling deck is sure ground for his feet. Taken under the wing of a mysterious adventurer who travels to foreign ports to both sell and search for prized religious artefacts, Petroc finds his true love while never forgetting who it is that set him on the path to be a fugitive. It is revenge that fuels him, and Petroc's day against the evil Sir Hugh de Kervzey finally comes.

Given that the rabid appetite for novels of the religious conspiracy kind has still not yet faded, novels slanted even slightly in that direction have the misfortune of being lumped together in thought. This may have happened with RELICS, an adventure novel that has a religious artefact introduced early on and mentioned in promotion. RELICS travels far and away from THAT sort of story. Vaughan-Hughes keeps his earnest young adventurer true and thankfully resists the urge to swamp the reader with historical facts of the age. With a descriptive narrative that positively fans the ocean scent your way this debut novel has the appeal of a grown up boy' fantasy, complete with exotic locations, approachable princesses and cut-throats keen to do the wide-eyed boy serious harm. It is very easy to believe this book was written way back when, so effortless is the manner in which the author spins his medieval tale of young Petroc, disrupted into discovering that the world does indeed exist beyond the narrow borders of his own village. The sense of Petroc addressing his dear readers is present throughout and we mourn for his loss of innocence when he eventually proclaims it to be so.

Where the read fails is that it does not follow through on what would have been far more interesting to the reader than say Petroc's revenge (not a burn, more of a latent smoulder) and his first physical romance (shallow and boring). All seeds have been sown in what must have been intended to be the first novel in a series, however much personal growth Petroc's character experiences throughout the story. RELICS appears to have been reined in for this purpose, and throwing too much into the mix could only make future works more difficult to construct. The high seas pirates, or traders if you prefer, have been stripped of their hardi-hahs's and despite the odd death or so, not too much gory detail has been included which would have pitched the book at a more seasoned audience.

I bought this book believing it to be a medieval whodunnit, but happily, it isn't. Instead, we have a story about a novice monk, living a rather straitlaced life in a northern English town, who is forced to go on the run after being framed for a particularly nasty murder he did not commit. Finding himself to be rather adept at avoiding his pursuer, he is befriended by the captain of an unusual smuggling ship, who offers him a place in the crew.

The story jogs along at a fair pace, with plenty of colourful characters to spice up the action. Apart from a rather tedious and pointless voyage to Greenland, which does spoil the book a little, there is plenty going on to hold the reader's interest. As long as the reader does not take the story too seriously, the book is good fun.

This is a debut novel, and obviously intended to herald a series. I for one, am looking forward to the next installment.

The author grew up in South Devon and attended London University where he studied medieval history. This is his first novel and I enjoyed it immensely and hope that there will be many more to follow, particularly if they cover the medieval period of history. The narrative is excellent and the lead character Brother Petroc endears himself to the reader as the story progresses.

The book takes place in the mid 13th century and Brother Petroc is pursuing his chosen role in life as a novice monk, trying as best he can to remain chaste and keep his soul pure, until that is he stumbles into a trap and finds himself an outcast. Framed by a Templar knight for murder and theft. When his best friend dies at the hands of the knight, Petroc sets himself a quest, a quest to seek restitution not only for his friend but for the wrongs that have been thrust upon himself.

Putting his own fate in the hands of a relic-hunter, Petroc is determined to exact revenge on the man who has ruined his life and in the process discovers that his own fate is inextricably linked to a priceless relic . . .