What is Soul Relic?
Raysha will do whatever it takes to fix her broken soul, even if it means venturing into the unknown with nothing but her brother, an enchanted water bottle, and her fierce determination.
The only one without the ability to cultivate aeon from the world, Raysha has been ostracized her whole life for her weakness. In a world where true masters of aeon have slaughtered gods, Raysha’s future in her village is limited to babysitting pre-awakened children.
Desperate for a chance to prove her worth, she leaps at the chance to join her brother at the Academy, where he believes they can find a cure for her soul. It will only take the crystalised heart of an ancient spirit, lost to the world thousands of years ago.
Armed with an enchanted water bottle and a stubborn attitude, Raysha sets out to prove that she is more than just a second-rate outcast.
Review
SOUL RELIC by Samuel Hinton and narrated by Andrea Emmes is a cultivation fantasy, which is a burgeoning genre that basically means developing your elemental powers along very Eastern martial arts principles. The fantasy world the author has created isn’t necessarily any more Asian than Avatar: The Last Airbender but that doesn’t mean it’s not squarely in the genre either. It is something that I think would appeal to both fantasy as well as sports fans.
The premise is that in this world, it is possible to become trained as an aeon-wielder or elemental magician. Raysha is a village girl who was born with a lot of aeon in her reserves but no way to naturally replenish it. This is actually a fairly serious disadvantage and she is denied a chance at university after finally managing to escape her home. Her brother, Vashi, is determined to help her as well even if it means teaming up with an old archaeologist, Hlaya, to explore ruins of a civilization that once had to deal with people like Raysha.
This is very much a classic coming of age journey but is made all the more interesting because of the fact that Raysha and company are fairly out of the larger politics at work. The God of Knowledge has just slaughtered all of the other gods in the region in a coup but none of this is a concern of Rasyha. She has her own problems to deal with that don’t allow her to even think of such bigger deals.
I really liked this story and the characters involved, Raysha is an adorable heroine who may be a bit whiny about her status but quickly won me over with her snarky can-do attitude. I also liked the supporting cast and am interested in seeing where this story goes. Vashi, Hllaya, and Ocatvian are all a good cast of characters for supporting Raysha and keep her attitude from getting too insufferable.
I found the magic system to be well-designed and the writing to be entertaining throughout. I liked how our heroes also came into the sights of the Big Bad. Too often, it’s destiny or contrived but, no, our heroes ended up killing some of his minions in an encounter and things just sort of snowball from there. I really like that.
The narrator does a decent job of representing Raysha and the various characters. Andrea Emmes manages to do also convey the danger as well as inner resentment the character is suffering. I’m eager to listen to the next book in the series. I recommend the audiobook over the text version in fact because I feel she did such an excellent job.
