The Oracle (The Oracle Sequence, #1)

by Catherine Fisher

In the distant land of deserts and islands, the servants of the god rule the land, his wishes conveyed through the Oracle and interpreted by the High Priestess. Mirany is the new Bearer, afraid of her perilous duties for the god in the rituals of the Oracle, and fearful of her secret questioning ... Does the god truly exist?

The priestess is corrupt and in secret partnership with the General, ruler, since the God-on-Earth, the Archon, has no real power - chosen as a child, his face always masked, never seen by outsiders. Should any national tragedy occur, he is also the sacrifice. When the old Archon dies, his spirit migrates into a child, and there are several candidates for succession. But Mirany begins to experience the real visions of the god, discovers which child is the rightful heir, and that the General and High Priestess intend to choose another child and seize power. With only a tomb-robbing scribe and a mad musician for allies, Mirany begins her quest - knowing that, if she is betrayed, her fate will be to be walled up alive in the Archon's tomb ...

• ISBN10: 0340843764
• ISBN13: 9780340843765
• Publish Date: 16 January 2003
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

This was a nice little book. I'd read [a:Catherine Fisher|190887|Catherine Fisher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1309461768p2/190887.jpg] before and enjoyed [b:Incarceron|332775|Incarceron (Incarceron, #1)|Catherine Fisher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327414514l/332775._SY75_.jpg|323310] so when I learned it wasn't her first novel I was curious about her other books. Turns out this was her first book published in the US.

The story is pretty simple. But the characters are interesting if not entirely deep they're well developed enough to support the story. The mythology of the world is interesting, something a little like [b:The Thief|19063|The Book Thief|Markus Zusak|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522157426l/19063._SY75_.jpg|878368] but somehow both more involved and less profound.

The allusions to the sequel at the end have a great deal of foreboding and kind of suck some of the excitement out of the victory because you feel like even as the characters win they lose some of their power. Which is an interesting dynamic and makes me curious to read the next one.