James Barclay

Chronicles of the Raven — (1999-2009) Publisher:  Six men and an elf make up The Raven, swords for hire in the wars that have torn apart the land of Balaia. For years, they have remained loyal only to themselves and their code. But a secret mission has changed that, and drawn them into a new world of politics and ancient mysteries. Now the band has chosen to fight for the Dark College of Magic. They want the location of Dawnthief, a spell to end the world-a spell The Raven intends to cast...

Chronicles of the Raven

Legends of the Raven 

Dawnthief

Dawnthief, by James Barclay, is a fast-paced fantasy action story about a band of mercenaries called The Raven. It isn't bad for something to read without needing to untangle plot twists or follow along as characters evolve and grow. It's a basic action story where the good guys fight the bad guys. It reminds me of old western movies my dad watched when I was a kid, like The Magnificent Seven. But The Raven aren't really good guys, since they are mercenaries. Apparently, what sets them apart is a code they all swore to, vowing never to take a man's life unless in battle, which sets them apart from all the other mercenaries in the land. The Raven also seems to echo modern US army ideals, such as never leaving a man behind and so forth. It's very 'all for one and one for all' in its themes.

If you've read any Tom Clancy novels you will have a vague idea of how The Raven operate. Tom Clancy's novels, however, are far more intricate and involved than Dawnthief is. The comparison is only appropriate for how the two bands of fighting men take on overwhelming odds through their vows of eternal comradeship. Alright, I'll say it straight; it's full of macho posturing and male bonding.

The characters are fairly flat. From what I have read of real-world war memoirs, they often seem to have little true character development, so that isn't unrealistic, but if you do want any depth and complexity in your characters you won't find those here. And what the heck was up with Eirenne? What a horrible character! Her attitude throughout the book was bizarre. I can't say exactly how without giving some of the story away, but as the only female character given much mention she was a truly awful representative. I can only think that Barclay was badly hurt in relationships in his life from the way this woman acts and thinks. Either that or it's just porn-level shallowness where she throws herself on the strong and has nothing but contempt for anyone not bulging with muscles or magical prowess. Perhaps that's the author's take on how things should be? In any case, she was annoying.

Speaking of magic, there is some assumed knowledge for the reader that those new to fantasy might be mildly confused by for a while. One example is the word 'mana' for the root of the characters' magical powers. Also, the way the spells are named and used reminded me of role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. That aspect wasn't confusing, though I prefer to have magic explained a little better and given some more background than just having magic as a skill a person has developed. I could hear the dice rolling every time they went into battle.

The bad guys were a faceless horde, which made them difficult to dislike. It also made it hard for me to root for the good guys, since I never had a well-formed idea of who or what they were facing. The bad guys were portrayed in a very clichéd way that reminded me of 80s cold war movies where the Ruskies were played by Americans with lousy accents and scary hair cuts. And the story-line was much the same, too.

“Ve vyill much yin to lend of Mickyi Mus end dyistroy all foh glory of motherlend. Da!”

So, yes, it's another book where the main characters must save the world from utter destruction by the supreme evil bad guys, who blunder about doing silly things until they are put out of their misery by the righteously avenging good guys. The ending was never in doubt for a moment. The battles at the end were so ridiculous, with the ease at which the good guys did what they had to do and the bad guys—who had been plotting for 300 years, mind you — launched badly-timed attacks and left holes wide open in their defences.

Despite these rather large short-comings, the book has its merits as a fast-paced novel you can read without needing to think about things much. It's like a typical Hollywood action movie, really. So if that's your thing, then you'll probably be entertained by Dawnthief. Three stars, at most.  —Mark   Comments

Dawnthief

Dawnthief is the first book in James Barclay's CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN trilogy (followed by Noonshade and Nightchild). In addition to the trilogy, the author also published four LEGENDS OF THE RAVEN novels and one Raven novella, as well as two ASCENDANTS OF ESTORIA novels and the stand-alone Vault of Deeds. Dawnthief was James Barclay's first published work in 1999 and, in the author's words, "came from a personal frustration with the pace, style and character matter of other fantasy novels." Its aim, again quoting the author, was "to entertain readers."

If entertainment was the novel's only goal, I'd consider Dawnthief a success, despite several issues that a critical reader might find difficult to ignore.

First of all, Dawnthief's plot and setting are so simplistic that they wouldn't look out of place in a YA novel. The continent Balaia is split right in half by a mountain range. The only crossing points are the narrow Understone pass in the middle, and two bays to the north and south. To the east of the mountain pass is the civilized world, including a feuding nobility and four rivalling colleges of magic. To the west of the mountains are the Wesmen, basically primitive Bad Guys who have waged war on the east in the past, as well as the prison of the evil Wytchlords.

In this setting we meet the Raven, a famous group of seven mercenaries consisting of six warriors and one elf mage. One of the Raven's fighters is called The Unknown Warrior - that's actually the name he goes by, capitals included, and yes, his friends address him as Unknown Warrior or, maybe more affectionately, "Unknown." After encountering this name several times in the first chapters of the book, I had so much difficulty taking it seriously that my eyes started to cross, but in a strange way the name is really part of the fun atmosphere in Dawnthief — and, surprisingly, even ends up having real significance in one of the few original fantasy ideas to appear in this novel.

At the start of Dawnthief, the Raven is engaged in the defense of one baron's castle from the attack of another noble, and in the course of the fight they stumble into another dimension and encounter a Dragon. Denser, the "Dark Mage" (connected to Xetesk, the more evil college of magic) recovers an artifact from the dragon, and this item turns out to be one of the components for Dawnthief — an immensely destructive spell that will prove vitally important in the defense against the resurgent Wesmen and the threat of the Wytchlord's resurrection.

From that point on, the novel basically never slows down: sword fights, magical battles, a damsel in distress, more sword fights, full-on warfare. Frequently, Dawnthief reads like a particularly hectic D&D campaign, with the party of heroes traveling hither and yon across the land, collecting spell components, getting injured and healed in battle, making wisecracks as they cut down their enemies or get cut down themselves (word of warning: James Barclay has taken a page from the George R.R. Martin Don't-Get-Too-Attached-To-My-Characters school of writing).

As this was James Barclay's first novel, it's maybe not surprising that the prose isn't always as smooth as it could be. Especially in the early part of the novel, run-on sentences pop up like clockwork, but given the author's commercial success, I would guess that those problems have been smoothed over in his later books. I was more surprised to see not one but two names misspelled in the "Cast List" of Pyr's otherwise lovely trade paperback edition, released in September 2009. (At this point, I also want to point out how wonderful it is that Pyr is re-releasing the CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN at such a quick pace — one novel per month, with Noonthief out in mid-October and Nightchild right on its heels in November. It's great not to have to wait for the next book!)

Dawnthief is the literary equivalent of an entertaining action movie. You're not going to, say, a Michael Bay movie for the deep characterization, multi-layered plot or artful cinematography. You want fast-paced action, fights, special effects, straightforward escapist fun. Dawnthief delivers all of those in spades. What it doesn't deliver: well-rounded characters, an unpredictable plot, any semblance of depth. If you're looking for any of those, Dawnthief is not the novel for you. On the other hand, if you want to turn off your brain and enjoy a fast-paced action-packed fantasy romp, Dawnthief is a fun and quick read that never gets boring. Maybe most surprisingly of all, I'm actually looking forward to reading Noonshade. —Stefan   Comments

Noonshade

Noonshade is the second book in the CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN series by British fantasy author James Barclay. At the end of trilogy opener Dawnthief, the legendary group of mercenaries known as the Raven managed to destroy the Wytchlords and save the world of Balaia by casting the powerful Dawnthief spell, but as a side effect of the spell, a magical rift appeared in the sky above Parve.

Very early on in Noonshade, we discover that this rift leads to another dimension, populated by several "broods" of dragons, and that the only thing stopping them from invading and destroying Balaia is the Kaan brood, which has a link with the Balaian dimension and some of its inhabitants. However, the rift is growing, and as soon as its shade is large enough to cover the city of Parve at noon (hence Noonshade), the Kaan brood will no longer be able to protect Balaia from the other dragons and certain destruction.

Meanwhile, the Wesmen are still waging war on the civilized eastern part of the world. Despite having lost their magical powers after the Wytchlords' destruction, they are continuing to lay siege to the cities and magical colleges. The Raven will have to fight their way through the chaos of warfare to find a way to close the rift and save Balaia.

On the one hand Noonshade is better than its predecessor Dawnthief. The characters have by now at least gained some history, making them more understandable and likable. Especially the shape-changer Thraun gains some actual depth, making him the most fascinating character in Noonshade for me. Also returning are the mages Ilkar, Denser and Erienne, the thief Will, the barbarian Hirad Coldheart and, yes, the Unknown Warrior. The plot once again moves along at a brisk, even hectic pace, rarely pausing in its rush from one battle to the next. The fantasy world James Barclay has created definitely gains a few new dimensions (quite literally). Finally, there are some memorable scenes in this novel, including one very dark one that wouldn't be out of place in one of Steven Erikson's Malazan novels.

On the other hand however, Noonshade is once again little more than a breathless string of action scenes, barely kept together by a coherent plot, and populated by mostly flat characters. By the last 100 pages of the novel, I found myself skimming some of the many battles, because their descriptions were almost interchangeable. I also felt that James Barclay was often trying to set up scenes for maximum shock value by making characters strongly state they would never do something, and then give in and do it anyway a few chapters later. Because of the hectic pacing and general shallowness of the story, the impact is unfortunately not as strong as it could be.

Still, Noonshade is another wild action movie in the shape of a novel, full of adventure, battles and magic. What it lacks in depth, style, and originality, it makes up for in entertainment value and pace. If you enjoyed Dawnthief, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll enjoy Noonshade just as much.
—Stefan   Comments

Nightchild

Nightchild is officially the third book in the CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN trilogy by British fantasy author James Barclay, but it feels like a completely separate novel from Dawnthief and Nightchild, which were so strongly connected that they could have been published as one long story, with book 2 picking up right where book 1 left off. Nightchild, by contrast, starts 5 years after the end of the previous book, and while it continues some of the plot lines from the first two books, it feels like the start of a brand new story.

At the start of Nightchild, the mercenaries collectively known as the Raven have moved in separate directions after having saved Balaia from the Wesmen and invading dragons from other dimensions. Hirad Coldheart is busy protecting the remaining Kaan dragons, The Unknown Warrior has started a family, Thraun is still stuck in his wolf form, Ilkar is busy rebuilding the ruined Julatsan college of magic, and most importantly, Erienne and Denser have a daughter, Lyanna, who at just 5 years old, presents a great threat to Balaia. The entire novel revolves around Lyanna, the "Nightchild," whose inability to control her tremendous power has disastrous consequences for Balaia. The Raven — including the child's parents — will attempt to protect her from the different factions that are trying to control or even destroy her.

In Nightchild, James Barclay basically does everything he did in the first two books of the CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN, but just a little bit better. The novel is more tightly written, the characters have by now acquired some depth, and the plot is less simplistic. While the hectic pace of the first two novels occasionally lent them a cartoon-like quality, Nightchild is more evenly paced, better crafted, and simply a more enjoyable read. 

The novel gradually ratchets up the tension as the story progresses, leading to an epic final battle, but unfortunately the final resolution feels like a let-down after the long build-up. Also disappointing: a major plot line mentioned throughout the novel is surprisingly left unresolved at the end of Nightchild - maybe to be picked up again in the LEGENDS OF THE RAVEN series? (The LEGENDS OF THE RAVEN series is already available in the UK and will be released in the US by Pyr in late 2010/early 2011.)

Regardless of the ending, this novel represents a big step in the right direction. If you liked Dawnthief and Noonshade, you'll love Nightchild. And if (like me) you weren't entirely blown away by the first two books in the series but kept reading out of curiosity, your persistence will be rewarded, because Nightchild is easily the best book in the trilogy.
—Stefan   Comments