Dawnthief (Chronicles of the Raven 1)

I bought this book based solely on the front cover endorsement of the late great David Gemmell whose Drenai books have captured my imagination for years - I enjoy reading nothing more than heroic fantasy - fast paced, action packed with a believable world and characters I can relate to. I was not disappointed. The genius of this entry into the genre is you cannot trust that the characters that start a chapter will be still be alive at the end of the chapter - they don't die in huge heroic set pieces - but because they fight for a living they do die - it's refreshing if somewhat alarming. If you are looking for the fantasy equivalent of Tolstoy please look elsewhere - but if you want to switch off and read some classic heroic fantasy buy this book today - but when you're still up at 3:00am unable to put the book down, please don't blame me - it's all James Barclay's doing.

I'm rather amazed that this books got some so-so reviews... it's great fun. If you enjoy David Gemmel or Steven Erickson, this is a rousing adventure tale you'll enjoy. It's a shame these books don't have a US publisher. I almost put this book down about 1/3 of the way into it, but I stuck with it and was pulled in by it's action and charm. Very satisfying and am ordering more by this author.

Readers in the UK and Europe have been lucky enough to read James Barclay's thrilling CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN for a couple of years now. Thankfully, the British Publisher, Victor Gollancz has arranged to have at least the first book in the series, DAWNTHIEF, distributed in the US.Barclays writing is reminiscent of both David Gemmell (another UK import) and Glen Cook's Black Company, but I feel his RAVEN books are superior to both. Dawnthief begins with gripping action: the abduction of a mage and a siege of a castle. This sets the tone for the rest of the book, and indeed the series. The cast of characters is believable, the magic is handled with thought and you can barely turn the pages fast enough to keep up with the story. The story tells the tale of the Raven, a mercenary group known for the perfection and 100% success rate on all of their jobs. They are so successful because they ultimately believe and trust in each other, the ultimate team. The Raven have been taking jobs for years and are on the brink of retirement, just finishing what was to be their last job. They have made loads of money and are looking forward to settling down and living a relaxed life before the harsh life of the mercenary catches up with them.It turns out the close of this "last job" (which opens the book) sends them on their toughest, most important job ever-that of saving the world. The Raven never much thought of anything other than their money as an end to the job. Upon finishing this last job they run into a thief mage by the name of Denser, who steals an amulet from a Dragon, which sets the spiraling of this story. This amulet is a key component of the spell Dawnthief a super-spell which is the world of Balaia's only salvation from the returning Wytch Lords, demi-god mages who have been imprisoned for years. Barclay expertly draws his characters in this opening novel. As the story unfolds we learn about these characters, like the mage Illkar, the strong willed barbarian warrior Hirad and the strong mysterious Unknown Warrior. What marks these characters the most is that they are Raven, which they constantly tell themselves in order to get through each difficulty.I like the way the magic was handled, broken up into four colleges. These colleges are centers of the land of Balaia and help to give life to the world Barclay has created. Overall, this is not only an excellent opening series book, but an excellent book, period. What is most surprising is that it's Barclay's first book. Be sure to order the one with the list price of ($$$) and an ISBN: 185798594X that's the one being distributed in the US.

Three cheers for Barclay in creating this truly heroic tale of a group of mercenaries who must work together stop a terrible evil from destroying their land! Raven, a cynical band of mercenaries find themselves allies with a sinister college of dark magic to cast a powerful spell to save their world from the vast army of barbarian wesmen who are lead by shaman and evil Wytch Lords.Barclay spices his epic novel with brutal and realistic battles scenes and powerful images of magic and sorcery.He also has splendid plot twists and not scared to kill off favorite character.Unforgettable reading experience!

Barclay spins a no nonsense tale that shocks the reader in breaking conventions. No character is too precious to be passed over for punishment when his time is due. Yet, we feel the sense of loss and renewal as the group of merceneries known as the Raven gets drawn into a series of escalating events.One theme has hit me the most after reading this novel. Teamwork. Brings adrenalin rushing through you as you live through what the Raven goes through and you feel the deep bonding between the members of the Raven.A fantastic dark gritty spin on an medieval fantasy world with villians and concepts that you would bring into your dreams of adventures for years to come.