Nightchild (Gollancz S.F.) Book

With Nightchild James Barclay brings his remarkable debut trilogy to a stunning and startling conclusion. The book picks up from the previous entry as the Raven are faced with a terrible moral dilemma: Lyanna, the daughter of Raven warrior Denser and mage Erienne, has been blessed (or cursed) with the power of The One. This power is threatening the very land of Balaia and the four magic colleagues who are desperate to control the power or stop it--even if that means killing a five year old girl. Erienne, fearful for the life of her daughter, goes into hiding and the Raven have little time to find her. When they do, they face a terrible choice that none of them want to make. Nightchild is a cracking finale to what has been a real treat for fans of action-based fantasy. Barclay's prose and characterisation has improved massively with each book and this last in the trilogy is the most satisfying yet. The characters are all like good friends and their relationships have never before been this complicated or tested so much to the limit. Barclay doesn't hold back as usual in the battle scenes which are as exciting and adrenline-pumping as always, but neither has he ever been one to take the easy route with characters and many readers will be surprised by the denouement which, while effectively tying up many loose ends, also opens up possible avenues for future books. The Raven stories have been some of the best new fantasy novels in many a year and will deservedly be cherished for future generations by many fans. They may lack the minute detail of Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series or the sweeping historical feel of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, but James Barclay has shown lovers of action fantasy everywhere just exactly how it should be done. --Jonathan WeirRead More