Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Series
Review: I came accross this novel while browsing through amazon.co.uk, and after reading the synopsis and positive reviews of it, and the sequels, I decided to get all of them. And what a treat! The first novel, Dawnthief, introduces the reader to The Raven, a ledendary mercenary group, and their struggles to rid West Balaia of a great predicament. I will not spoil the book by giving any details, but let me just say that The Raven go through many mis/adventures before they accomplish their mission. Or do they? :) Anyway, this is one of the fastest paced and action packed fantasy novels I have recently read, and the characters and dialog come accross as real world, not contrived theater drama. The conversations and behaviors are so real, that at first it might be hard to follow, and might lead to some believing there is little character development in the book. I disagree however, because first of all the characters come into the story grown and skilled, so there isn't much for them to discover about themselves or new skills they can acquire while we cheer them on. And second the characters don't spend pages and pages in thought or monologue revealing themselves to the reader. Instead, Barclay lets the reader see through the actions of the characters, and through dialog, what the characters see as right or wrong, and how they do develop throughout the novel. Another strong point that the book has, and which many these days don't, is that the people are not immortal. People actually die in this book! And not just the "bad guys". All, and I mean ALL the protagonists are susceptible, and this gives the reader quite a rollercoaster ride in heart beat rate throughout the book and especially during the battle scenes. I hope this book and the rest in the series become more popular in the US, and get printed here. Don't miss out on this great read even if it is a little hard to get a copy of it now. This is truly a classic in the making.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Awful
Review: I can't begin to explain. This book was a waste not only of $11+, but of 2 days of my life, as well. The author is a classic example of a dried up D&D player who wants to write a book after reading too much R.A. Salvatore. The world building is childlike, the "heroes" are depthless, and the plot was designed by a simpleton. This is one of those books that appears to have been floated in its Amazon rankings by friends of the author- it reads like a self-published book. I am angered that I was bamboozled into purchasing it. Most of the reviews here read better than the story itself.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Awful
Review: I can't begin to explain. This book was a waste not only of $11+, but of 2 days of my life, as well. The author is a classic example of a dried up D&D player who wants to write a book after reading too much R.A. Salvatore. The world building is childlike, the "heroes" are depthless, and the plot was designed by a simpleton. This is one of those books that appears to have been floated in its Amazon rankings by friends of the author- it reads like a self-published book. I am angered that I was bamboozled into purchasing it. Most of the reviews here read better than the story itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Average first novel
Review: I purchased this book on the strength of the reviews on Amazon. Next time I will investigate more thoroughly as I found this novel to be disappointing. First, the writing style is ordinary. I like, in fantasy, descriptions of the land in which the story is taking place so I can envisage the events taking place in a certain setting. Due to the authors neglect of this feature, I felt I had no compassion for the land nor its people. Second, there is no development of character. The members of The Raven are typical of mercenaries who are nearing the ends of their careers - only concerned with their individual selves, while the mages all show characteristics of people with power. Every character is stereotypical. Third, I rarely try to guess what will happen in a book as I like to be suprised. The storyline of Dawnthief is so predictable that I read the second half without any interest at all. James Barclay has the potential to do much better in the future. He has some good ideas. I will wait a little longer to see if he writes something with more development and feeling. Then I will appreciate his work.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite as great as I hoped
Review: I'd heard great things about this but found it a little formulaic. All in all not a bad read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Author and Series: FINALLY Available in the US!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great Author and Series: FINALLY Available in the US!!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad...
Review: The Raven are a small but elite mercenary force and in this book they get involved in the hunt for a spell that will save their country from domination by the Bad Guys. I liked the idea of the Raven and soldiers and mages working together as a team and there are some interesting ideas in the book, but it is slightly clumsy in how it is put together. There is a mix of everything in there, dragons, mages, soldiers, other dimensions, war etc and perhaps at times is tries too hard.
Certainly it took me a little while to get into it and I found the first couple of chapters a little confusing.
While not brilliant it is quite readable and I suppose the fact that I have bought the next two in the series is an indication that I must have enjoyed it...
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, not well written
Review: There are aspects of Dawnthief that have real merit. The story moves crisply, there's real imagination in the creation of the Dawnthief world, the magic system, etc. However, the positive aspects are clearly outweighed by poor character development, inexplicable plot twists and some flat out sloppy storytelling. My idea of great fantasy fiction is strong 3-D characters, believable dialogs and coherent and well thought through plot changes. None of these are present in Dawnthief.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, not well written
Review: There are aspects of Dawnthief that have real merit. The story moves crisply, there's real imagination in the creation of the Dawnthief world, the magic system, etc. However, the positive aspects are clearly outweighed by poor character development, inexplicable plot twists and some flat out sloppy storytelling. My idea of great fantasy fiction is strong 3-D characters, believable dialogs and coherent and well thought through plot changes. None of these are present in Dawnthief.
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