Product Description

The Raven have fought together for years, six men carving out a living as swords for hire in the war that has torn Balaia apart, loyal only to themselves and their code. But when they agree to escort a Xesteskian mage on a secret mission they are pulled into a world of politics and ancients secrets. For the first time The Raven cannot trust even their own strength and prowess, for the first time their code is in doubt. How is it that they are fighting for one of the most evil colleges of magic known? Searching for the secret location of Dawnthief; a spell that could end the world? Aiming not to destroy it but to cast it . . . DAWNTHIEF is a fast paced epic about a band of all-too-human heroes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176696 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-10
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
This energetic first fantasy novel is familiar in outline, but told with unusual intensity. "The Raven" is a group of seven mercenaries, just starting to lose their fighting edge, who reluctantly get hired by a mage from a college of magic with a nasty reputation for blood sacrifice. Their mission: to save the world from major bad guys called the Wytch Lords. These, defeated long ago at great cost, have escaped their sorcerous confinement and will be unstoppable once they've grown new bodies; meanwhile their teeming minions are already going to war. The only hope is Dawnthief, a lost super-spell which, if correctly cast, can zap even Wytch Lords--but make one mistake and the sun will never come up again. A typical fantasy-quest shopping list emerges: you need the dragon-guarded amulet to open the ancient mage's workshop to find the portal leading to the demon watching over the parchment with the spell, which itself requires three "catalyst" talismans hidden in difficult places. What makes Dawnthief a ripping yarn is Barclay's ruthless pace and lack of sentimentality. No character is too nice, innocent or important to die or suffer hideous tortures. The death toll is horrific, as are the many exotic ways of dying in this dangerous world. This is a breathless, action-crammed fantasy thriller. --David Langford

Synopsis
The Raven have fought together for years, six men carving out a living as swords for hire in the war that has torn Balaia apart, loyal only to themselves and their code. But when they agree to escort a Xesteskian mage on a secret mission they are pulled into a world of politics and ancients secrets. For the first time The Raven cannot trust even their own strength and prowess, for the first time their code is in doubt. How is it that they are fighting for one of the most evil colleges of magic known? Searching for the secret location of Dawnthief; a spell that could end the world? Aiming not to destroy it but to cast it ...DAWNTHIEF is a fast paced epic about a band of all-too-human heroes.

About the Author
James Barclay is in his thirties and lives in Maida Vale. In addition to writing novels he works as an advertsing manager for a leading city investment house.

Customer Reviews

Gets better every time you read it.
I read a lot, a large part of may day is apent waiting for work so I fill my time with reading, papers novels whatever. The important thing for me is that a book hold my interest. My main interests are sci fi and fantasy so it stands to reason that I would give a book like this a go. I first read it shortly after its release because of a review in SFX magazine, the gave a fairly solid review three stars I think. I didnt expect to find anything on par with magician or Dune but I enjoyed it none the less, and I gave it a three star review myself. Now some years on I have read the whole Raven saga and have started reading them again. This is about the fourth time I have read dawntheif, more than I do many books. for example I have read the wheel of time books three or four times, the same with the riftwar books and the many sequels. However the like of Tad williams I have only managed to read through the once, great though his books are they are hard going. SO what does this say about dawnthief? it is easy to read and can be fairly undemanding, however the characters are what set it apart from the average fantasy, the raven are almost a superhero team bigger than life. however that doesn't make them shallow. Blockbuster entertainment.

Restored my faith in Fantasy
......after many years of reading sci-fi & fantasy, I abruptly tired of the "purple rain falling on the orange grass" or "I can't be the heir to the Sword of Garglebad, I'm just a stable-boy" and stopped looking at these genres for many years (Iain M Banks excepted).

I decided to give escapism another go recently, and after a completely false start with the execrable "Orcs" book (if ever a good idea went to waste...), I, purely by accident (first trip to a library for years), stumbled across these - sad to say, decided by not much more than "interesting cover!?".

I write this review now having read all 6 and although as many reviewers have said, they get better (characterisation, plot, pacing, etc) book by book, the fact of the matter is, I wouldn't have even read book 2 if this was poor.

What I loved about this book (series) :
- you're dropped straight in (figure out man! no screeds of exposition)
- the goodies ain't invincible (does Barclay get kicked out of the club for this - innocents & major characters die!!!)
- ooh-ya, ah-ya battles expertly described, putting you into the maelstrom (think start of saving private ryan, er, with swords)
- excellent humour (reminiscent of IM Banks IMHO)
- the people are real (they wind each other up, get upset, tired, have hopes etc)
- elves are in it, but forget the namby-pamby poetry and chiffon - these guys are psycho ninja killing machines! (later book to be fair)

Really - buy, beg, borrow, steal these - they are rip-roaring reads - but there is an intellectual & emotional maturity that is very satisfying indeed.

.......and no purple rain.

A lasting effect.
It's been a while since I read this book, and I wasn't overly enamoured with it initially (so many characters at the start confused me a little) - but I now look back fondly on the book and have gone back to read others in the series.

Some have said that this book doesn't have particularly strong character development. I would half agree with this for the book, but the Xesteskian Mage (Denser) was very well developed allbeit in a minimalist way. Once you have moved through a few of these books though - you feel a very strong affinity with the main characters and want them to succeed. Some of the characters have little idiosyncrasies (Unknown taps his sword on the floor before engaging in battle) and these help define the characters and forge a good mental image of them.

The basics might seem formulaic, a troupe of 'muscle-for-hire' warriors find themselves on a quest to save the world. But Barclay's constant barrage of action keeps this fast paced book interesting. And the character of Denser was absolutely fascinating, I would have kept reading to try and understand more about him. What a fantastic character!

There are many people introduced through the story - and I have some sort of 'name dyslexia' and struggle to remember who is who, but trucking on with the story reaped its own rewards and I got well stuck in.

There is a realism to the novel (well, as real as you get in a fantasy novel!) as the fights are gory, the 'good guys' aren't angels, the heroes of the story aren't immune from injury themselves.

This is a great novel, and a fantastic portal to the further "Chronicles of the Raven" books. This series of books forms an epic fantasy collection.

Enjoy!