Gollancz slapped some striking covers on James Barclay's Raven novels. I must say though that the artwork for his upcoming novel doesn't really work for me - seems rather D&D-ish (don't get me wrong, I love D&D - just not on my book covers). The tagline - They live for thousands of years, now they are trying to kill each other - sounds awkward.Still, mustn't judge a book by its cover and all that. Here's the synopsis:
The elves have fled to Calius, seeking to escape the overwhelming power of the demonic Garonin. A desperate last stand in their own dimension saved the race, at the cost of 100,000 elves lost to the Garonin.
The elf who led that fight, Takaar, is blamed for the losses and has gone into hiding. Now the weakened elf race is tearing itself apart in civil war, human mercenaries have arrived in Calius and are ripping the continent apart. Only one elf can unite the elves. And only one elf believes in him.
A young warrior named Auum sets out to bring back the shamed hero and save the elven race. James Barclay's ELVES trilogy will tell the whole story of his immortal elven race, and will appeal to all fans of Tolkien and fantasy - this is a uniquely entertaining take on a fantasy staple perfect to bring new readers to Barclay. And old readers of James Barclay will welcome a return to one of their favourite creations and will also love seeing one of their favourite characters again - the Tai Gethan warriror Auum destined to be one of the Raven.
Sounds like fans of Barclay's high-octane action fantasy won't be disappointed. Elves is slated for a 21 January 2010 release.
4 comments:
The synopsis is promising....
So far I didn't read a book by James Barclay. I read mixed reviews about Dawnthief. Still not sure whether to give it a try or not.
@ ediFanoB
I've heard from Barclay readers that Dawnthief was an early work. Barclay's later additions to the series are reportedly better.
I've read the Ascendants duology, and liked them well enough. I'm getting ready to pick up Dawnthief myself rather soon, that I might have his Raven series finished by the time the Elves series starts to come out in January.
If you want to try Barclay's Raven novels, then Dawnthief is the only real place to start. I should point out though that it is by some distance the weakest novel out of the first three instalments in the series. Noonshade, which forms a duology of sorts with Dawnthief, is a much better book. Nightchild is also superior. Can't comment on the rest as I've not read them.
If you like your fantasy with plenty of battles and magic, then they're worth checking out.
@ PeterWilliam and @ James thank you both for your comments.
In the meantime I checked my other PC where I store music, PDF books ad other stuff. To my surprise I own a copy of Dawnthief in PDF format. So even I don't like it I will give it a try. That means I will read about 50 to 80 pages. In case I like it I will buy the real book. I need paper in my hand.
This would be not the first series where the first book of a series is a bit weaker than the rest. That doesn't hinder me.
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