Publishing information: Paperback; 496 pages
Publisher: Orion Publishing; 13 November 2008
ISBN 10: 0575082844
ISBN 13: 9780575082847
Series: Book 3 in the Chronicles of the Raven trilogy
Copy- out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson
Back of the Book: ”It begins with a tidal wave. There is a new power coming. It will sweep aside the four colleges of magic. It is the power of the land, and it has manifested itself in Lyanna, a five year old girl. Unknowingly, she could destroy Balaia. Desperate to maintain their power, the colleges will do anything to control the child. If that fails, they will kill her. Terrified, Lyanna's mother, Erienne the mage, takes her into hiding. But they can't hide forever. As the hunt goes on, Lyanna starts to test her powers and nature itself begins to turn on Balaia. Her father, Denser of The Raven, is also desperate to find her. But can even The Raven find Erienne and her child when they do not want to be found? And if they do find them, what then should they do? Lyanna is ripping the world apart. Thousands are dying. Can The Raven afford to let her live?“
If you are just catching up the reviews for the other two novels in the series are here: Dawnthief and Noonshade.
When we return to the land of Balaia we find the Ravens five years from the previous adventure found in Noonshade and they have all gone their separate ways and found new lives, giving up the life of the Balaia's legendary mercenaries. All of them have started families. Hirad has taken it upon himself to watch over the dragons and protect them from those that would seek them as a hunting trophy, The Unknown has returned to his beloved bar and settled down, Ilkar has taken up the massive chore of rebuilding the Julastian college, and Erienne and Denser have a young daughter that is strong in magic.
While we are allowed a glimpse of the Raven's new lives it does not take long before all heck breaks out and the Ravens are called to once again take on a job, this time it is to protect one of their own. When Denser learns that his wife and child are on the run from her own college and witch hunters, he turns to his long-time friends for help. The glimpse that we see as the Ravens reform in Nightchild is beyond the hack and slash adding a missing portion of the characters personalities that was only hinted at in the earlier books. Nightchild is a great action novel but a new aspect has been added in this one. Barclay adds a new dimension to each of his beloved Ravens. I would have liked to have seen more of each of the characters in retirement but, then the book would not have been quite so action packed. However, it was a nice change of pace while it lasted.
Each of the characters in Nightchild have grown leaps and bounds from where they started in Dawnthief and I have to say it only added to the enjoyment as I read the book. Nightchild also brings back a lot of our favorite supporting characters from the previous installments, as well as adding in Lyanna the offspring of Erienne and Denser. While I liked her at first, her character seemed innocent and curious but as the novel continued to add more and more of her personality, I came to dislike her.
At the heart of Nightchild is a rescue. The Raven need to reform in order to save Erienne and Denser's daughter Lyanna. Along the way the Raven meet old friends and enemies. The big diffence that I found with this novel when compared to the previous two books is that the Raven tend to have a few falling outs between them. In Dawnthief and Noonshade, they were a cohesive fighting unit all like minded. While the other novels in the trilogy had them have very few (minor) disagreements usually regarding tactics and strategies. The arguments in Nightchild were bigger and have far reaching implications and show how far the Raven have changed from a cohesive unit to individuals. It was definitely a change for me and was a subtle and brilliant way to add realism to the individuals, while showing how time changes everything and everyone.
Barclay is once again at the top of his game. While Nightchild may be classified as a good old hack and slash we also have a fairly impressive tactical novel as the Raven rarely go in guns (er..swords) blazing (slashing?). They always take their time to approach every situation through tactical brilliance. One of the reasons that I enjoy the series is that we have a group of highly skilled and intellegent mercenaries who approach every obstacle with reason and sound judgement. The Raven planning sessions are always a joy to read as they are rather informative and at times revealing of the characters. Barclay does not disappoint in this installment as the sessions are a major part of this book adding to the depth of the series.
I really enjoyed Nightchild and all of the books in the Chronicles of the Raven series and will more than likely continue with the second trilogy the Legends of the Raven sometime in the future. If you want the thinking man's sword and sorcery with some interesting characters with great dialogue, then James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven (Dawnthief, Noonshade, and Nightchild) is right up your alley. This is a series that should not miss and should be in everyone's library.
Plot 8
Characters 9
Style 9
Overall 8/10
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