James Barclay

[masrock]

No I'm not talking about a dyslexic singing the chorus to 'Old MacDonald'

OK <ahem>

In Summary
Overall the book was enjoyable to read.
I found the first few chapters confusing and took a little work to get into the story.
Maybe could have done with a list of definitions -a few 'What is an "iad" anyway?' moments
A map would have been useful.
The story assumes you have read all of the other titles and launches straight into the story with the expectation that you know enough background information to get by. This may put of a new reader.
I found that the exertions of Auum - fighting and acrobatics, the castings of mages were without cost - even the super fit get tired and breathe hard eventually.

Just my two penneth worth.

Masrock
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"Time flies like an arrow.Fruit flies like a banana."

[Shriker]

Fair enough to say mate.

I really enjoyed the book but also did have some of those confused moments near the beginning, like figuring out that the elves had lived in both places, but I guess you shouldn't learn everything at once.

I don't think I've ever known a Tai Gethen get tired, and Auum probably did a lot more fighting in the other books than in this. As for mages they did actually mention that they had to keep changing the flying scouts "like they were getting tired or something", I suppose One magic is more powerful through less exersions compared to College magic, but the mages in this book were never casting for extended lengths of time, they just killed people quickly, unlike the college war or the demon seiges.

No book is perfect, and I agree with some of your observations, just thought I'd add my opinion

I loved reading the book and can't wait for the next one.
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Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows him...

[James]

Thanks for your thoughts.

We thought about a map but decided against it. It'll appear as web content sometime though it is largely just a big forest with cities around the edge. Would you have welcomed a city map of Ysundeneth?

I'm not really into glossaries and so long as you worked out what an -iad and an -ula were eventually, that's fine by me. But a fair point nonetheless.

I don't agree that the book assumes you have read all the others. In fact I've had many mails from first time Barclay readers who have thoroughly enjoyed it and are now into The Raven. This book is about elves and their history is told in its pages. The Raven books are an irrelevance. Having said that, I'm sure the odd allusion has slipped through and I'll take more care in future.

I did think about the tiredness thing. I didn't concentrate on individual mages long enough for it to make sense to chat about fatigue - there were a lot of them casting and I thought it an unnecessary detail. Different in book 2, by the way. As for Auum, well I'm portraying him and the TaiGethen in particular as super-fit predators. They fight very economically though perhaps I should have talked about how they rest on the hoof, needing little sleep etc. I'll correct that in book 2...

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it overall, Mas, you are tough to please. And Shriker, thanks for your thoughts too - much appreciated.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[masrock]

Hi James,

Thanks for the reply. It's your fault really, by setting such a high standard for your first book, those few opening chapters in Dawnthief were spectacular. As the stories progressed about the Raven, we heard about the need to rest and recharge, for people and mages. (Hinrad getting older, The Unknown and his gammy hip.) Nothing comes cheap. Showing how a character deals with this adds realism to the fantastic

Maybe it became fixed in my mind now I've gone passed the age of 40 and can feel like I'm getting out of breath just getting my bicycle out of the shed!

I may be hard to please, but If I wasn't pleased, just a little I wouldn't come here to bug you, split hairs, pick holes and generally make a nuisance of myself!

Warmest regards

Masrock

PS I had to think hard to remember how Balia relates to Calia, maybe a map of the city would have been useful too.
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"Time flies like an arrow.Fruit flies like a banana."