James Barclay

[butterfly]

I am a bit behind as I have been tag-teamed by two teething children but finally finished.
From the first recognisable Hirad line till the very end I loved it. It brought me back to every previous book and challenged my recall, as well as my emotions. The ultimate rollercoaster. I couldn't read the previous books as they are packed away for a house move but as soon as I can I will reread every single one of them and I know I will get even more joy.
Thank you James for every single fearful feeling, laugh, angry thought, tear and smile. It was all worth it.
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The mirror crack'd from side to side

[Selik]

I will admit to having a favourite Hirad moment... well if i'm honest, two or three, but the one that stuck out was his reaction to seeing Denser. This would then be closely followed by his discovering Sol named his youngest after him
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[Max Power]

Finished! First thought is fab! I liked Ilks' line about putting the elf in selfish. Please tell me you groaned when you wrote that, James!!!
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If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

[Lizzy]

I liked Sol's initial reaction to Hirad

I loved it all, and need to read them all again now!
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Listen to Lizzy, she's always right! as said by Jovial

[Selik]

Exactly my response.
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[Max Power]

Way ahead of you, Lizzy! I polished off all the earlier Raven books over the summer, partly as I knew I'd have little time come September.
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If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

[Wulfgar]

Finally got my copy and read it over the weekend. Loved it! I sort of felt it had something special for long-time raven fans, a quality that you just couldn't appreciate without getting to know (and saying goodbye) to so many loved (and loved-to-hate) characters along the way since the very beginning.

I was going to ask as well about whether we'd see any more of Jonas but I've been beaten to it. Defintely his father's son

[skandranon]

I agree with wulfgar , it felt like it was specially for fans. I loved it , i loved Sirendor getting a bigger part , and i thought the ending couldnt be more fitting . The only thing that bugs me a little , is Erienne happier when shes with the Raven than when she is with Denser? or am i delving into relationship strife areas that should be left alone .

Anyway thankyou very much James , a fitting end to a rollercoaster ride of a fantasy series.

[James]

Thanks all... lovely comments. I'm really happy that life-sentence Raven lovers found Ravensoul a fitting end. My biggest fear was that you would think it a book too far. It was a thought that spurred me to greater efforts.

Must confess I enjoyed writing Hirad immensely again. His little asides about Denser and Sol's promotions made me snigger. Anyway...

Max... I trawled the depths of the bad gag bucket for Ilkar's one-liners and found that one stuck to the bottom with old grey chewing gum. I just couldn't resist it.

I think, skan, that Erienne loves having her family around her. And The Raven became that for her. It's where she feels most secure. She loves Denser with a fierce passion but her heart is at home with The Raven.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[Deornoth]

I always wondered just how much Denser saw himself as part of the Raven and the end of 'Ravensoul' has left me still wondering...

James - When Denser finally dies do you reckon he'll join up with the Raven to help them, well... you know (don't want to give anything away, even if this is a spoiler thread)

Oh yes, what Liz said about having to re-read the rest of the series
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Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

Does exactly what it says on the tin!

[James]

I'm sure that's exactly where his soul would end up. he'd be back with Erienne too.

He's always had an interesting relationship with The Raven. if you think about it, he was never really officially asked to join. he paid them for a job and never left. He's an adopted son and oft times a troublesome one. But he means them no harm despite his Xeteskian evil twin leanings and they know that. Most of the time.
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.

[Deornoth]

[TheJovialGnome]

Way behind everyone else but my senile brain can't cope with two books at once so it had to wait a while!

I have to confess that it took me a while to get into it but I'm glad I persevered as it had me turning the pages with alacrity towards the end!

Quite liked the twist and redemption with Denser (far and away the best character!) and like everyone else, the banter had me giggling to myself!

Oh yes, nice to see Sirendor getting a decent piece of the action this time round!

Great book, thanks James!
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"Constant Vigilance!"

[Drizzt]

I was recently saying to Lizzy that Ravensoul is easily one of the most intense books I've read for many a long year... it could have, quite easily, been made a lot longer with more characters given extra time 'on screen', more development for the Garonin etc etc... yet, by compacting as much into the book as he did, methinks James has amplified everything in there - and it's not like it's a light book, there is plenty in there to get through, but the sheer intensity of everything that's going on and the way it keeps cranking things up time and again just pulled me through the book... my Dad's now on reading it and getting sick of my constant asking where he's up to
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Pagan Music

[Wulfa_Coldheart]

Well I was mid-book when my copy of Ravensoul arrived and with work and Christmas stuff I’ve been a little behind on my reading. However, I finished Ravensoul last night.

I’ve been reading the Raven books for the last 8 years… it seems a long time ago when I first took a chance on the rather dodgy original covered DawnThief. I’ve enjoyed every Raven book since and so whilst I was looking forward to the return of the Raven I was a little dubious…

Before I give my thoughts on the book, I wanted to ask James something – do you have it in for the people of Balaia? I know you created them, but you’ve put them though a lot over these seven books!

This book was pure Raven. Sure I was a tiny bit disappointed with the way the Raven dead came back, but as a plot device it offered and delivered lots. That said, I did enjoy it a little more when during the soul battle at the end when the Raven re-appeared as themselves. I was also glad that Darrick, as my favourite character, made a come back in the end, two rather unspectacular deaths for the General would have been a little unfair!

Ravensoul had me in a whole range of emotions. I laughed, I got excited, I got angry, but I got all teary eyed at some of the heart-rending stuff I’ve ever read. The Barons final drink together… Sol saying good bye to his family… that scene with Diera holding the Unknown… glad I wasn’t reading that on the train! Even the ending had a bittersweet resonance to it…

I liked most of the mini-character development arcs – Jonas and Denser/Densyr in particular. Shame we won’t ever find out what happens to them, although I too hope that Denser joins with the Raven and Erienne. A Jonas/Sha-Kaan spin-off would be interesting – this water based world they’ve arrived on could make for an interesting high seas style story.

Whilst I would have loved the Raven books to have gone on, I can’t think of a more fitting ending for them. Thank you James.
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"You know what Jack Burton always says... what the hell?"