James Barclay (born 15 March 1965) is a British high fantasy author who has written multiple series including Chronicles of the Raven and Legends of the Raven."James Barclay." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2012. Gale Literature Resource Center. Accessed 18 April 2023. The Bookseller has called him "One of the UK's most popular genre fantasy authors.""Science fiction and fantasy" by Michael Rowley, The Bookseller, 9/17/2004, Issue 5146, pages 37-40.
Biography
Early life Barclay was born in Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1965. He attended Sheffield City Polytechnic. Prior to his breakthrough as an author in 2004, Barclay worked as an actor and a policeman. He was also an advertising manager for a financial investment company.
Writing career Barclay said his main inspirations as a writer were David Gemmell and the novel The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes. A reviewer has since compared his work with Gemmell's."Attack of the Tomes," The Bookseller, Issue 5068, 3/14/2003, page 38. An origin story of the company of The Raven entitled "Or So Legend Has It" appears in the 2013 short story collection Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell.
Works
Chronicles of the Raven series
Dawnthief. Gollancz, 2002. Noonshade. Pyr, 2009. Nightchild. Pyr, 2009.
Legends of the Raven series Elfsorrow. Pyr, 2010. Shadowheart. Pyr, 2010. Demonstorm. Pyr, 2011. Ravensoul. Gollancz, 2008.
Elves series Once Walked with Gods.Gollancz, 2010. Rise of the TaiGethen. Gollancz, 2012. Beyond the Mists of Katura. Gollancz, 2013.
The Ascendants of Estorea series
Cry of the Newborn. Orion Publishing Group, 2005. A Shout for the Dead. Gollancz, 2006.
Other novels
Heart of Granite (Gollancz, 2016) The Queen's Assassin (Gollancz, 2022)
References
External links Official website James Barclay on Goodreads Interview with James Barclay