Search Worlds Without End

The world has become a battleground in a war which no side is winning. But for those determined to retain power, the prolonged stalemate cannot be tolerated so desperate measures must be taken.

Max Halloran has no idea. He's living the brief and glorious life of a hunter-killer pilot. He's an ace in the air, on his way up through the ranks, in love, and with his family's every need provided for in thanks for his service, Max has everything...

...right up until he hears something he shouldn't have, and refuses to let it go. Suddenly he's risking his life and the lives of all those he cares about for a secret which could expose corruption at the highest levels, and change the course of the war.

One man, one brief conversation... a whole world of trouble...

Naida is living a lie.

A peerless battlefield surgeon. A talisman for the army. A symbol of hope in an impossible, grinding war.

A fraud.

Society, led by the queen, has long held that the Esselrode people and their abilities are inherently, irredeemably evil, a truth which Naida has been brought up to believe. But as one of them, feeling compelled to use her powers again and again to heal those on the brink of death, it's hard to accept. It's even harder to live a lie, conflicted about her hidden identity, when the truth could save lives.

Taken from the battlefield where she thrives to a court where her life hangs ever more precariously in the balance, Naida is about to learn that there are even greater secrets, and conspiracies, afoot... and that her dangerous truth could change the course of a nation...

The Raven: six men and an elf, sword for hire in the wars that have torn apart Balaia. For years their loyalty has been only to themselves and their code. But, that time is over. The Wytch Lords have escaped and The Raven find themselves fighting for the Dark College of magic, searching for the location of Dawnthief. It is a spell created to end the world, and it must be cast if any of them are to survive.

An apocalyptic spell has been cast, an ancient evil banished. Now the land of Balaia, still driven by war, must live with the consequences. The Dawnthief spell - designed to destroy the world, but cast to save it - has torn a hole in the sky, a pathway into the dragon dimension, and, through it, unfriendly eyes are turning to Balaia. With war already sweeping the land, there are no armies to send against the dragons. All that stands between Balaia and complete dominion by these tyrannous beasts is a tiny, but legendary band of mercenaries: The Raven. And if they fail, Balaia will fall beneath the wings of countless dragons.

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?

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 but only at the cost of 100,000 elves lost to the Garonin. The elf who led that fight, Takaar, is blamed for the loss 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 race. 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.

The Elves have been driven out of their capital. The invading forces of Mankind, backed by the terrifying power of their mages have taken hundreds of elves as hostages and have now begun to plunder the sacred jungles of Calaius. The remaining free Elves have gathered, under the leadership of the Taigethan warrior Auum, in the jungles around the city and have begun a hopeless guerilla war to harass the invading forces.

But for every man killed dozens of captured Elves are slaughtered. There seems to be no hope. Even Takaar, Lord of the Taigethan, returned from self-imposed exile seems overwhelmed by madness. But perhaps salvation lies with him afterall. James Barclay's Elves are lethal warriors, skilled in bushcraft, mystically linked to nature. But now they face their sternest test: a magic that breaks all of natures rules. A magic that mankind uses without fear or discretion. Is this the end for the Elven race?

Thousands of years ago the elves were enslaved by the Wytch Lords.

Murdered in their thousands, worked to death in slave gangs and divided against themselves, the wounds inflicted by man run deep - and elves have very long memories.

Two of them - Auum and Takaar - led the rise against their enslavers, and united their people against men in order to free their nation.

Now Calaius is at peace... but that doesn't mean their nation is safe. Men need their help.

The Wytch Lords have rallied, men's magic has grown more powerful, and their politics have become altogether more dangerous.

Especially now: one of the mages has created a spell, called Dawnthief, which has the potential to destroy all living things on the planet. All four magical colleges are fighting to seize it and, in the background, the Lords have schemes of their own. Schemes which involve crushing the elven nation for good.

Whoever seizes the spell, it places the elves in tremendous danger. But can Auum and Takaar overcome their differences and work together to save Calaius?

And even if they can, is it not already too late...?

Another action-packed adventure from the new master of fantasy.

The Raven travel to a new continent in search of mages to help the ruined college of Julatsa rebuild and find themselves in the midst of an ancient curse--a curse that has unleashed a plague that threatens to wipe out the elven race. Barclay excels with another tale that pitches The Raven against the clock and unseen foes. Full of desperate fights and secret betrayals, the story also fills in more of Balaia's history and delves deeper into the ancient emnities between the colleges.

Barclay has created a wonderfully appealing group of heroes, and with every book their history grows and the land they live in becomes wider and richer. This is landmark fantasy in the making.

The second of James Barclay's Legends of The Raven trilogy sees Barclay up the ante yet again and throw Balaia into a full blown war. Barclay has never been afraid of killing off favourite characters, but now in the latest of his blisteringly paced, all-action heroic fantasies he puts The Raven through a trial that all of them will be hard pressed to survive.

Barclay has proved himself to be the most successful fantasy writer of his generation. With 200,000 copies in print, Chronicles and Legends of the Raven are building into landmark fantasy.

THIS IS THE END ...

The dragons have gone home, the elves are safe. The Raven have kept their promises. But fate has not finished with them.

As the war between the colleges rages on an old enemy senses that his chance to revenge a bitter defeat has come. Tessaya, Lord of the Paleon Tribes has waited patiently for his moment and now, with Balaia in flames, he makes his move and unleashes the Wesmen hordes.

In Xetesk, his forces scattered, Dystran, Lord of the Mount faces certain defeat by the Wesmen unless he unleashes the horrfying power of dimensional magics. And Dystran has not come this far to be beaten at the last by a rabble of ignorant tribesmen. And so the veil between dimensions is torn...

And beyond, a predatory evil stirs. Demons catch the scent of countless souls in Balaia. Can even the Raven prevail when the world is coming to an end?

A fantasy milestone is reached. James Barclay brings his sensational saga of The Raven to a heartsopping conclusion.

Death cannot separate them.

For those who believe that death is the end, an unbroken rest and peace, here is the wake-up call. For those who believed that the defeat of the demons had finally secured peace for Balaia, here is an enemy far more deadly, far more ruthless and far, far colder.

The Garonin: dimensional travelers seeking new worlds to rape of the element of magical power. Technologically advanced in weaponry and armor, and facing only swords and magic, they are destroying everything in their path.

Surely this is not a battle The Raven can win, even with allies both elven and dragon. But prevail they must, somehow. One thing we know for sure is that they will not subside meekly into the void.

For aficionados of The Raven, this is the ultimate challenge. It cuts to the very heart —from calls beyond the veil of death, to dissension in their ranks, to the greed of men who cannot see they are about to die, to betrayal by one they loved. But above it all, the heroism and selfless sacrifice displayed will bring tears to the eyes of even the most hardened fantasy reader.

This is The Raven, older, wiser, some returned from the grave. Grieving they seek nothing but rest from conflict, something the world will not grant them. But they remain The Raven, still answering when the call comes, still the force most likely to survive and bring the world with them, and still willing to die so that those they love can live.

The Estorean Conquord has stood for 850 years. Its Advocate, Herine Del Aglios, knows that she presides over the greatest civilisation in history. But she wants more. And in Estorea's recently conquered territories dissent is brewing. Forced to fight old friends and neighbours in the cause of the ever-growing Conquord, they face brutal choices and savage demands for money and men to be fed into Estorea's wars - demands made by Paul Jhered, head of the Gatherers and the iron hand of the Advocate, With Jhered by her side, Herine believes that nothing can go wrong. Until a disastrous and bloody reversal in the war to overrun the Kingdom of Tsard puts Estorea's armies on the back foot and has Tsardon troops flooding into the Conquord.

As the empire trembles, far from the war four unique children are discovering their powers. They are the first true Ascendants, in touch with the elements, able to shape the world. An empire descending into war is about to discover the wonder and terror of magic...

Ten years have passed, and Estorea is consumed by war. The four ascendants have chosen different sides in the conflict. As the armies muster and the final conflict draws close, the ascendants are only now coming to their full power, and soon summoned armies of the dead will march against the living.