71 - 80 - the Top 100 fantasy books of all time

One of the greatest and most often committed faults of English literature, specifically of the fantasy genre, is the emotional attachment to characters by their authors. Though budding and experienced authors alike may start out with all intention to realistically treat their characters as they should, more often than not, by the end of the story, everyone has miraculously survived.

Elfsorrow: Legends of the Raven (Gollancz S.F.) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: James Barclay
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 496
Publication date: 2003-07-10
Publisher: Gollancz

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The latest of James Barclay's series about the Raven mercenary company, Elfsorrow handily picks up on various loose ends. The war between the Colleges of Magic has ever more terrible consequences--the mages of Xetesk steal magic from a remote temple triggering a curse that will exterminate all elves. The Raven mage Erienne is racked with guilt over her failure to save her daughter and her possession of the vast magical power that burned her daughter out. The witch-hunters of the Black Wing are busy exploiting the situation and recruiting dispossessed farmers for a massive pogrom of magic workers. Barclay's work is always at its best when conveying a sense of urgency and of people caught up between bad choices; he is also not frightened of killing his characters off, which means that the sense of jeopardy here is real. We know, by now, that the Raven is more than individual vulnerable warriors--it is a way of life and a commitment to muddling through to righteousness. Barclay has many of the faults of pulp fantasy--his dialogue is unmemorable and his characterisation perfunctory--but his well-paced tales have both emotional force and a sense of being about things that matter. --Roz Kaveney
Amazon.co.uk Review

One of the underlying threads that have raced through James Barclay’s The Raven series has been the ever building conflict between the four colleges of magic on Balaia. Shadowheart sees the climax of this collision. Not surprisingly, the “dark” college is the one to strike, but thankfully the reader is not necessarily forced into taking the “good guys” side.

Shadowheart: Legends of the Raven (Legends of the Raven 2) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: James Barclay
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 464
Publication date: 2008-11-13
Publisher: Gollancz

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When I first started reading Demonstorm, I was under every impression that it was Barclay’s final say in the world of the mercenary band known as The Raven. The ending of the book definitely gives that opinion as well, continuing Barclay’s well worn killing off of his characters. But before the end comes, Barclay manages to pull off one of the greatest escapades I have ever read. It is exciting, thrilling, and – as much as any fantasy book can be – entirely believable.

Demonstorm (Legends of the Raven 3) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: James Barclay
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 480
Publication date: 2008-11-13
Publisher: Gollancz

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Demonstorm is the sixth world-saving exploit of James Barclay's heroic-fantasy "Mission Impossible" team, The Raven--first seen in his 1999 debut novel Dawnthief.

Again the war-ravaged continent Balaia is in big trouble. Bigger than ever. Attacked for excellent reasons by the barbarian Wesmen, the magical college of Xetesk desperately misuses its doomsday weapon of "dimensional magic", and tears a hole between realms. Endless hordes of demons come swarming through, eager to make Balaia their new home. No ordinary weapon will kill them, but they can drain human souls with just a touch. The odds are, as always, impossible.

Meanwhile, after dealing severely with impostors who took their name in vain, the weary, scarred survivors of The Raven have given up war and retired to the sunny southern continent. You can't run away from the end of the world, though, and more than one world faces extinction. The demon beachhead threatens the realms of the dragons and even the dead:

"You know how I said The Raven would never ride again? Seems I was lying."

Barclay pushes his characters to the ragged edge and beyond, as they fend off inexhaustible demon armies, suffer heavy losses in nightmare treks across occupied territory, and weaken day by day while the enemy grows ever stronger. One mad possibility remains, a commando raid into the demon dimension where their strength is greatest.

The tension is unremitting, the action unsparing. There's less room for Barclay's usual glints of humour in the long slog of fighting for what any sane mercenary should recognize as a lost cause. Still, The Raven has always managed to win through, though at great cost. Demonstorm battles its way to an appropriate finish, and delivers the goods--though this must surely be The Raven's last adventure. Edge-of-the-seat stuff.--David Langford
Amazon.co.uk Review

Following in the wake of its predecessor, Shout for the Dead continues James Barclay’s magnificent step away from his impressive Raven series. No longer are we watching masses of enemies being slaughtered. This time we’re in for a political ride akin to the latter days of the West Wing (I love Barclay, but I’m not giving him political prowess similar to Aaron Sorkin).

Shout For The Dead: The Ascendants of Estorea Book 2 (Gollancz S.F.) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: James Barclay
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 640
Publication date: 2007-12-13
Publisher: Gollancz

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When James Barclay told me that he was working on a seventh Raven book, I was ecstatic. Life had another marker for me to plan towards, just like the days when I had Lord of the Rings movies and DVD’s to divide my year into irregular thirds. But I knew that it was going to be a farewell book; a completion to one of the most action packed, well written and rollicking adventure fantasy series there had ever been.

Ravensoul (Legends of the Raven 4) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: James Barclay
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 432
Publication date: 2008-11-20
Publisher: Gollancz

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Following on from his successful introduction of the character Moist von Lipwig, Terry Pratchett decided that he would bring the ex-con artist back in an attempt to restore the Ankh-Morpork Mint. In short, Pratchett once again gets an entire book to have his way with the utilities and the running of a city.

Making Money (Discworld Novels) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Terry Pratchett
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Number of pages: 480
Publication date: 2008-06-16
Publisher: Corgi Books

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Romulus and Fabiola are twins, born into slavery after their mother is raped by a drunken nobleman on his way home from a good night out. At 13 years old, they and their mother are sold: Romulus to gladiator school, Fabiola into prostitution, where she will catch the eye of one of the most powerful men in Rome, and their mother into obscurity and death in the salt mines. Tarquinius is an Etruscan, a warrior and soothsayer, born enemy of Rome, but doomed to fight for the Republic in the Forgotten Legion. Brennus is a Gaul; the Romans killed his entire family.He rises to become one of the most famous and feared gladiators of his day - and mentor to the boy slave, Romulus, who dreams night and day of escape and of revenge. The lives of these four characters are bound and interwoven in a marvellous story which begins in a Rome riven by corruption, violence and political enmities, but ends far away, where Romulus, Brennus and Tarquinius find themselves fighting against the Parthians and overwhelming odds.

The Forgotten Legion (Forgotten Legion Chronicles) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Ben Kane
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 672
Publication date: 2009-04-16
Publisher: Preface Publishing

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Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Reasonable rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment. Harry Dresden is the best and technically the 'only' at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they come to him for answers. For the 'everyday' world is actually full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a - well, whatever.

Storm Front (Dresden Case Files) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Jim Butcher
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 352
Publication date: 2005-09-01
Publisher: Orbit

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The Eye of the World marks the beginning of Robert Jordan’s twelve-book epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. This series is regarded as the finest fantasy series ever by many of Jordan’s loyal fans and many years of a reader’s life can be lost within its pages.

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Robert Jordan
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 832
Publication date: 1991-12-12
Publisher: Orbit

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The Eye of the World and its sequels in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series show the extent to which one can go with a traditional fantasy framework, with added gusto. Stock elements are abound: a reluctant hero--in fact five humble village folk--plucked from wholesome obscurity to fight dark powers; an eternal evil enemy who can be defeated but not destroyed, until the end of the world, which is fast approaching; a mysterious sisterhood with vast powers and who love to manipulate thrones and kingdoms from the shadows (think of the Bene Gesserit of the Dune series); a ferocious battle-hardened warrior race (echoes of the Fremen of Dune, or the Haruchai of the Thomas Covenant novels).

Jordan didn't become a bestselling author merely by mixing up traditional ingredients; a master storyteller, he ingeniously gives unusual twists to these conventional fantasy elements. He also excels in the descriptive and narrative skills needed to create a detailed and coherent imaginary world. The many lands he portrays are vast in scope and contain amazingly varied countries and peoples, while retaining the inner coherence needed to make them satisfying places for a fantasy fan to roam around in. However, Jordan's writing never attains the subtlety or sophistication of, say, George RR Martin and there are some annoying stylistic tics: he seems unable to introduce a female character without commenting on her neckline and thereafter has them forever smoothing their dresses.

To his publisher's credit, Jordan's books are fortunate among fantasy novels in not having covers that look like an explosion of a teenager's bedroom. The absence of such lurid artwork is, perhaps, part of their appeal. --David Pickering
Amazon.co.uk Review

When Bridei arrives at Pitnochie as a four-year-old, Juliet Marillier lets the reader see the unsure thoughts of the druid Broichan who will mentor and educate him. We get to wonder if this little child will be able to handle all that Broichan has planned for him. The mystery piles on from there.

The Dark Mirror: Book One of the Bridei Chronicles (Bridei Chronicles 1) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Juliet Marillier
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 560
Publication date: 2006-03-17
Publisher: Tor

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Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.

Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.