Customer Reviews

Demonstorm (Legend of the Raven 4)

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On the edge of your seat, nail biting, gut wrenching, nonstop action. There are no breathers, breaks, or quiet moments of reflection for The Raven mercenaries in Demonstorm. Once the ball starts rolling in this one it just keeps on going.



To save their home, their world, their loved ones, and the soles of their friends in the afterlife, The Raven must make one last stand that ultimately ends in a decision to go on a suicide mission. But this time, it's not a suicide mission from hell; it's a suicide mission to hell. Or rather, from one hell to another.

It's a heartbreaking tale. I was absolutely shocked at Barcklay's decision of who lives and who dies. His verdict, while sad, always seems to be the right choice. I'm not going to give anything away, no hint at what happens: You'll just have to read the serial for yourself.

If you like, military fantasy, with a bit of magic and political intrigue, I highly recommend this series. And make no bones about it; it's a bloody grim tale.

Yes, yes, I've said this before, but it's worth repeating : The one thing I love most about the Raven serial is character uniformity. From book one of the Chronicles of the Ravens and throughout the Legacy of the Ravens the characters stayed true. The author never falters in the personalities and distinctive qualities of each of the characters, whether they be the Raven mercenaries themselves or other important figures in the epic tale: no matter what the time span was between each book. A few authors could take a lesson in consistency from Barclay.

What is worse than a wizard war and invasion by a barbarian horde? Yep, all Hell breaking loose.


With the magic necessary to prevent the Wesmen from taking over anything those reckless magic types of Balaia have again ripped a big ol' new one where they should not have. In this case, the hole allows demons access to their world, and a desperate, sacrificial holding action has to be maintained by what magical leaders are left to give the Raven a chance to get out and do something about it. Tense and exciting action to be had, yet again.

Whoever came up with this title should give lessons to the Elfsorrow person.

James Barclay is definetly a good story teller with a lot of imagination. If you loved RR.martin, you will love Barclay. I did not regret any cent that I spent on his books. I cannot say the same thing about the lasts of D.Edding, F.Feist or R.Jordan. There is a new generation of Fantasy author like Greg Keyes, James Barclay that deserved to be followed.

Xetesk began the open hostilities when the College assaulted depleted Julatsa, who lost so much in people and treasure during the Wesmen wars (see Chronicles of the Raven trilogy). The other two colleges Lystern and Dordover join the fray as they see opportunities to defeat both rivals, but must figure out what to do with what remains of the Raven, which saved the land and the Colleges.

As the Balaian continent to the west is aflame after a foolish alliance with Xetesk, Lord Tessaya of the Paleon Tribes rallies his Wesmen warriors under a battle cry of avenging their defeat. Lord of the Mount, Dystran knows his Xetesk faces a horrible defeat at the hands of the western barbarians who he believes stupidly ban magic. Desperate, he uses the forbidden horrific dimensional magic as nothing will stand in his way of being world ruler even insanely at the cost of the world. He rips asunder the dimensional barriers leaving his world open for a demonic genocide. With no dragons and not at full strength, Raven is the last hope to prevent soul cleansing by the invading demon horde.

The third Legends of the Raven fantasy (see Shadowheart and Elf Sorrow) is a terrific final tale as grim and eerie as the previous ones. Action-packed and fast-paced, fans will relish this deep tale with a message for leaders to lead for the benefit of all and not just to grab more power at the cost of others (think of the Senator whose sole vision for the country is to defeat Obama in 2012 by fiddling as Nero to stonewall the president). James Barclay provides a great ending to his profound two sagas as all of the books focus on the abuse and misuse of power in what are some of the best political military thrillers in years.

Harriet Klausner

After reading the previous books, I was ecstatic to find the legends of the raven series. Could not put them down!