Elves: Once Walked With Gods [Kindle Edition]

When the last Raven was complete i thought it was the end of an era, where would, where could James go next?
Don't get me wrong he is no one trick pony, his Du-ology Cry of the New Born and shout for the dead are brilliant. But while more accomplished technically as pieces of writing, they lacked the heart and soul of the Raven.

Once walked with Gods is a return to that passion, this is obviously where James love of writing comes to the fore, this isn't a Job for him its a passion, and it comes across in every word, paragraph, page and chapter.

If you love fantasy buy the book, if you love Fiction then try the book. This isn't little twee elves in the woods, this isn't mysticism and confusingly named fantasy, this is Blood battle, politics, betrayal and conflict on an epic scale. and not to be missed at all.

Having read this back in May im already desperate for the next book and its all the longer to wait for having read it so early...so i hope your getting on with it James
(Parm)

The latest offering from James and one that brings the War of the Elves and Mankind directly to the reader's attention in his own indomitable style. It's beautifully written with touches of emotional context richly woven within. Death, honour, betrayal and double dealing abound within this title and its clearly a demonstration of James' talent that he manages it with skill to spare. But when you tie it all up with his own style of descriptive combat that has enthralled readers since his Raven days and you have something that readers will latch upon and love. A great offering from this author and one that I can't wait to see how it develops further in future offerings especially a certain battle mad elf who the readers will most certain vote for as one of their favourite Barclay characters to date.

Not an easy one to get into this, but once you settle into it, it moves like lightening.

The author does not help the reader by failing to position this with his readers who may, or may not have read his excellent Raven series. So I'll try, and I am sure if I get anything wrong someone will jump in and correct me.

Takkar is a hero of the Elves and the fearless leader of the TaiGethan (think ninja warrior Elves) and as he and his warriors are defending a portal from their world to the world of Balaia his courage fails and he breaks, leaving thousands of Elves to their fate.

In Balaia Takkar goes into shameful exile and the Elves build up their society, sharing a world with humans that they keep well away from in the forest. Shunt forward in time and the caste system (known as threads) is breaking down and treacherous Elves bring humans in to help defend their Thread as the superior one. Violent civil was breaks out and the Elven race is now at the brink of extinction, maybe the long exiled Takkar can help, but the immortal Elf is dealing with his shame in exile....

That's kind of where the book starts and I was confused at first putting the situation and the timelines into context. At this point in their history the Elves have no magic so when they encounter human mages with powerful spells, the fighting skills of the TaiGethan may not be enough.

The majority of this book is about the battle for the Elf city of Calaius, taken over by humans and defended by sword and magic as the Elves struggle to fight back amongst their own mistrust and treachery.

I almost went three stars with this, the Elven race fell apart too quickly, the contextual confusion, but Barclay has considerable skill in his dialogue and his action and you soon forget early concerns as you are swept into the pulsating story you would expect from James Barclay. I certainly ended it hungry for more and seeking the next instalment.

There is no need to have read anything else by James Barclay to read this, and in a strange way you might enjoy it more if you haven't as the timelines will not confuse you.