{{short description|British high fantasy author|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{other uses}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
'''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''.<ref name="Gale">"James Barclay." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2012. ''Gale Literature Resource Center''. Accessed 18 April 2023.</ref> ''The Bookseller'' has called him "One of the UK's most popular genre fantasy authors."<ref>"Science fiction and fantasy" by Michael Rowley, The Bookseller, 9/17/2004, Issue 5146, pages 37-40.</ref>
== Biography ==
=== Early life === Barclay was born in Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1965. He attended Sheffield City Polytechnic.<ref name="Gale"/> 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.<ref name="Gale"/>
=== 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://elitistbookreviews.com/2010/12/17/james-barclay-interview | title=James Barclay Interview | publisher=Elitist Book Reviews | date=17 December 2010 | accessdate=18 April 2023}}</ref> A reviewer has since compared his work with Gemmell's.<ref>"Attack of the Tomes," The Bookseller, Issue 5068, 3/14/2003, page 38.</ref> 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''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Abercrombie |first1=Joe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQHwnQEACAAJ |title=Legends: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell |last2=Lee |first2=Tanith |last3=Barclay |first3=James |date=October 2013 |publisher=NewCon Press |isbn=978-1-907069-57-4 |language=en}}</ref>
== Works ==
===Chronicles of the Raven series===
* ''Dawnthief.'' Gollancz, 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dawnthief: Chronicles of the Raven by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781857985948 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> * ''Noonshade''. Pyr, 2009''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noonshade: Chronicles of the Raven, Book 2 by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781591027829 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> * ''Nightchild''. Pyr, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nightchild: Chronicles of the Raven, Vol. 3 by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781591027850 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MBR: MBR Bookwatch, January 2010 |url=http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/jan_10.htm |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.midwestbookreview.com}}</ref>
=== Legends of the Raven series === * ''Elfsorrow''. Pyr, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elfsorrow: Legends of the Raven, Book 1 by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781616142483 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Elfsorrow |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/elfsorrow |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Library Journal}}</ref> * ''Shadowheart''. Pyr, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shadowheart by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781616142506 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Shadowheart |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/shadowheart |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Library Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MBR: MBR Bookwatch, January 2011 |url=http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/jan_11.htm |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.midwestbookreview.com}}</ref> * ''Demonstorm''. Pyr, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Demonstorm |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/demonstorm |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Library Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MBR: MBR Bookwatch, February 2011 |url=https://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/feb_11.htm |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.midwestbookreview.com}}</ref> *''Ravensoul''. Gollancz, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yon |first1=Mark |title=Ravensoul by James Barclay |url=https://www.sffworld.com/2008/11/bookreview498/ |website=SFF World |date=24 November 2008}}</ref>
===Elves series=== * ''Once Walked with Gods''.Gollancz, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Once Walked with Gods by James Barclay |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780575085039 |access-date=2023-04-17 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Yon |first1=Mark |title=Elves: Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay |url=https://www.sffworld.com/2010/10/bookreview665/ |date=September 2010|website=SFF World }}</ref> * ''Rise of the TaiGethen''. Gollancz, 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=SFFWorld Review of the Year, 2012 Part 1 |url=https://www.sffworld.com/2012/12/sffworld-review-year-2012-part-1/ |website=SFF World |date=December 2012}}</ref> * ''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 == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.jamesbarclay.com/ Official website] * [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4145.James_Barclay James Barclay] on Goodreads * [http://www.sffworld.com/interview/134p0.html Interview with James Barclay] *{{ISFDB name|id=James_Barclay|name=James Barclay}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, James}} Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century English novelists Category:English fantasy writers Category:English bloggers Category:English male short story writers Category:English male novelists Category:21st-century English male writers Category:British male bloggers Category:21st-century English short story writers