James Barclay
British high fantasy author
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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.[1] The Bookseller has called him "One of the UK's most popular genre fantasy authors."[2]
Biography
Early life
Barclay was born in Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1965. He attended Sheffield City Polytechnic.[1] 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.[1]
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.[3] A reviewer has since compared his work with Gemmell's.[4] 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.[5]
Works
Chronicles of the Raven series
Legends of the Raven series
Elves series
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)