Yes! Yes yes yes!As a fan of "The Raven" novels I'd been disappointed by "Ravensoul" and so approached this new epic somewhat cautiously, worried that James Barclay had perhaps run out of steam. I could not have been more wrong! At over 800 pages this was a bit of a slowburner to begin with - so many characters and a fully realised world to wrap one's head around - but well worth that initial effort. The political machinations of Estoria were detailed and fascinating (heavily inspired I think by the Roman Empire?) and the battles (similarly Roman) brutal: at times exhilerating, at others unflinching and offputting. The development of the young Ascendants followed a similar trajectory and it was not always easy to care for the "heroes" of the tale. As with all of Barclays novels there are some truly wonderful characters (see: Jhered) who you simply cannot help but get hehind and that emotional investment always leads to a rollercoaster ride of will-they-or-won't-they make it (although in this case the ride only starts several hundred pages in).So, to summarise. Long? Definitely. Overblown? Perhaps a little, but wonderfully so. Worthy successor to The Raven? Absolutely. My final impression of this novel is that it has been a complete labour of love for Barclay and I for one have been most impressed by its big-budget, epic fantasy storytelling. The story continues in "Shout for the Dead" and while I need a bit of a breather to recover from the epic length of "Cry of the Newborn" I absolutely can't wait to dive back into Estorea and find out where my favourite characters have ended up after the events chronicled here.
What do You think about The Cry Of The Newborn (2006)?
