Epic war fantasy where there is a clear sense of black and white. For some, this may be a breath of fresh air from all the gritty, shades-of-grey type fantasy that’s in vogue right now. The “typical” military fantasy being written these days seems to be all brutal shades-of-grey character-driven fantasy epics with a heavy dash of battles, swords, and sorcery – with the requisite no-holds barred graphic violence and gore bleeding from the pages. This is not so much the case with Ascendents of Estorea. Cry of the Newborn doesn’t slot itself into the typical gritty military epic – which is a good thing, I feel. There is room in the genre for a lighter military fantasy epic. The series has a bit of a lighter tone than some of the more heavy modern military fantasy series (Martin, Black Company, Song of Ice and Fire), but the lighter tone is interspersed with some horrific ones too, such as the rape of a child. The novel follows the conflict between two great powers, The Kingdom of Tsard and the Estorean Conquord. The birth of the Ascendants, powerful individuals with superhuman magical abilities, is the game-changing moment in this conflict, one that’s the central focus of the story. Barclay does an excellent job at detailing masterfully crafted battle scenes as they take place on the sea and across large stretches of open ground. Fans of detailed battlecraft won’t be disappointed as Barclay takes you through the battle – some of the battles cover nearly a hundred pages! The author has a firm grasp on battle tactics, much so than most of the authors who write military fantasy; he has a keen eye for real battle strategies and tactics. These are not simple “charge until the enemy dies” or “attack from the flank and win the battle” strategies, but rather Barclay spends a great deal of time weaving together multilayered attacks from both sides – you are never quite sure who is really winning till the end! Unlike some other authors who incorporate large battles (cough Jordan), the use of magic fits in with the battle strategies and never seems overpowered.

If you like Acendents of Estorea, you’ll want to check out Barclay’s other series, Chronicles of Raven, for more military fantasy written in the same vein (though not as epic or grant as that series follows the exploits of a single mercenary band).