A Shout for the Dead (Gollancz)

In THE CRY OF THE NEWBORN we were introduced to four teenagers, each of whom had nature at their command. They became the pawns in the struggle of the Estorean empire to survive. Through them their world discovered magic and we were drawn into a superb new epic fantasy that, for the first time, told the story of what happens when magic arrives in a previously non-magical world. Now ten years have passed and Estorea is consumed by war and the four ascendents have chosen different sides in the conflict. As the armies muster and the final conflict draws close the ascendents are only now coming to their full power and soon summoned armies of the dead will march against the living. This is epic fantasy full of fallible characters, political machinations, betrayal and bloody battles. It combines vivid storytelling with an original theme in a popular sub-genre and shows Barclay to be a writer who is getting better with every book and who is truly comfortable with epic scale.