Nightchild

core novel 2001 Chronicles of the Raven

Record

First published	2001
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	3.90 (1,748 ratings, collected 2026-11-05)
First-edition ISBN	9780575073005
Internal chronology	3

Synopsis

A new power is coming to Balaia, and it appears in Lyanna, a five-year-old girl. The power of the land could sweep aside the four colleges of magic or, without meaning to, destroy the world. The colleges want to control the child and will kill her if they cannot. Her mother, Erienne, takes Lyanna into hiding while nature itself turns against the land. Denser, one of the Raven, is searching for them because Lyanna is his daughter. He must decide whether the Raven can afford to let her live when thousands of lives hang in the balance.

Where it sits

• Universe: Chronicles of the Raven
• Series: Chronicles of the Raven core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
• Author: James Barclay

Notes

• The ISBN shown is the earliest print edition found; its listing is dated 2002 although the book is dated 2001 elsewhere.
• From the series record (Chronicles of the Raven): Mercenary band the Raven are drawn into a race for the world-ending spell Dawnthief and the wars between Balaia's colleges of magic.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

• Publication order, within the series Chronicles of the Raven: position 3 of 3: previous Noonshade (2000)
• Internal chronology, within Chronicles of the Raven: position 7 of 10: previous Elves: Rise of the TaiGethen (2012) · next Demonstorm (2004)

Sources

• Rising Shadow: James Barclay
• Fantastic Fiction: James Barclay
• AbeBooks: Nightchild edition list
• Gollancz / Hachette UK: Nightchild
• Rising Shadow: Nightchild

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