The elves know, as 2,000 years ago they had fled their original dimension to travel to the one they all now occupy in an attempt to escape the destruction wrought by the Garonin. It's not that this race comes to conquer - they come to suck the very life force out of any dimension they enter in a bid to fuel themselves to fight the wars being fought in their own dimension. Fighting the Garonin is impossible as for every soldier cut down they are immediately able to transport 100 across dimensional space to take its place. Even worse, since they are harvesting the life force of the planet, once they reach Balaia they are focusing their attacks on the centres of magic -- the college cities -- where that essence is concentrated in each magical branch's heart. As the hearts die, so does the country's best means of defence, magic.
The Raven stories were always a cut above typical sword and sorcery stories in their sophistication as Barclay always managed to make them about more then just the plot. With themes somehow topical -- the relationship between power and responsibility, with no action existing in isolation, and the very delicate balance that must be maintained for any world to survive — all were always integral parts of each plot without them ever being in your face. Even more impressive was that no matter how incredible some plot twist might seem, within the context that Barclay created for the world of his characters and their adventures, they always made sense and were never outlandish.
If you haven't read the previous six books featuring The Raven, the bald details of Ravensoul's plot that I've laid out for you might seem outrageous, but within the context of what he had previously written this book not only fits into the world, it feels like an even better conclusion to the series than the previous book. It's as if Barclay has gathered up all the various threads of the previous stories and woven them together to finish the picture he had begun drawing in the first book.
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