In the Shadow of Lightning: 1 (Glass Immortals)

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In some ways it was pure Brian McClellan, but it also held a lot of surprises, and alas, some disappointments as well. And the reveal when it came was rather expected even if the overall why of it hasn't been explained completely yet. And I also didn't get very far, and nothing about the book struck me as bad or egregiously done, so I cannot say I do not recommend the book. Sobre el sistema de magia solo diré que McClellan sigue demostrando que es digno alumno de Sanderson.

I personally would have liked if the narrative established an example of guildhouse dissolution happening in the early part of the story to show exactly why that would be bad. This review is shorter than my usual reviews, but I really have nothing to add than to repeat what I said at the beginning of this review. Kizzie is the bastard daughter of a guild family who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, despite hating to lie, and not-so-secretly longs to be recognized as a legitimate member of the family. He gets rid of his crutch on glass, thinks up something masterful without the use of witglass, and joins his soldiers in the melee like the great leader we know he can be. In the Powder Mage trilogy mages could control gun powder, in book one of The Glass Immortals glassdancers control glass to devastating effects.

I have slightly mixed feelings after reading this review, and for the most part they have nothing to do with the review or the book. Clever, fun, and by turns beautifully bloody, In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window. I cannot pretend that I exist in a vacuum where I wasn't aware of that, and it for sure had an impact on my reading experience. The story feels unique and fresh, the world is well crafted, and the magic system - while a bit similar to some others I have read - was enjoyable. With all of this in mind, I’ll have to think if I want to get the hardback in a sale (I don’t keep physical arcs) or just collect the trilogy in a kindle sale.

Although the second half of the novel did show potential for the sequels to be better, due to my lack of investment in the characters and the gigantic number of books on my TBR pile, I doubt I will be continuing with the series anytime soon. Though I enjoyed the ideas of godglass and glassdancers, In the Shadow of Lightning really just wasn’t the book for me and I did consider DNF-ing it multiple times. As a student of Brandon Sanderson, this author is also known for writing similar concrete rules to how the world and magic work. He might have seen his mother only a few times in the last decade, but she’d always been a reassuring candle burning in a distant window. I found the dialogue to be incredibly cheesy and like everyone delivering those unbelievable lines was simply trying too hard to be cool.In the process of hunting his mother’s murderer, he also tracks down a siliceer, someone who can forge godglass. I had genuine interest in what was going on, and wanted to follow what was happening with various characters. Other POV characters include Kizzie (a type of investigator), Tessa (who works with glass magic), and Idrian (a soldier who uses magic).

In the background of this, is a war against a nearby city-state, and it's up to the heroes to save the day. This book has multiple battle scenes, told from the perspective of a general planning out an offensive. only to have more and more inexplicable stuff happen as the story progresses, until around the halfway point of the game you're killing little grey men and brain-sucker monsters (Lovecraft). Though I was also interested in some of the politics and conspiracies between guild families as well, I just could never quite manage to get truly invested in anything going on in the novel. I perhaps could have gotten over this cringe-inducing dialogue, if it weren’t that on top of it, everything is simply told to readers.I’m a sucker for intense worldbuilding, ragtag groups of underdogs, coinciding timelines, and a bit of romance. I’m so sad for him because of his abusive past and how he won’t allow himself to get close to anyone.

Breenen told me where to find you, and I rushed out here at speed to reach you before you had to read it in the newspapers.He's lost his self-control and charisma of yesteryear, and is forced to use brute force to defeat his enemies. Morlius had just unwittingly destroyed Demir’s life in Ereptia, and he could damn well rot in his fear. Conflicts, reveals, and reconciliations are never given any time to sink in, which ultimately robs these situations of any gravity. The magic is expertly segmented in the traditional manner so beautifully encapsulated in Robert Jordan' and Steven Erikson's legendary works- a style emulated to great effect by another living legend, Brandon Sanderson.