This was another fantastic new series from Brian McClellan. While I'm a bit behind due to the sheer number of amazing new author's I've found in the past few years, McClellan will always hold a special place in my heart as one of my first "auto-buy" authors. I love his writing and characters and will read anything he writes, even if it takes me a little while to catch up! So here we are, this was so unique and I haven't been invested in such a cool magic system since Mistborn. I cannot wait to see what the sequel has in store.

I ended up putting this book down for now as I couldn’t get into the book. Might try again later and hope it catches my attention then.

I’m a fan of Brian McClellan’s and I’ve enjoyed all of his books so far so I was a tad excited when I saw that we were getting a new book series from him. I think his Powder Mage series has one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read about and it quickly became one of my favorite book series. In the Shadow of Lightning was an interesting read that honestly left me with mixed feelings at the end of it. The prologue instantly set a high bar and really sucked me into the story, but I can’t help but feel like the rest of the book didn’t quite hold up to that fantastic opening.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and I thought the magic system in it was great (I’m a sucker for a hard magic system) but at the same time In The Shadow of Lightning just didn’t feel as fast-paced or action-packed as the rest of Brian McClellan’s books. Normally I burn through his books almost faster than I can actually read but this one took me a bit to get through. I even bought the audiobook in case it was just my mood while I was reading that had me feeling like that, but I had the same problems with the audiobook. Though the narrator

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and loved the magic system (I’m a sucker for a hard magic system) but In The Shadow of Lightning just didn’t feel as fast-paced or action-packed as the rest of Brian McClellan’s books and it took me a bit longer than expected to get through the book. I even bought the audiobook just in case for some reason it was just my mood while reading it that had me feeling like that, but I had the same problem with the audiobook. Though Damian Lynch did a phenomenal job narrating the book!

I will say that despite it taking me a while to get through the book I found myself picking it back up every time I decided to set it down and take a break for a while. Demir is an awesome protagonist and I really enjoyed the group of people he has helping him in this book. Brian McClellan’s character and worldbuilding were on point as always. I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series, that’s for sure!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

McClellan has done it again, crafting a story that felt at once familiar and unique. Set in a flintlock fantasy world, McClellan combines elements of murder mystery, deadly political intrigue, and military warfare into a seamless whole.

When I think of my favorite magic systems the Powder Mage series is right up there with the best of them. That being said, I went into this hoping that the magic of the Glass Immortals series would be at least close to as interesting and fun to experience as Powder Mage. I was not disappointed. Glassdancing, Godglass forging, and the practical and battle applications that came from them were so cool to experience. I would even say that it is on the same level for me as the Powder Mage magic system. McClellan knows how to write fantastic magic systems!

Now let’s dive into the characters and plot. I have not written many reviews lately so bear with me as I ramble a bit. I felt invested in Demir Grappo from page one. He is likable, witty, and in possession of a genius level intellect. He is also a glassdancer which is freaking awesome as you will see when you read this book! However, what really drew me to Demir was his heart. Demir truly cares about people. Of course his friends and family, but also those that most nobility or just generally those with power in this world would consider “less than”. He is a caring and kind person despite all the world has thrown at him and the level of privilege he was born into. He also bears a weight of guilt and shame for things that happened in the past. Demir’s past is a tragic tale of misplaced trust in a person who didn’t deserve it. His struggle through mental illness while also dealing with all the things happening around him was incredibly compelling to me.

There were a few times that I longed to get back to a Demir chapter. There was something about him and his part of the plot that had me so dang intrigued every time he had a chapter. We also get to see Demir’s best friend and one of the fiercest warriors of this world “Baby” Montego through Demir’s POV for the majority of this book. He was just so cool every time he was in a scene and is easily my favorite side character.

I also really enjoyed the other main POVs of Kizzie, Idrian, and Thessa. Kizzie, the disgraced bastard daughter of the powerful Vorcien family. Through Kizzie’s eyes we get to see a murder investigation which was so much fun! Kizzie is smart, doing a ton of research and “detecting” in the pursuit of figuring out the mystery (exact nature of this left out due to spoilers) that is central to the plot. Kizzie is also an enforcer which means she is basically a mercenary, and an excellent one at that, who protects the interests of whichever Guild family she is employed by at the time.

Idrian is a Breacher, which ends up amounting to a super soldier. Breachers are much stronger, quicker, and more agile than normal soldiers due to the use of a super cool type of armor. While that was cool to see, it was Idrian’s personality that shined. He is the papa bear to his unit, protecting them at the risk of his own life constantly. His inner struggles were also really fascinating to witness.

Thessa is a siliceer, a Godglass forger. Excellent at what she does, we get to know a lot about the magic system through her eyes. I really enjoyed Thessa’s side of the story and what she brought to the table with who she was and even moreso her Godglass forging skills and knowledge.

The majority of this book is centered around mystery, political intrigue, and the ongoing war. At times when a story’s focus is split like this it can feel as if one or more plot elements are not as well done as the others. However, this is not the case with In the Shadow of Lightning. McClellan not only does an excellent job with these elements individually, but also manages to intertwine them in ways I did not expect and that kept me guessing constantly. The plot had layer upon layer and I could not for the life of me predict what would happen next.

Suffice it to say I had a fantastic time with this book and I am really excited to see where the rest of this series will go after the big reveals, twists, and turns that made up the stunning conclusion to this part of the story. I definitely recommend checking this one out! In the Shadow of Lightning comes out on June 21st, 2022 and you can preorder at the links above!

This is my first book from MClellan, but it won’t be the last.

The story has it all: action, magic, (some but not too much) politics, awesome battles, mystery (several mysteries) and flawed main characters you can’t help but love and root for. The pacing was perfect (super fast). No lulls. A solid start to what will be a great series. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. This is the kind of fantasy I really enjoy. Right after I finished I ordered a few of this other books. I hope they’re as good as this one.

Thanks again @torbooks for the #gifted copy (seriously, you rock!). This one comes out June 21st. I can’t wait until the second book comes out! I’ll will preorder the living heck out of it 😂

3,5 stars

This was my first book from the author even though I’ve heard good things about his books over the years. The book started a little slowly for me but picked up after a while. At first, I was a bit confused with the magic system and there are many characters so keeping track of them was difficult at first.

There are four pov’s: Demir, Kezzie, Thessa, and Idrian.
Demir is the main protagonist you could say. Demir is head of a minor guild family and returns home after his mother is murdered. He left nine years ago in a self-imposed exile after a war campaign in Holikan ends horrendously. Now he tries to solve who murdered his mother.
Kezzie is a disgraced bastard daughter and enforcer of a Vorcien guild family. She’s trying to get back into favour and is helping Demir to solve the murder.
Thessa is immune to the magic system of the world and can create godglass which is running out.
Idrian is a soldier and was part of the campaign in Holikan that ended badly. Has long ties with Demir and his family.

The magic system has godglass, glass that has different capabilities. Cureglass can heal, witglass makes you think clearly… But now sources are running out.

There are a lot of political machinations going on with all the ruling guild families, there’s a war going on, murder investigation. A lot of things going on. I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of the ending but I’m curious to see where this is heading. I enjoyed the book and I want to try his other series too.

In the Shadow of Lightning, the first book in The Glass Immortal series, was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. It has been three years since Brian McClellan concluded his Powder Mage universe series with Blood of Empire, the third and final book in his God of Blood and Powder trilogy. I have read the entirety of the Powder Mage universe, and since then, I have wondered what kind of series and world will McClellan create next. When I saw the cover art to In the Shadow of Lightning being revealed, the illustration done by Dan Burgess, my interest in it was sparked immediately. Plus, Brandon Sanderson, Fonda Lee, and James Islington (all three are some of my favorite authors) gave their praises for this book made me even more excited to read this. Sanderson even said this is McClellan’s best work to date! Unfortunately, I have to disagree with him. The book didn’t click as much as I expected it would.

The novel started with a super powerful prologue, and I was feeling incredibly positive that this would indeed be McClellan’s best book so far. But the compelling charm of the story seems to decrease quickly after the first 15% of the book.

What a weird book in the best possible way. It's super original in concept, and admittedly knocked me out of a bored with fantasy rut - it was just a really enjoyable start to a new series. I've recently been leaning more on urban fantasy than anything else - no real reason other than I find them just more enjoyable to read with fun worldbuilding, but this book (as weird as it was) made me remember why fantasy can be so excellent. I will caution that this book, in my opinion, is a love or hate - I see a lot of reviews that DNF, and I completely get that stance - the mystery seemed the weakest part and I can see how some would be turned off by how... strange the different components can be. Either way, solid start to a new series.

Let’s start with this: this was amazing! It has well-written characters, multiple povs (which serves the story so well!) magic glass, war, politics, conspiracies within conspiracies and secrets within secrets! Oh the secrets! THE SECRETS!! (Oh and an epilogue that makes you question everything you know about the book’s world)
I absolutely loved the world-building and the writing, which is something I haven’t said a lot recently so you know I’m telling you the truth and not my opinion.
The magic system (which is magical glass! How cool is that!!) was so vivid with its possibilities and limitations that I wanted to have witglass so I can plan my whole future because the future is terrifying and I’m about to graduate college and- ok enough with my fears, let’s carry on with the book.
I was so engrossed in the story that I dreamt I was an old guild family enforcer explaining to a new enforcer the politics of the place, which just emphasizes how much I liked this book and makes Brian McClellan my latest auto-buy author! In the Shadow of Lightning is quality content you don’t want to miss!

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce nouveau roman de Brian McClellan. On plonge très facilement dedans et impossible de le lâcher. Si les personnages sont parfois un peu manichéens, la plume dynamique de l'auteur fait que l'univers fonctionne. Un nouveau excellent roman de Brian McClellan que j'achèterai pour la bibliothèque où je travaille dès sa sortie en français.

(Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book! I was thrilled to read and review this epic book from one of my new favorite authors)

I have become such a fan of Brian McClellan this year. I started my journey with his writing through the fist three books in his Powder Mage universe. I found them to be extremely well-written and engaging. Brian has a way of mixing real-world kind of scenarios that feel like something from a story from past history with magical elements that feel totally unique and original. This book (In the Shadow of Lightning) did not stray from his strengths, as he did an even better job building this world and magic system.

I loved the characters in the book. I do not want to spoil any of the plot (because you really need to just jump in with both feet and read the book), but McClellan does a great job in this book letting the characters experiences fill in all the plot points and history as you go. There is a good amount of world-building, but it usually happens as the book develops. McClellan's writing style is easy to read but it is full of information. If you are casually reading or listening, you will miss something important. This book (along with Powder Mage books) require some focus while reading for the best effect. There are some authors that I can skim or listen while doing other tasks, but Brian's writing takes a little more focus. This is not a bad thing, but it does take me a little longer to get through his books because they are full of great story arcs and character development.

I see others make a Sanderson connection with Brian's writing, and I would tend to agree. I think they have different strengths and their styles are unique, but they are both great at making me "feel" the world as it's constructed throughout the book. Great magic systems, plenty of description, and twists and turns throughout offer a connections between their writing. If you like Sanderson, I think you will like McClellan's books (but they are by no means a copy or rip-off). I think they are friends, and I can totally see why!

Speaking of Magic systems, the use of glass in this book is really (really!) interesting. I was instantly hooked from the first chapter and wanted to know more about the different types of glass and how people could use them. It plays a crucial role in the book and I loved all the story around the magic system. There are some really good fight scenes and opportunities to see the effects of the different types of glass and the advantages they offer to the characters who can use them.

The world felt alive and real and I could clearly imagine everything that Brian wrote about as he crafted this world. The more you invest in these books, the better they become. I think it takes several chapters to really start to understand the world, but that is just because you are getting information from multiple characters and angles. By the end, I was ready for more story and more world-building!

I have no major complaints about this book or the series that has been started inside of this universe. Much like the Powder Mage books, the ending left me ready for the next book. There were some sections in the middle that had me wondering where things were going, but all my concerns were answered by the end of the book. It was a great setup for the series and I cannot wait to read more from McClellan. His writing is an instant buy for me at this point and I will be making my way through the rest of the Powder Mage books (I have only finished the first trilogy currently) and I will be back for this Glass Immortal series as soon as there is another book.

My first read by Brian McClellan was The Powdermage trilogy and in all honesty, I was left pretty underwhelmed and disappointed by the end of it. I felt no real drive to give another one of his books a chance but at the same time I wanted to see if any of the faults I found in that trilogy were improved upon in his later books, I didn't really want to go back into the world of Powdermage so the companion trilogy spiked no interest for me. I decided to wait until his next release when lo and behold I caught a glimpse of In The Shadow of Lightning on NetGalley and after finishing it, I am happy to say that I really enjoyed this start to the series. I will say, it wasn't perfect by any means- it very much read like an introduction to new characters and a new world/magic system so- for now- none of that felt super fleshed out. I enjoyed the characters and the information we got on the magic, and I'm really excited to learn more about the world in later books (especially with all the reveals we get during the last few chapters of the book). I'm also looking forward to seeing the relationships between characters develop more as we get more into their backstories, but for now what we got felt like smelling the bread as it bakes in the oven- it smells amazing, but I just really want to dig in.
The story here was set like a murder-mystery, we learn in the very beginning of the book that an important public figure was brutally beaten to death by 6 people and we follow the slow unraveling of the mystery behind who did it and why and how it connects to the deeper mystery of the world itself. While some reveals felt pretty obvious, I generally enjoyed following the characters as they slowly learned more about the murder and the hidden reasons behind it.
On the character side of things we follow four mains perspectives:
-Demir, a disgraced nobleman who fled the country after a military champaign led by him goes horribly wrong, leading to him abandoning his family and title after he suffers from a mental breakdown after one tragic event. Now, after the news of the murder of his mother reaches him he must return to Ossan and unravel the mysteries his mother left behind.
-Kizzie, a bastard daughter of one of the most influential and powerful men in Ossan. Conflicted between loyalty to Demir- one of her only true friends- and the desire to be legitimized by her father, she is tasked by both parties to track down those who murdered Demir's mother.
-Idrian, a soldier who is just days away from retirement from the army just as the country plunges into war. He does what he can to protect both the country and his fellow soldiers while also attempting to ignore the hallucinations that have slowly been returning to his mind.
-Thessa, a siliceer who must help Demir finish his mother's and her teacher's final work.
I really liked all these perspectives, the characters were all distinct enough for each chapter to feel different and also interesting enough for each storyline to not feel like a drag to get through.
The final thing I want to talk about is the magic and world. The magic itself reminded me a bit of Allomamcy from Mistborn and Jade from the Green Bone Saga. Put simply, there are individuals called Glassadancers that can control glass, the degree of strength and precision varies from person to person but they are generally feared by the rest of the population due to their deadly potential. Along with Glassdancers there is Godglass, this is a type of glass that cannot be controlled by Glassdancers and instead are types of magic glass that depending on type can increase certain attributes in an individual, example being cureglass quickens healing and milkglass dulls pain and witglass quickens the mind. The strength depends on the resonance of the magic and while this magic can be used by all people (with the exception of a few people who are unaffected by magic) it has the drawback of glassrot- colored scales that appear on the skin after prolonged exposure to godglass that could be deadly if seen to an extreme. The magic was pretty easy to understand and interesting to read about, especially when it came to battle scenes. The varying types of godglass and what they could do was especially interesting to me due to the potentially deadly nature of the material.
All in all, I enjoyed this book quite a bit, I wish that the world was a bit more fleshed out but I can see this problem being amended in future books so I won't hold it against the series yet. There were also a few instances in which I felt as though things went smoothly for characters solely due to convenience, which kind of took the tension out of some high-stake moments and certain relationships between characters felt as though they progressed way too quickly to feel natural. Aside from those issues, I really enjoyed the story and I look forward to learning more about these characters and seeing where the story takes them- especially after how this book ended.

I know people are really liking this book. I had a lot of expectations, but unfortunately cannot see the hype around this. Kind characters, but unfortunately no reason to read book two.

I want the sequel and I WANT it now. Pretty obvious I enjoyed the book. I don’t usually start my review with my conclusions. A family dominated empire finds itself under military assault while simultaneously dealing with the potential loss of it’s magical under pinning and a mysterious and sinister subversive movement.

The protagonist is a broken, brilliant glass dancer whose brilliance led to his emotional destruction. Demir Grappo struggles with his self-image and self-confidence after failing to stop his extraordinary victory from becoming a decayed albatross on his legacy. Simplistically the plot is his redemption in both his own mind and in the minds of his populace and peers. Of course it is far more complex than that and just the interpersonal relations are filled with drama.

I found myself speedreading because I couldn’t wait to see what was next and then going back because I didn’t want to miss any details.

I really loved the book and highly recommend it.

📚"In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan"📚
🗓Release Date: 21/06/2022

First of all, I thankfully received this book as an ARC from tordotcom publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I was beyond thrilled to receive this in my inbox and thought that it would for sure be one of my new favourites of 2022. And I was right. At least for the most part.

Right up until the 90% mark I ate this book up, there was nothing else I talked about for days, it was one of those stories that grip you so hard you can't eat, sleep or go on the toilet without it.
And then the author made a choice to add a specific plotline that pulled me completely out of the story. To me it felt unnatural and out of place and since it was introduced so late into the book, there wasn't much time to redeem it. It still is one of my favorites of 2022 so far and I'll definitely follow up with future sequels but unfortunately it didn't make the top of my list.

😍What I loved:
- fascinating hard magic system based on types of glass
- industrial vibe and a very immersive plot
- loveable characters with a lot of backstory
- romantic subplot with good communication!!!
- fast paced writing style

🤨What bumped it down:
- one plotline that feels very out of place (might be fixed in following books though)
- in spite of being written in a fast pace, the main plot itself moves rather slowly sometimes

There would be so much more to write but just let me say that if you're into epic fantasy but want something non-medieval with a lot of charm and a cool magic system, this one's absolutely for you!

Great pacing, plot and world building. The Gunpowder Mage books were addicting and now we have another great tale.


Riveting and exciting stuff with new magic systems and arcane lore built on of all things glass! A great read!

4.5 stars. This book was really fun. It's full of political intrigue, a ticking clock, and an impending war. The characters were likeable (or quite unlikeable, which can be just as good), and the story moved at a good pace. If my life wasn't crazy right now this would be the sort of book I want to sit down with and read until I finish. Unfortunately my life kept getting in the way of my reading time!
It does end with a lot of questions to answer, so if series aren't your thing, be aware. I switched between the ebook and audio and love them both. The narrator does fun voices for the various characters and has a steady flow. This is not the sort of book I could listen to at a higher speed because the dialog bits are read at a speaking pace. Overall I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait for the next in the series!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The subtitle of my review for In the Shadow of Lightning, by Brian McClellan, is less a baseball reference and more of an allusion to the famous saying about lightning striking twice. Because this is the third time I have read this story. Reviewing this first book of McClellan’s new series is very tricky because I think a reader’s experience with the book will be greatly affected by whether or not you have read any of McClellan’s other six books. If Shadow would be your first McClellan experience, I think you are going to have a very good time. If you have read the books in the Powder Mage Universe (and I have read six of them), you are going to wonder why McClellan broke away from his very established world only to tell the same story a third time.

The plot of Shadow is confusing, nebulous, and exists more as a to-do list on a fridge than a clear-cut story, but this angle surprisingly works for it. The atmosphere of this book feels like a deconstructed heist novel. Our lead man is Demir Grappo, the aristocratic son of a powerful family in a magical world with a modern gangster feel. Everything is flapper, prohibition, and art deco with a magical tint in McClellan’s new fabulous setting. Demir, a long time ago, was a rising military genius until a campaign went horribly wrong and he had to witness his troops sack and raze a city. Demir fled to the outlands to escape the horrors of war and remained there a number of years. Now, in the present, his mother has died, leaving Demir to pick up the pieces of running their wealthy family’s interests. Demir arrives back in the capital having been away long enough that he has no idea what’s going on. He is thrust into a number of plots he can barely follow, and he must still push through the trauma from the events of his failed military campaign that still haunt him.

Demir’s first action in this mess of mystery is to start delegating. He has a number of leads to figure out, but only two hands. Thus he hires a series of rogues from all walks of his life past and present to get to the bottom of things. Each time Demir hires a new underling, their POV is added to the roster and we get a new avenue of exploration. This was a really cool way to tell a story, flesh out a cast, and immediately help me identify with the characters. Our crew includes Demir (the mastermind), a duplicitous guild enforcer, a world-famous boxer with a lot of charisma, a somber berserker captain of the army (which is a fun paradox), a brilliant engineer, and more. Yet while this was a super fun way to tell a story, it suffers from a lack of clear unifying throughline. All the individual stories are fun, but I was left with little understanding of the big picture. This clearly is partly to hold some twists up the sleeve, but the effect is that the book has less urgency than I would have liked.

Here is where this review must undergo a strange schism. First I will be talking about my impressions of the book, as I imagine a new reader of McClellan might experience it. Then I will be talking about my own personal experience.

My positives: The pacing of the book is fabulous. McClellan might be one of the best writers in the world when it comes down to pacing. All of his scenes flow into one another and each chapter ends with the perfect kind of mini cliffhanger to keep you going. The aforementioned lack of clear group direction hurt this a little, but McClellan is so good at infusing his story with energy that it overcomes this small speedbump. The characters are all dynamic and fun. The ‘crew’ has a nice well-rounded composition, even if some are a bit tropey, and Demir serves as a great anchor for the reader to learn about what is going on.

McClellan is also a top-tier world builder, with his city feeling like a real place that shifts and breathes. The magic of Shadow revolves around glass, and has a number of infusing magical properties that can affect those who hold magical crystals. There are also ‘glassmancers’ who can telekinetically move glass with their minds and are absolute horrors on the battlefield. They carry around little eggs that come apart into thousands of small shards so they can create killing fields of fast-moving debris around themselves. To top it all off, the action is exciting and gave me an adrenaline rush. It is hard to infuse the written word with a blockbuster action feel and detailed choreography, but McClellan manages it repeatedly to great success. Overall, there is so much good going for this book. It is a shame that I had read a lot of it before.

When I saw that McClellan was writing a new story after two trilogies set in the Powder Mage Universe, I was excited. The second trilogy (Gods of Blood and Powder), had been his strongest work yet, but I felt that in some ways it felt like a redo of his first trilogy just with many things he learned as an author newly applied. The two trilogies had similar story structures, the same themes, and many characters in almost identical roles—just with circumstances shuffled. It was fun, but I wanted something fresh with Shadow. So I was disappointed to find myself looking at so many similar plot elements rearing their head for the third time.

The prodigal son returns but is changed by his time away, mysterious theological happenings, a spy with split allegiances, an adopted brother with a ton of muscle, a huge warrior with a hidden past and something lurking inside. If each of these individually made a reappearance I would be fine, but with so many returning ideas from the previous trilogies I feel like I left a world only to find myself somehow back inside it. One of my fundamental clashes with this book I think derives from the fact that I get the sense that the point of Shadow is the worldbuilding. McClellan has a gift for world-building, and I think his stories are primarily a vehicle to show the reader new and exciting worlds with cool things to find. That is not why I like to read and thus I find myself frustrated by a lack of emphasis on themes and narrative focus. This doesn’t mean this is a flaw in the book; it’s just not a book for me. If Shadow is your first McClellan novel, I think you will have a great time. If you are someone who reads for themes and has already read McClellan’s previous work, I think you may share my frustrations.

In the Shadow of Lighting is a clever romp with a novel narrative structure and showcases McClellan’s signature talent for fast-paced action. Personally, I was hoping for a story a little further removed from his previous bodies of work, but his other books are great, so it isn’t like the blueprint was bad. I had a good time with this book, but I might hold off from diving back into the story until my cheese-like memory has forgotten my time with his other stories.

Rating: In the Shadow of Lightning – 8.0/10
-Andrew

Holy guacamole! What starts out as a fun but pretty by-the-numbers high epic political fantasy with a hard magic system ends up being something else entirely. Cosmic/eldritch horror elements in an otherwise traditional high fantasy novel?! YES PLEASE!!! There are some absolutely fantastic characters for readers to obsess over, amazing battle sequences, and a really cool hard magic system that fans of Mistborn and Foundryside will love.

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan, a good start to an interesting series. Not at all what I was expecting McClellan to write as the start of a series based on previous works, but it does deliver.