This new series from Brian McClellan of Powder Mage frame is an excellent start to a new world with an intricate story and interesting characters. While the world is new, it has a very similar vibe to that of Powder Mage - it's still powderpunk, there's a strong military aspect and war of armies, we have character(s) who are big strong burly men and there's even an investigator. None of the similarities are likely to bother you though - they're just fun to notice.

The concept of the new magic system - based on magically-infused glass that induces different types of effects - is fascinating as it doesn't limit magic to magically gifted people. Most of it can be used by anyone, if they can afford it. This means that magic is heavily involved in all aspects of society and economics rather than something weird and mysterious. There is a specific type of 'uber' mage, the Glass Dancers which is more of the traditional mage, but I like the commoditization of magic very much as a story element.

Story: The main protagonist, Demir Grappo, a political/military/magical prodigy has withdrawn from society for the better part of a decade for something that happened in his first campaign. He returns to take charge of the guild house of Grappo when his mother is murdered. The main story lines revolve around finding out the culprits and reasons for the murder, and hidden fact that the sand used to create magical glass is running out and all of civilization depends on it.

The story is very good and interesting - there's a bit of whodunnit in it and none of the discoveries are guessable nor unbelievable. The A-plot of running out of magic is excellent and feels well thought out. However, the main appeal in the book (like in the Powder Mage) is the characters . We have an ensemble cast with multiple POVs and they're all interesting. They also very nicely tie into each other and interact all the time, keeping the plot tight. Extra points for the author for intentionally avoiding the use of the unnecessary-drama-caused-by-characters-inability-to-communicate crutch which I loathe (there are a few moments where this almost happens, but then characters behave rationally and solve the problem immediately. Love it.)

I listened to this as the audio version, excellently narrated by Damian Lynch. I thought I would hate anyone who is not Christian Rodska (the Powder Mage narrator), but Damian does an excellent job here. Highly recommended.

Basically, I loved everything about this book. The Powder Mage is one of my favorite series and I might like this one even more. If you're a fan of McCellan's earlier books, you should love this. For anyone who likes good fantasy with a bit of twist, give this one a try. It could be the best new book you'll read all yea

Demir Grappo was a successful politician and general, until a misunderstanding led to the slaughter of an entire settlement. Although he wants nothing less than to return from his self-imposed exile, he has no choice when he discovers his mother was murdered during broad daylight. He finds himself thrown again into the world of politics, shadowy puppet masters, and potential war, and must find the allies he needs to discover his mother’s killers and their motives.

This was truly a work of epic proportions. While I do enjoy epic fantasy, I felt that the author tried to include too much into a singular work. The story was told from the POV of Demir, Thessa, Kizzie, and Idrian. While the first three POVs’ plots were interwoven almost from the very beginning, Idrian’s plot started off as separate from them and slowly merged with the other plots. While this added some detailed background concerning the setting and the broader war, it detracted from the main plot of the story. His storyline only really became relevant during the last 30%, and its inclusion before that point unnecessarily slowed the primary plot.

That being said, I enjoyed the characters. I found them to be well written and mostly compelling. I enjoyed Thessa and Demir and loved Kizzie. The author did an excellent job at adding depth to the characters through flaws and independent motivations, though I did feel that there wasn’t much character growth throughout the work. Their POVs were woven together extremely well, complimenting each other and adding to all of the main characters’ storylines in a meaningful way. The characters had deep and meaningful connections to each other, which was a big plus.

The magic system in this world was fascinating, and I enjoyed the information included concerning its manufacture and use. However, there were some pretty big blanks still left concerning it – maybe it will be explored more in the next work. Similarly, the worldbuilding was solid in this work. The author included some decent descriptions of the world; my favorite was the concept of The Forge. I also enjoyed that this world appears to be one that doesn’t suffer from gender inequality – it was fun to read about one of the best generals in this world being a woman, as well as several of the council members being female.

My only real complaint for this work was the inclusion of Idrian’s POV. It did slow the work down, and I found myself impatiently waiting for his chapters to be over so I could get back to the “real” story. It did make the work as a whole slow down significantly.

This is a strong, creative, and original work of fantasy with amazing characters. I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Check on my youtube channel for a review next week! This was my first Brian McClellan book I have read. I do own the Powder Mage books and have been looking forward to eventually getting to them. So, what to say about In the Shadow of Lightning? I was excited to read this book and it was one of my most anticipated books of the year.
Lets start with the positives. The book started with a very punchy and interesting prologue that had wanting to learn more. I led into the main plot of the book where the main character is investigated the brutal murder of his mother a prominent politician- this is not a spoiler; it is on the back of the book. McClellan also created an interesting magic system that has potential to improve with subsequent books. I enjoyed the world building and setting of the book in the land of Ossa, I enjoyed the flintlock fantasy setting but cannot say much more than that.
Ok so lets get into some negatives. Sadly, this reads like a bad first entry by a debut author, the characters felt quite hollow, and I only really enjoyed 2/4 POV characters in this book. The book also felt way longer than it needed to be. The main plot centers around the investigation of the murder of Demir’s mother however, it was very predictable by the end of the book I was no longer interested in the plot line. Also, from 40%-80% of the book I began to lose a lot of interest and was waiting for the book to end. I think my biggest issue was the magic system and not really caring for it, I enjoyed the idea of godglass but there was a secondary magic system that was never really explained (how do they get the magic? How is it really used). One of the main POV characters used this magic and it was never really explained which was frustrating to say the least.
The book does pick up in the last 20% and McClellan starts adding elements to tie it into the 2nd novel but It was too little too late. Don’t get me wrong the book is not bad, its just not great, it is merely OK and that is why I rated it a 3 Star.
I think I will continue with the series but if Book 2 is unable to address some of the issues outlined above I will be putting it down.
-TreeBeard

An incredibly enjoyable look into Brian McClellan's new world. I haven't read the Powder Mage series and so this was my first foray into McLellan's work and I am thrilled to say it was a great time.

This book gave me major Jade City vibes. It was political with a touch of battle. I will say that I definitely enjoyed the Powder Mage saga more, but this was just the first in his new series. I will continue to give it a chance.

I love sci-fi and fantasy. Usually they don’t commingle, but some very talented writers have been able to juxtapose the two, creating really interesting works in the process. Patrick Rothfuss comes to mind…and now Brian McClellan will, too.

The world-building in this book is really smooth. I almost didn’t notice that magic and tech had both been used until I was well into the tale. The characters were rich and well developed, with even the “bad guys” possessing depth. Five stars for Damien Lynch’s narration, too. He has become my number two favorite narrator, just behind Will Patton.

Five easy stars for this 25 hour audiobook. There was nothing within it that gave me any quibbles at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it, from the hit-me-in-the-mouth start to the “I didn’t see THAT coming” finish! Sign me up for the book two ARC, please!!! My thanks to MacMillan Audio via Netgalley for this ARC.

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I respect the writing and the world created. It wasn’t quite the right fit for my mood but I think it’s a very interesting fantasy!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is unfortunately a DNF at 25%.

The deck was stacked against this book with all the people I know who also got approved for an eARC either not really enjoying it or DNFing. 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. 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. Perhaps its great. Maybe in a while from now I will try this again and be head over heels. Unfortunately, though, the reality currently is that I have spent 14 days trying to read this book and failing. In 14 days I should finish any audiobook of this length. And I just kept stopping and doing something else. Nothing about the book was sucking me in.

The magic seems incredibly similar to Allomancy from Mistborn, but without the narrative giving you enough explanation of what each type of godglass does, at least early on. I'm told there is a list in the physical version, but in the audiobook I was mostly trying to assess why something mattered and what it did. The book is primarily a murder mystery/detective novel with some elements of rebellion in the background, but I did not care about any of it. The characters did nothing to stick out to me so far. Again, none of these elements were bad. They just weren't captivating for me personally, either. I've heard very mixed things about Powder Mage as well, and this book certainly has scared me off of McClellan for awhile, at least.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing this review copy through audio on Netgalley.

I’m dnf’ing at the 40% mark. This isn’t a problem with the writing or storytelling, which were both fine. I ultimately just never got hooked into the characters or narrative, and the magic system wasn’t unique or interesting enough to keep me listening.

I’d love to keep pushing through, but I honestly just don’t see my enjoyment level increasing at this point.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC! A promising start to a new epic fantasy series from Brian McClellan. There is a lot of political intrigue, hidden conspiracies, and bloody acts which keep the momentum and build to the ending which had me wanting the next book. I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions/relations with one another as well as the magic system.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for sending me the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first Brian McClellan book that I have read and I liked it but it had a pretty slow start after the prologue ended. The narrator for this audiobook did a great job though, by making every character feel discreet. I think some character perspectives were better than other but I really liked the writing style of this book so I am considering checking out the first powder mage book after hearing a lot of good things about it over the years.

This was an interesting, new type of fantasy. I will admit, it was long and felt it. Some things didn't always make sense, and it took a bit too build, but overall it was something fantasy-lovers will enjoy.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was quite the journey! Very detailed world building, and some interesting characters. I think I would have been better off reading a physical copy of this as I kept losing focus on the audio book, but overall it was a good read/listen. I will keep my eye out for the next in the series!

I tried to listen to this audiobook. I listened to it for about 4 hours before I just couldn’t anymore. It seemed very well written and had a pretty good storyline but it just could not keep my attention because it was far too slow. I would have liked it a lot more if it was faster paced.

A masterful tale with an imaginative magic system, dynamic and interesting characters, and intriguing plot twists along the way. This is an exciting thrill of a ride that was a genuine challenge to put down. The audio was done extremely well as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

I was really nervous to start this with how long the book is and how there are definitions at the beginning, but I was pleasantly surprised! I still think it might have been a tad bit too long, but I enjoyed it all the same!

I really liked the world building of this book and thought that it was super unique. The magic system was unlike anything I've read before, and that was super refreshing. It was a bit hard to follow in the audio format, but I feel like I ended up getting the hang of it! I loved the way the characters all fit into this world in such different ways. They each had a unique story to tell, and I loved watching them navigate their stories together.

For a while I wasn't too sure where the plot was going to go, but by the end I was really invested! The budding romance was very sweet. But also the intrigue that was left at the end was something I need satisfied immediately! I wasn't expecting anything of the sort, and I really enjoyed that!

If you're a high fantasy fan, you'll definitely want to check this new series out!

Holy smoke I loved this book!

I was terrified when I was offered this audio ARC. Not only was it long (over 24 hours) but I’m in a huge reading slump, had another ARC of equally long length to read & truth be told, I’d tried book one of the original Powder Mage trilogy and only got to chapter 2 or 3 before I set it aside and have yet to have any will to return to it & it’s been years.

But the summary looked good and I’ve had fantastic luck picking good books.

I shouldn’t have second guessed myself. This was a great story. I don’t have any significant problems with the book what so ever.

A murder/mystery. A wealthy powerful man escapes his responsibilities after exposed to an unexpected horror of war as a general, becomes a grifter, collects allies, returns to power to solve the mystery. There’s several POVs.

The narrator’s voice lured me in to listen longer than a few other books I’m trying to muddle through.

This is a fantastic start to a compelling series. I liked the writing style, it made it a joy to pick up and read. & the use of god glass in a magic-waning world, loved it!

Another hardcover on my Amazon book wishlist! I’d love to read more like this.

Wow. I’m absolutely speechless. I’ve been a Brian McClellan fan since first picking up Promise of Blood back in 2013, and also love his Urban Fantasy series. Going into In the Shadow of Lightning I was expecting great things, and wow, was I not disappointed. McClellan has evolved as a writer, and is definitely at the top of the game in the fantasy world next to Sanderson.

The audio narration itself was fabulous, with enough inflection and change in tone to distinguish each character in the reader’s mind. The characters are dimensional, with lots of growth. There was humor interspersed at the right moments, and lots of action. The ending even gave us enough answers to know that we don’t know anything, and leave be waited with bated breath until the sequel comes out.

I was honored to receive an advanced copy of the audiobook by Macmillan Audio, and NetGallery. This review is my honest opinion.

The start of an exciting new series by Brian McClellan!

In a fantasy Renaissance Italy, the High House council is shaken by a murder on the steps of the Capitol building. Everyone in House Grappo is affected: the heir in hiding, the head of security, the foreign legion friend, and the glass blower collaborator who has disturbing information about the current glass supply, the source of everyone's magic.

The magic system in this gas lamp fantasy is so unique! And I loved the twists and turns as characters try to solve one mystery and instead uncover several more.

If you've read Brain McClellan before, then you know how good of a writer he is, and if you haven't, this is a great place to start. I can't wait until the next in the series!

Damian Lynch did an amazing job narrating. There are a lot of characters in this book, and he pulls out all the accents, but the audio was still clear enough so that I could follow who was who and what each person was saying. I'm looking forward to listening to more from him as well!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to an audio copy of this book.

Well written and enjoyable enough, though far less considered than McClellan’s previous novels.
The narration was excellent, though I had to question the use of a range of extremely different accents given to individuals who were childhood friends and grew up in the same city.

For me, the story suffers from major inconsistencies and lacks a sense of scale:
• All locations in the book can be travelled between in a couple hours despite events taking place in and around several different cities and on both sides of active war fronts (fast enough for critical soldiers not to be missed when they run off to do their own thing).
• The source of magic running out virtually at the same time felt particularly forced given that it comes from “… thousands of mines and quarries” around the world. Finding new mines for this seemingly common material is apparently not an option. On top of this, the catastrophe of all these sources running dry at the same time is somehow a secret.
Worst of all, the primary characters all struck me as having been pulled from Powdermage novels and given a fresh coat of paint (without the well fleshed out backstories) – we’ve got the investigator with a minor magical talent, the glass equivalent of the prodigy powdermage/warhero, the love interest who is equally exceptional in the application of her own magic, the oversized brute who has no magic but is stronger and faster than those who do…