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.

I’m going to be completely honest: I didn’t go into this book with the highest expectations. I’d previously read the first book in McClellan’s Powder Mage series, Promise of Blood, and I thought it was just…okay. Didn’t hate it, but I didn’t absolutely love it either. I believe I ended up giving it 3 stars, which means I liked it. It wasn’t head over heels in love. ANYWAY. My opinion of McClellan’s books has done a complete 180—I ended up loving In The Shadow of Lightning!

Demir Grappo used to be considered a prodigy. Already a respected politician, military tactician, and powerful glassdancer in his 20s, Demir’s life is pretty good. But when something goes terribly wrong during a battle, Demir’s status as the renowned Lightning Prince is dashed, and he puts himself into a self-imposed exile with his confidence broken, giving up his stakes in his family and in the government. But the magic of the world, the magic of godglass, is waning, and Demir may have to go back to the life he abandoned in an attempt to save the world.

Listen. LISTEN! The magic system in this world was so cool! It revolves around a substance called “godglass”, which is blown in a forge like regular glass, but there are different types that give the wearer/holder different powers. The glass accentuates certain attributes such as strength, creativity, mental acuity, etc. The magic put me in mind of the magic of Allomancy in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, except in McClellan’s world, pretty much everyone can make use of the magic, except those with godglass aphasia. More rare are people called glassdancers, and these are people who can physically move and manipulate regular glass. McClellan’s magic system lent itself to some truly spectacular uses within the book: someone gets DECAPITATED by a WINEGLASS being manipulated by a glassdancer. Genius, just genius.

This book has a few different POVs besides Demir’s, and I found that I actually enjoyed each of them, which is rarely the case when I read fantasy with multiple POVs. Each of McClellan’s characters was well-developed, and I was genuinely invested in their plot lines. Thessa and Kizzie, a siliceer (godglass forger) and a family enforcer, were the two main female POVs, and I think that McClellan’s characterization of female characters has vastly improved since Promise of Blood and I appreciate that. A soldier named Idrian, and Demir’s own POV were also wildly intriguing. I also fell in love with Demir’s adopted brother Baby Montego, a retired fighter. He served as an excellent foil to Demir, and I loved the way he bolstered Demir’s confidence and always had his back. It would have been easy to make Baby Montego just a meathead, but he had an incredible amount of depth. I honestly loved each and every one of the characters in this book, and I can’t wait to see what their futures hold in the next book!

In The Shadow of Lightning has made me into a Brian McClellan fan, and while I’m excited for the next book in this series, I’m also ready to give his Powder Mage series another try!

4.5 stars

In the Shadow of Lightning was my first Brian McClellan book. The first thing that striked me was the writing-style. I was caught from the beginning. The prologue was so gripping and is on of the best I've ever read.

This book mainly focuses on Demir Grappo, a former general/politician, who left the society behind him during 9 nine years. He's forced to return to the capital to take his place as head of his family, and then the story really starts.

There are several plot-lines, each really interesting. I was never bored in any of them. I think it was well planed and executed. We never learn too much, but we also always make some progress.
I was pleased to see that I didn't see any of the twists coming ! I like being surprised by a book, and this one did the job well !

Demir was great character, maybe a bit too good (I wished he was more grey-ish), but he didn't felt naive in any way. He's very clever, passionate about his beliefs and loyal. He's also a tortured soul, and his trauma were well depicted. He allowed the author to develop themes that are often left on the bench in these kind of fantasy books.
Idrian and Baby are part of my favorite characters too. They are like bears, fightning like hell to protect their cubs and family.

One I have mixed feeling about is Thessa. I kind of like her, but there's something that bothers me.

I was surprised by the society depicted by the author. It was really egalitarian, both men and women were in position of power and same-sex mariage seemed to be quite frequent, or at least completely accepted. It feels to see this in a high-fantasy novel.

The magic system felt a bit simplistic, but has great potential. I hope it'll be more developped in the second, there's really something great that can be done with that !

The epilogue was awesome, really. It opens a lot of opportunities for the sequel to be breathtaking. I'll jump on the second book as soon as it is available !

Once again, McClellan creates a well-crafted fantasy mystery with lots of action, intrigue and a complex, unique magic system. The intense world building, multi-faceted characters and connected plots captured my interest and immersed me into the Glass Immortals series.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for the eARC. Pub. Date: June 21, 2022.
#NetGalley #InTheShadowOfLightning

I want to start by thanking NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review. Godglass, a material that is used to channel magics of different types. Have it and you have power, limits of it drive people to do anything to get it. Brian McClellan has written the first in a series where these are the background facts. Combine this with strong chatacters and his epic world building and you have In the Shadow of Lightning. I already look forward to book two!

4/5 Stars. Really cool concept. I love it in fantasy where magic is a finite resource. I love how that can mirror effects of climate change in our own world. The sci-fantasy vibes of this book and some of the characters just made this read so compelling for me. I hope Brian writes a sequel soon. I have theories and questions that need answering! Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with an arc of this title!

I almost put this down after the prologue because I was worried it would be filled with senseless violence, but it wasn't and I am so glad I kept reading. I really appreciate how distinct and fleshed out McClellan's narrators are. It's rare for me to be equally interested in every character in a multi-character POV storyline but I cared about all of them and was invested in their wellbeing. The Guild families are clearly based on Roman pater familias, but McClellan applies his references with a light touch so the society is distinct in and of itself. I also liked the magic system being glass based, with specialised glass being used to amplify the abilities of otherwise non-magical individuals. It's more unique than anything else I've read in a while and I thought the creative physical penalty for too much magic use was cleverly done. I'm not completely sold on the twist at the end, because I would happily read several more books exploring the warring Guild families and the tenuous fate of magic, but it left me curious enough to want the sequel as soon as possible.

Thank you to Brian McClellan, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for the eGalley copy of In the Shadow of Lightning.

Having been a fan of Brian McClellan for a number of years, my expectations were high; perhaps too high. While this first outing of his new series, The Glass Immortals, was a fun read and very enjoyable, it held the characteristics more typical of a newer author's earlier works: An incredible prologue followed by less-riveting prose, and incomplete characterization, world building, and and narrative arc. I can't bash the book, it's fun and worth the investment if you love McClellan, but perhaps if you walk into it knowing it's one of his weaker works the shock won't bog you down as much as it did me. Then again, I'm always hopeful for redemption in book 2, so you know I'll be reading on.

I went into this book after reading the majority of the books in McClellan’s Powdermage world. After enjoying those, I would have to say that this book was a bit of a let down.
That’s not to say that I hated it. Exactly the opposite. I did read it and I did enjoy it.
I just never connected with it. Aspects were good. I enjoyed most of the world building. The magic system was great. I never really felt any real interest in the characters. After the characterization from Powdermage, I expected vibrant and alive characters. Instead they just seemed to exist on the page.
A little disappointing.
Hopefully, that will be something that he can work on with book two in the series.

ARC was provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.

Brian McClellan’s return to the epic fantasy scene is a good one, but it didn’t feel as explosive as his Powder Mage universe.

In the Shadow of Lightning, the first book in The Glass Immortals 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. Demir Grappo is an outcast by choice—he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But nine years later, this is within the first two chapters by the way, when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed. Demir must also find allies to help him accomplish this mission. As you can probably guess, a murder mystery is one of the main driving forces of the narrative. And was it done well? In my opinion, yes and no.

Here is my gripe with In the Shadow of Lightning. Everything just felt... okay. None of the stories, characters, or world-building, ever felt like they were poorly done. However, there was also nothing special about them. Outside of his urban fantasy novellas, McClellan has taken a break from traditional publishing for three years, I expected more out of him. And to put it simply, the biggest issue with this book is that the POV characters just felt so... okay. Again, they were there for the plot to move, but that's about it. I never felt invested in any of the character journeys. There were no characters I felt interested enough to read about like Taniel, Ka-poel, or Ben Stykes from his Powder Mage universe. Baby Montego was the only one that I felt was great. I personally felt like the writing in this book tends to be put aside too quickly to my liking. For example, as I said earlier, the event in the prologue plunged Demir into becoming an outcast. The assassination of his mother's understandably brought him back. But I never felt like he was truly remorseful or regretful about what happened nine years ago as he did in the prologue. Suddenly, he's back in charge, and everything just moves smoothly because of his intellect and power. This is just one example out of many instances in this book.

The world-building and actions were the best parts of the book for me. The world in this novel still felt similar to the industrialized/flintlock setting of The Powder Mage universe. And the hard magic system, godglass, was reminiscent of Allomancy from Sanderson's Mistborn. There are many types of godglass, and each godglass brought out different capabilities and power from its user: glassdancer. The creation and the usage of godglass were sections I highly enjoyed reading in this book. But then again, as I said, it felt like all the good things in this book never elevated to something more. In the Shadow of Lightning seems like a book that would be more enjoyable for those who haven't read many epic fantasy books yet.

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 video. In the Shadow of Lightning is a good start to The Glass Immortal series. 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. Do remember, however, that I wasn't too much of a fan of Blood of Empire by McClellan, too, so there is always the possibility that I am on the unpopular side again. If you are a fan of Brian McClellan's book, do not let my review sway you from giving this a try.

You can pre-order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

Thanks Netgalley and MacMillan for the eARC!

McClellan is an author that I really appreciate. I find his style, quick and incisive, without frills, and able to tell stories full of action and very exciting fights. With this book he did not disappoint me!

The story follows the pov of 4 different characters and the plot is not particularly complex...and neither are the characters. What is not missing is the action!
Everything is heavily focused on a murder mystery to which are added political intrigues and a war on the horizon.
A story that fits perfectly in this industrialized world where spies and backstabbing are the order of the day.
It is a fun, plot driven, fast-paced and engaging fantasy. I really liked the magic system, very intriguing indeed.

It's a 3.5 because I would have preferred a deeper characterization and some more details of worldbuilding but I'm really curious to read the next books.

Ok, In the Shadows of the Lightning is a spectacle. A full-on adventure with larger than life characters and plethora of action scenes.
They are completely over the top.
They are anime outrageous.
And that may be the best thing about it.

We are following Demir Grappo, once a shining star of Ossan Empire, now a disgraced general. The sudden death of his mother forces him out of his exile in countryside and back into the ruthless guild politics and wars of Ossan elite as he tries to uncover who was behind her murder. Soon he realizes she was entangled in a conspiracy to deal with a finite magic resource. Godglass reserves are dwindling and and it makes the most powerful individuals desperate enough to steal, commit murder or even start a war with neighbouring country hoping that Demir, the failure of a Grappo House, will win it for them.

McClellan have a reputation for writing fast-paced stories with cool fight scenes and his books are often recommended for anyone who wants flintlock fantasy setting with focus on military campaigns. So, for all Powder Mage fans out there, don't worry- McClellan didn't stir too far away from his signature style in new series- industrialized magic is still the setting he's most comfortable in. Factories in cities and grenades on battlefields mixed with magic of godglass that's right from Sanderson's school of magic systems.
Godglass is, simply said, a magically infused glass that augments abilities. For example, forgeglass augments physical strength and speed, cureglass augments healing, witglass augments mental acuity and so on. Since it's glass, it isn't really fit to be ingested, but it does require a contact with someone's body and it's mostly used by aristocracy in a form of earrings they put on and take off when they need to. Common folk just keep pieces of glass with them. They have a finite number of uses and once emptied they become useless. Hence, production of godglass is a booming business.
The Ossan Empire is ruled by Assembly of the most important people in the Empire: Heads of the guild-families. They put a great value on commerce, profit and negotiation, but it doesn't mean they don't employ the less civilized methods to come on top as well. It's a ruthless group of people and it's no wonder they see the issue of scarce material as a way to win over others.
It's a really fun setting to put equally interesting mystery in it and turn it into a conspiracy of epic proportions by the end.
Characters are extremes to fit that anime vibe I mentioned: Demir is incredibly smart, with Sun Tzu level of military strategy mind and he is a glassdancer (glassdancers can manipulate any type of glass and turn it in a weapon with a single thought which is why they are often feared and used as an ultimate weapon in a battle). He is not entirely flawless: he is vain and he can be hard-headed and rash, but mistakes he makes are the type of mistakes readers can understand. Thessa is master silicer, and she has those feminine power scenes because she leaves everyone in awe with her scientific mind and skill and she is invaluable for the cause. Idrian Sepulki is a Breacher- main infantry tool in a war and his arc is that hyper-masculinity ideal of badasserry and soldier camaraderie and noble actions. Kizzie is an Enforcer and she investigates for Demir the murder of his mother and she is just effortlessly cool. They are extremes, but I like the spectacle and it makes it easy to cheer for them. Hell, my personal favourite is not even a pov character: Baby Montego is a celebrity cudgelist and I like ironically named characters you take with you if you expect trouble.

This is not a book with overly complex plot or ambiguous characters or high brow writing. You have a murder mystery, backstabbing politics, a prison break, industrial espionage, war strategy, eldrich horror and romance mixed into it and I couldn't ask for more. The action is non-stop and it seems that main issue is resolved and another thing becomes the main issue several times over the course of the novel. It does take the severity of character's actions away, but I appreciated the fact that there wasn't a thing that was dragged for entirety of the novel. That made it more episodic in nature and some of it is messy, some of it ridiculous, but all of it was fun. :)

A good as the Powdermage books. This was a fun fantasy mystery with a ‘craft’ style magic system – in this instance Glass blowing! Great world building and well rounded characters. This was an engaging and interesting read.

"From Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage trilogy, comes the first novel in the Glass Immortals series, In the Shadow of Lightning, an epic fantasy where magic is a finite resource - and it’s running out.

Demir Grappo is an outcast - he fled a life of wealth and power, abandoning his responsibilities as a general, a governor, and a son. Now he will live out his days as a grifter, rootless, and alone. But when his mother is brutally murdered, Demir must return from exile to claim his seat at the head of the family and uncover the truth that got her killed: the very power that keeps civilization turning, godglass, is running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it."

I'm always intrigued by worlds that have magic but are losing it.

Another enjoyable fantasy from Mr. McClellan, with a new setting and magic system. Fans of his previous Powder Mage series will not be disappointed.

For most of In the Shadow of Lightning, I thought it was your typical, sort-of generic, kind-of-typical fantasy book. And…then I got to the last five percent of the novel, and, uh, everything changed? Now, don’t get me wrong, In the Shadow of Lightning was never boring. It has a fantastic, unique magic system, interesting characters, and a plot that kept my attention. There were little hints, though, throughout the book, that not all was as it appeared. The ending, however, is just bizarre.

Look, I’m going to be completely honest. I’m struggling not to spoil this one, and I absolutely refuse to spoil it, because I feel like it will ruin the book for many people if I do! So if this review is vaguer than it should be, that’s my explanation.

At it’s core, In the Shadow of Lightning is a book about a mystery. Who killed Demir Grappo’s mother, and why? The answer is given, at the very end of the novel, so don’t worry about that. To get there, though, is quite the journey. We travel through an active war zone, through the city streets, and into nitty-gritty situations, all to figure out the why of the murder.

There are four POVs in this book, each bringing their own merits and opinions to the story. There’s Kezzie, a childhood friend of Demir, who he puts in charge of looking into his mom’s murder. Kezzie is frequently badass, and manages to figure part of the mystery out quite quickly. There’s Thessa, the siliceer who Demir rescues and sets to figuring out how to save spent godglass. She is incredibly competent, and she knows it. There’s Idiran, a grizzled warrior who’s going slightly insane after using too much godglass. He’s tired, and ready to retire, but he can’t. Not yet.

And finally, of course, there’s Demir.

Demir is a fantastic protagonist. He struggles with severe PTSD as a result of a backstabbing that killed thousands of people during a war campaign that he led. He frequently borders on being ‘too’ good at what he does, but eh, you forgive him, because he’s rather charming. He reminded me FREQUENTLY of Locke Lamora, from The Lies of Locke Lamora. I wouldn’t be surprised if McClellan was highly inspired by that character. Demir is a glassdancer — someone who can control glass, kind of like how an elementalist can control the elements. People with this talent are generally thought to be extremely dangerous. They are also incredibly rare. Demir doubts himself almost constantly, but it helps pull back on how good he is at, well, what he does.

There’s a lot to like in In the Shadow of Lightning, and I enjoyed reading it. I just wish, maybe, there had been slightly more clues as to where the ending was going. There are some, but they are few and far between, honestly. Overall, somewhere in the four star range…maybe a little over.

The first installment of a new series, IN THE SHADOW OF LIGHTNING is a solid modern fantasy story. While many influences are apparent (a magic system similar to Sanderson’s allomancy, except this time with glass), McClellan adds his flair by requiring Demir Grappo (our good guy with a dark past) to maneuver around the political powers that be as he tries to uncover who murdered his mother.

However, this main driving narrative falls to the wayside as our view of the world expands.

This book had a few drawbacks for me. At almost 600 pages, the plot progression would feel very slow. We follow 4 main viewpoints - Demir, Thessa, Kizzie, and Idrian. All 4 held starkly different viewpoints and motivations, but their voices & actions blended together as they all would set aside their emotions to do what is “right”. With the high fantasy stylization, a lot of dialogue was melodramatic. Each and every story peak would end on a cutting, witty lines (glimpses of Lynch’s Locke Lamora), which often fell flat as they didn’t match the setting or character. While time was put in to build characterizations (dark pasts, etc.), moments of tension were quickly resolved. These mini plot arcs became a treadmill - a lot of energy expended without reaching a new place.

Only near its’ end do you see how this story could massively expand, and where this series could make it’s mark. For lovers of high fantasy, this is a good fit.

In the Shadow of Lightning is one of the most unconventional fantasy books I’ve read in a while.

There are a lot of weird components that probably shouldn’t work, but somehow McClellan managed to weave them all together in a (mostly) seamless manner. Truth be told, it’s a bit more bizarre than I usually prefer. I’m not sure I would’ve given the benefit of the doubt had it been from any other author. But seeing as both Powder Mage trilogies are among my all-time favorites, I went in with a huge level of trust that McClellan would be able to deliver. Thank goodness he did, in flying colors (or glass shards, as the case may be).

My favorite thing about the book was the magic system. Magic-forged glass of varying colors, each type offering a different benefit to the user. It went into some good details on how the glass was created and used, which were among the best parts of the story for me – I love reading about people who are exceptional in their field of work. I also really enjoyed seeing the magic used in the many hand-to-hand combat scenes. Really cool.

The only element that didn’t quite land for me was the mystery. Have y’all ever read those Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys mash-up novels where the plot and mystery are much more exciting than either ND or HB on their own… but they’re still kids books and you can totally see the formula for the mystery where the breadcrumbs are all in a neat little row for them to follow? That’s how the mystery in this book came across to me. I gave it the benefit of the doubt from the beginning to see how it would develop and unfortunately had everything figured out hundreds of pages before I think I was supposed to. Oh well.

Lackluster mystery aside, at least I enjoyed the characters enough to go through the motions with them. There were several POVs, and all of them added a different flavor to the story. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, as they all contributed in a meaningful way towards the bottom-line and I liked them all. One of my favorite things about McClellan’s writing in the PM trilogies was how he was able to create such deep connections between characters. It’s one of the best examples of amazing character work that I’ve ever read, and a huge part of why he’s one of my top authors. I saw a bit of that brilliance peek through here and there in this story, but not to the degree I was expecting. I’m hoping for a bit more in the second book, as I will definitely be reading on. No spoilers, obviously, but he dropped a bomb (figuratively) in the epilogue that had me going… “wth did I just read?!” So now I really need to get my hands on the next one.

Recommendations: this is an incredibly creative and original fantasy that has the power to jolt (pun) anyone out of a reading rut. Truthfully, I don’t think I would’ve been quite so accepting of the wild ideas if the author hadn’t already established my trust in the Powder Mage trilogies. So proceed with caution if this is your first McClellan. While wildly entertaining, it didn’t strike the same chord with me as other works have. At least not yet… the series is young.

Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Somehow, McClellan always manages to craft a world I want to get to know. The multifaceted characters and complex, fascinating magic system of this new series pulled me in, just like the Powder Mage series did when I first got to know McClellan’s work. Demir Grappo is a gritty character who has been through difficult times despite the privilege of his upbringing and the power he has. McClellan doesn’t create simple characters who are always good, or anywhere near perfect, and that is something I love. I can’t stand the hero who always does the right thing, or who has an annoying habit of always making things more difficult for no apparent reason. With Demir, I was cheering him on, hoping he could work through the trauma he endured as he grappled with his present troubles. And of course, the action and intrigue kept me hooked. This is a great first installment of a new series and I can’t wait to read more.

in the shadow of lightning is the first fantasy book in the glass immortals series by brian mcclellan. it follows the main protagonist demir, an outcast who has decided to abandon the society he has always known, but is drawn back into this dangerous world upon his mother being killed. with a war on the horizon and his society's source of power running out, demir must make difficult choices and build intricate relationships to preserve not only himself, but what will be left of the world he's grown up in.

this was an average read for me overall. the world building was excellent in this book, which allowed for a full immersive experience. demir was a really fun character to read about; he's far from perfect, but my favorite characters are those who are flawed but have a good heart (he fits this description well). the supporting characters were just as fun to read about, especially the women. my main struggle with this book was the pacing and length. being a seasoned fantasy reader, i'm used to longer books, but i do think this one could have benefitted from being a bit shorter. i also thought the pacing was uneven, with boring stretches breaking up the more exciting sections, which made it hard to pay attention from time to time. overall, this was a really solid opener, and i do plan to continue with future books.

thank you to both netgalley and macmillan-tor/forge for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own. 3.5/5 stars (rounded up)!!