In the Shadow of Lightning (Glass Immortals Book 1)

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The book begins with Demir's mother's assassination, and he's forced to return home to replace and avenge her. After his disgrace, he's not confident in his abilities to lead, so he recruits his old friends Kizzie and Baby Montego in his campaign of revenge. Morlius suddenly lurched forward, grabbing Demir’s wrist and raising his cudgel. “I think you match the description too well.” Demir felt his blood run cold. He’d gone to great lengths to make himself hard to find. If Capric was here with bad news, it must be very bad. He offered his hand, which Capric shook. “I haven’t. What brings you out to my corner of the provinces?”

We actually follow four characters in this book—Demir is obviously at the forefront, and branching out from him are two secondary protagonists: Kizzie Vorcien and Idrian Sepulki. Our other primary protagonist is Thessa Foleer, a "siliceer"—an engineer of sorts who creates the godglass that powers sorcery in this world. Glassdamn! This was a fantastic read! As a Brian McClellan virgin, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this first book in his new series, or from him as a writer in general, but the sci-fi / fantasy nerd in me was definitely not disappointed!Thessa is the engineer of the story. It's her job to reverse engineer and rebuild a mysterious device with the potential to revolutionize the world's magic system. I liked her as a character, but I have to say she didn't have much of a character arc. She didn't have the dynamism of Demir or the conflicting loyalties of Kizzie. She served as a perspective to flesh out the neat magic system, and was an outsider to the guild politics so we readers used her as an outsider's lens on events. She was the most upstanding 'good' person of the POV characters, so she was easy to root for. It was a visceral sport, and Demir felt that it defined the entire Ossan experience wonderfully—the way contestants broke their bodies for the chance at glory while everyone else cheered them on. Someday he would write a philosophical treatise on the subject. Demir and Thessa make a deal: Thessa re-creates the pheonix machine from her master's notes, and in return she gets to keep half the proceeds. Demir didn’t begrudge the foul play. That would be hypocritical, after all. He did begrudge the treatment of the cudgelists. His fighters always got a cut. That was the rule. 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.

The setting reminded me of a fusion of a gunpowder empire with the social dynamics of an early Roman city state- namely of a system of patronage between powerful families with client businesses/families. I thought it was fascinating how Demir felt the weight of responsibility towards the clients of his family, now that his mother is dead and it falls to him to be their patron. Thessa recreates, and improves upon, the machine her master invented. It's fueled by lightning, using that energy to recharge magical jewelry. This book had themes of betrayal and loyalty. This is a VERY political novel, so these themes are no surprise. Also, Demir and Thessa had character arcs involving building confidence in themselves and their leadership skills.Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!

Loved the second Powder Mage trilogy - felt it stepped up in almost all facets. Well written, compelling story, some fantastic characterisation, pushed the boundaries of the magic system without getting out of control, and did enough to differentiate itself from the original trilogy at the same time. Readers won’t want to miss the first book, In the Shadow of Lightening, full of magic, rival families, political intrigue, and fast-paced action. Meet Demir Grappo, an outcast—he’s renounced his wealth and left his family and responsibilities behind, including a son. 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. War is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it.I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. With worldbuilding and interconnected timelines this intense, the characters also have to be solid. I love a good ragtag, underdog team story and this one had all the great elements of that. Importantly, the story is engaging from start to finish and the pacing feels well done. In general, the story on the grander scale without spoiling things involved a world dependent on magical substances that are slowly running out of supply - a political assassination by unknown assailants - and a war between neighboring cities. There is heavy political intrigue, and a fun unravelling of the mysteries that surround these concepts. In the Shadow of Lightning is an easy read with a clear destination that takes a surprising turn toward the end. Not the ending itself—that was everything you expected it to be, in a good way—but the direction of the world and series. There is a lot to enjoy about this book, but it is the promise of where the series is headed that excites me the most. I love his relationship with Braileer, his vastly underqualified armorer who he wants to fire for the first week he knows him. Once Braileer shows that he will not leave Idrian’s side, even in intense battle, Idrian knows that he will not dismiss him despite his greenness. Because of this, and despite Idrian’s tendency to shut himself off from people, they grow close. In fact, there comes a pivotal moment towards the end of the book where Idrian makes a personal sacrifice for Braileer. Let’s hope that one works out!