In the Shadow of Lightning
- Downloads：7712
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-05 08:53:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Brian McClellan
- ISBN：1250755697
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
"Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date。 Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read。"—Brandon Sanderson
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。
"Powerful rival families， murderous conspiracies， epic battles， larger-than-life characters， and magic。"—Fonda Lee， author of The Green Bone Saga
"Engaging， fast-paced and epic。"—James Islington， author of In The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Clever， fun， and by turns beautifully bloody， In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window。"—Megan E。 O'Keefe， author of Chaos Vector
"Excellent worldbuilding and a truly epic narrative combine into Brian's finest work to date。 Heartily recommended to anyone who wants a new favorite fantasy series to read。"—Brandon Sanderson
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。
"Powerful rival families， murderous conspiracies， epic battles， larger-than-life characters， and magic。"—Fonda Lee， author of The Green Bone Saga
"Engaging， fast-paced and epic。"—James Islington， author of In The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Clever， fun， and by turns beautifully bloody， In the Shadow of Lightning hits like a bolt through a stained glass window。"—Megan E。 O'Keefe， author of Chaos Vector
Reviews
Mel's Reading Rook
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3。5 stars
Chris Bauer
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I positively loved the Gunpowder Mage series by McClellan and had high expectations for this new series of "The Glass Immortals" - I was not disappointed。The author has a graceful and subtle manner of writing from multiple POV perspectives which provide the reader just enough conflicting information to get hooked quickly。 Characters are vivid and vibrant but almost always profoundly flawed - McClellan does a great job of spinning character driven sub， subplots which end up reconnecting in Act II I positively loved the Gunpowder Mage series by McClellan and had high expectations for this new series of "The Glass Immortals" - I was not disappointed。The author has a graceful and subtle manner of writing from multiple POV perspectives which provide the reader just enough conflicting information to get hooked quickly。 Characters are vivid and vibrant but almost always profoundly flawed - McClellan does a great job of spinning character driven sub， subplots which end up reconnecting in Act III in a neat concise format。 Just a fun read， from start to finish - if you don't mind a bit of gore。 Not splatterpunk by any means， but hey - when the protag's magical power is literally controlling razor sharp shards and needles of glass， its gonna get messy， right？Btw， the worldbuilding is a master class in how it should be done。 Simple， intriguing， unique and open to subsequent tweaking and monkey-wrenching about。I'm eagerly awaiting the next one！ 。。。more
Chris Boulton
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Wow。 That was sooooo good。
Lael
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Reminded me of the Way of Kings so I really wanted to like this book- but I just wasn’t invested in the characters。 The plot seemed interesting but lagged at the start - hopefully the second book will be more gripping now that new info came to light at the end！
Rogan Richer
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Amazing book with amazing characters and a building world。 I loved every page and I can't wait for more Amazing book with amazing characters and a building world。 I loved every page and I can't wait for more 。。。more
Ben
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Fun new world， lots of action
Joshua
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If I could give this book more stars I would。 Fast paced， witty， and engaging。
R
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Enjoyable read marred by unrealistic （for the setting） current-year real world political choices shoehorned in。
Jennifer A。 Johnson
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Holy。。。。！！I adore this book。 I thought the beginning third was a little bit of a slow burn， but now， having just finished it， I want to reread， just to spend more time with the characters （I'm emotionally attached to all of them， and that ending was brutal， my gods）， and to pick up on things I might have missed。The more it went on， the more I loved it， and by the last few chapters， or maybe 150 pages from the end， I physically could not stop reading it。 My husband asked me questions and I。。。。mut Holy。。。。！！I adore this book。 I thought the beginning third was a little bit of a slow burn， but now， having just finished it， I want to reread， just to spend more time with the characters （I'm emotionally attached to all of them， and that ending was brutal， my gods）， and to pick up on things I might have missed。The more it went on， the more I loved it， and by the last few chapters， or maybe 150 pages from the end， I physically could not stop reading it。 My husband asked me questions and I。。。。muttered responses， probably？ until he left me alone to finish the book。What a fantastic world。 What great characters。 I can't believe how much I love them and want more of them。 I don't know how many more books will be in this series， but I'm so excited for it to continue。 I can't wait to see what happens next。I switched frequently between the physical book and audio， and it is narrated spectacularly by Damian Lynch。 If you're looking to spend a credit， this one is well worth it。 。。。more
Abdul Malik
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Whooooo what a book！ Easily， easily the best book I've read， so far， in 2022。 It has everything you want。 An interesting magic system that revolves around glass， fun politics between houses， wars being waged between empires and an underlying supernatural threat。 Whooooo what a book！ Easily， easily the best book I've read， so far， in 2022。 It has everything you want。 An interesting magic system that revolves around glass， fun politics between houses， wars being waged between empires and an underlying supernatural threat。 。。。more
Alex
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Good read！ I enjoyed the pacing and political aspects of this story。 From the first chapter， I felt pulled in to the story。 My only con was there were too many “conveniences” for me， particularly the Forge。
Verily
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So stoked to have another McClellan world to get lost in！！😍
Barbara
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It’s actually a 3。5。 It’s good。 I really enjoyed it， mostly。 I just think it needed a little something…。。can’t quite put my finger on what。 The ending wasn’t satisfying。 That’s one thing， and is a biggie。 I know it’s the first book in a series but still。 I do look forward to reading further volumes。 I think this story will be better served when you can read the books back to back。
Rev
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Okay so I really enjoyed most of this book。 The worldbuilding and magic system is astonishingly creative， and I loved the main conflict revolving around a limited magical resource。 It feels very rare in fantasty for the idea of limited resources to be confronted like this， but this being flintlock fantasy makes the choice especially apt。 I liked all of the pov characters enough that one of their chapters popping up didn't immediately make me want to stop reading， as often happens in novels。Howev Okay so I really enjoyed most of this book。 The worldbuilding and magic system is astonishingly creative， and I loved the main conflict revolving around a limited magical resource。 It feels very rare in fantasty for the idea of limited resources to be confronted like this， but this being flintlock fantasy makes the choice especially apt。 I liked all of the pov characters enough that one of their chapters popping up didn't immediately make me want to stop reading， as often happens in novels。However， there is one reason I couldn't rate it five stars， and it's Thessa and Demir's romance。 For starters I don't believe for a minute they would already be that infatuated with each other， that they're already considering marriage， when they've known each other for maybe two weeks。 This book doesn't focus enough on the two of them together in scenes building up that relationship to make me believe it。 Additionally， Thessa gets over the fact he was the commanding officer of the army that murdered her family and sacked the city they were living in ridiculously quickly。 Almost like the author didn't want his characters to disagree and didn't think it'd be believable for Thessa to be angry about what happens directly after that on behalf of Demir， while still holding resentment towards him for something like the sacking when it technically wasn't his fault。 I'm not saying she'd have been justified in that resentment since it wasn't on his orders， but she hasn't had someone to blame for nine years， and I can't help but feel like her feelings would be a touch more complicated than Oh He Was As Much Of A Victim As I Was uwuAnyway overall enjoyed the book and will definitely be continuing the series。 。。。more
Jordan DeGooyer
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When I think of good fantasy story what I look for most is a complex and detailed world， a great cast of characters， and originality。 This book definitely gave me all three of those。 Brian Mcclellan knocks it out of the park with “In the Shadow of Lightning”。 This book has a lovable and remarkable cast of characters， and a story that keeps you on your toes。 I found my self engulfed in the story playing every scene in my mind。 To me this book was an easy 5/5 and this book really sparked my intere When I think of good fantasy story what I look for most is a complex and detailed world， a great cast of characters， and originality。 This book definitely gave me all three of those。 Brian Mcclellan knocks it out of the park with “In the Shadow of Lightning”。 This book has a lovable and remarkable cast of characters， and a story that keeps you on your toes。 I found my self engulfed in the story playing every scene in my mind。 To me this book was an easy 5/5 and this book really sparked my interest。 I can’t wait to see what possibly comes next in this great， interesting， and suspenseful world where you never know what may be hiding， in the shadow of lightning。 。。。more
Aaron Carlberg
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I waited almost a week to write this review because I was debating between 4 and 5 stars （and when I am unsure I try to go up）。 It may be that I read this book while on vacation， but it is super fun and （more importantly） fast-paced。 What most books would take 2 volumes to get through， Brian McClellan does in the first half。 In his Podcast （Page Break） when he was interviewed by Dan Wells he spoke about how he likes things fast moving and full of action （he likes writing it more than taking 10 p I waited almost a week to write this review because I was debating between 4 and 5 stars （and when I am unsure I try to go up）。 It may be that I read this book while on vacation， but it is super fun and （more importantly） fast-paced。 What most books would take 2 volumes to get through， Brian McClellan does in the first half。 In his Podcast （Page Break） when he was interviewed by Dan Wells he spoke about how he likes things fast moving and full of action （he likes writing it more than taking 10 pages to describe the color of a dress）。 I totally appreciate that about him。 If you have read any of his other works， this is a new story， in a new universe， with a pretty unique magic system。 I am bummed that I will probably have to wait a year and a half for the next one， but I will buy it （pre-orders help a lot） when it is available。 I'll be waiting。 。。。more
Mel Lenore
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This was just fine？ There's nothing inherently wrong with it; nothing I really hated or didn't like， but there is also nothing that super worked for me either。 All of the characters felt like they were just there to move the plot and were as flat as a cardboard box until about 80% of the way in。 This might be okay， but the plot was just too drawn out and simply okay to me。 I loved the magic system that is a mix of Jade City and Mistborn。 Sadly， we really don't get much of the magic。 We TALK abou This was just fine？ There's nothing inherently wrong with it; nothing I really hated or didn't like， but there is also nothing that super worked for me either。 All of the characters felt like they were just there to move the plot and were as flat as a cardboard box until about 80% of the way in。 This might be okay， but the plot was just too drawn out and simply okay to me。 I loved the magic system that is a mix of Jade City and Mistborn。 Sadly， we really don't get much of the magic。 We TALK about it a lot， but we don't see it used much。 I wanted to love this， and I've heard good things about Powder Mage， but this was just okay for me。 。。。more
Donna Lavalley
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This book was a bit difficult to read due to the war and politic elements it。 I gave it a rating of 4 because it had a lot of suspense。 There are some relationship that start and others that end。 Friends are betrayed。 I do recommend reading this book。
Amy Verkruissen
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This is the first book I've ever read by Brian McClellan and I was not disappointed！The book starts off at the ending of an epic battle won and led by our protagonist， Demir Gappo， a young and brilliant politician and strategist。 The Gappo family is a small family that makes up one of the many in the Ossan empire that rule the city。 The win is quickly upended by the unauthorized sack of the city they just defeated and Demir has proclaimed will be mercifully saved。 This betrayal whom everyone is This is the first book I've ever read by Brian McClellan and I was not disappointed！The book starts off at the ending of an epic battle won and led by our protagonist， Demir Gappo， a young and brilliant politician and strategist。 The Gappo family is a small family that makes up one of the many in the Ossan empire that rule the city。 The win is quickly upended by the unauthorized sack of the city they just defeated and Demir has proclaimed will be mercifully saved。 This betrayal whom everyone is lead to believe was authorized by him mentally breaks him and he abandons military and political life for a life of anonymity in the provinces。 This ends when he finds out nine years later his mother has been brutally murdered on the steps of the assembly hall where politicians gather。 This brings us to the actual beginning of the story， mystery and political intrigue。 The magic system is unique。 It is based off of magic that is endowed into wearable glass made by siliceers。 It is the basis off of which the entire world runs on。 When a sudden war is started against a neighboring neutral territory known for its glassworks， motives are questions and loyalties are tested。 This was a fantastic book that really got you vested in the characters， which were so well fleshed out and interesting。 It definitely ends with MANY unanswered questions and some crazy plot twists！ I will definitely be reading the rest of this series。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Iris
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3。5 stars。 I really enjoyed Lizzie's and Thessa's POVs and am intrigued by the political intrigue amongst the clans and other organizations so I will definitely continue on even though the pacing was slow at times。 I hope the second book has a tighter plot。 3。5 stars。 I really enjoyed Lizzie's and Thessa's POVs and am intrigued by the political intrigue amongst the clans and other organizations so I will definitely continue on even though the pacing was slow at times。 I hope the second book has a tighter plot。 。。。more
Amber Humphries
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Had so much fun reading this book。 Memorable characters and i can't wait to see what happens next Had so much fun reading this book。 Memorable characters and i can't wait to see what happens next 。。。more
Tyler Tarter
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Good but the story is kind of jerky。 Be patient with it because it is worth it。
Johnett
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Took me a little while to fully engage with this one， but turned out to be worth the time。
Daniel Holland
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Just wrapped "In the Shadow of Lightning" by Brian McClellan， the first of the Glass Immortals series。Take a unique magic system， glass empowered with sorcery， throw in trauma， backstabbing， politiking， engineering， a dash of falconry， and a surprise for the end。Read by Damian Lynch， expertly navigated the different povs and gave everyone their unique voice。Reasons to read:-Characters act as smart as they are！ To good and ill-The Ram and Baby are exactly my brand-Did not see that reveal coming。。 Just wrapped "In the Shadow of Lightning" by Brian McClellan， the first of the Glass Immortals series。Take a unique magic system， glass empowered with sorcery， throw in trauma， backstabbing， politiking， engineering， a dash of falconry， and a surprise for the end。Read by Damian Lynch， expertly navigated the different povs and gave everyone their unique voice。Reasons to read:-Characters act as smart as they are！ To good and ill-The Ram and Baby are exactly my brand-Did not see that reveal coming。。。-Different magic system-Socio-economic collapseCons:-Why would ANYONE use glass drinking vessels in a world where people can control glass？？？？ 。。。more
Zulmarie
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I have so many questions after finishing this book; but it was still a great story; with complicated characters， good magic system and politics。Also， could I be a glassdancer？
K。A。 Fox
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Excellent start to a new series。 Demir is instantly likable as is Thessa。 I saw some of the betrayals coming。 But there was an unexpected twist at the end。 Definitely worth reading。
Lena （Sufficiently Advanced Lena）
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Actual rating: 4。5If you liked his previous works you'll love this because it literally has the same feeling （now I want to reread Promise of Blood again） Actual rating: 4。5If you liked his previous works you'll love this because it literally has the same feeling （now I want to reread Promise of Blood again） 。。。more
Benedict Clarke
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Supposed to be epic fantasy？ Not really I guess？ The romance was a bit cringe。 Really like powdered mage but this had a completely different tone。
Tabatha Shields
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I really liked the characters and found them interesting。 The plot was good， not what I was expecting。
Garrett Olinde
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