In the Shadow of Lightning

Glass Immortals, Book 1

By: Brian McClellan

Narrated by: Damian Lynch

Length: 24 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's 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)

©2022 Brian McClellan (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

one of the best books I've read this year

one of the best books I've read in a very long time, I'd say that the scope of it was as well thought out as the way of kinda and I can see why Brandon Sanderson liked it (his review was the reason I got this book)
If you like epic fantasy you will not be dissapointed 🙌🙌🙌

A good start

A great start to a new series and a new world, excited to see where it goes.

Brilliant, as allways with McClellan.

Very good narrator. A bit shorter pausing between sentences is prefered. Story never gets boring.

So good. So incredibly good

Loved powder mage. Loved in the shadow of lightning. I can’t wait to see where this series takes us

Eagerly awaiting sequels

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters really pop off of the page, which I did expect from the author having read the Powder Mage books but the magic system in this book is fascinating. I really look forward to seeing where this goes.

Super dope

This was super dope. Pumped for the next book. Can’t come soon enough. Don’t know what people mean when they say it starts slow. I enjoyed it throughout.

Draws You In

Great storyline, interesting characters—keeps you interested. It was hard to hit pause on this one. Can’t wait for the next one!

This book causes sleep loss.

I have lost lots of sleep! I have also made many sewing errors paying more attention to the book rather than my sewing! (but that's another story :) Brian McClellan has created a unique and very interesting storyline which I find intriguing. As with all his series, he has a habit of creating characters who are just too fleshed out to think of any other way but as real people. I find I truly care about what happens to them. These characters are placed into well written, suspenseful situations with excellent dialog! I find that I go back and listen ( and reread) passages again just to experience it again. These reasons have caused me to tell myself it's ok to listen to just one more chapter over the week it's taken me to listen to this book.

So I will add a hard copy of this book to my complete collection, restart the audiobook for the second time, and tell as many people as I can about this amazing author who deserves to be read because he is such a good writer. All the while knowing I will continue to loose sleep while enjoying the story more the second( third, fourth, etc) time around.

Also the reader is spectacular! His voice is one I can listen to all day ! :)

A somewhat standard but enjoyable story

In the Shadow of Lightning introduces a series of rather fun characters in a fine example of a hard magic fantasy world. Gladsdancing and godglass magic are definitely chock full of some cool ideas, though we don’t get to explore them much. The characters are a mixed bag. While they all have flaws and arcs, it doesn’t feel like there was too much nuance there. The story runs really straightforward for about 85% of the book and then drastically pivots in the last 15% to be a very different sort of story. It’s still a good story, but the change threw me off. Overall it’s worth a listen, though I am not certain if I’ll return for the next.

I love Brain McClellan

You can really see his growth as a writer in this book. I love the characters and the magic system! Can’t wait to hear more.