CBR14 BINGO: Shadow Square
(Had another book in mind for this square and then this called to me from the library’s new bookshelf. Shadow in the title. Shadowy figures. Shadow government. Lots of living in your own shadow or someone else’s.)
I like fantasy novels. I have certainly read my share of fairy shenanigans. But, I think that I tend to limit my fantasy selections based, not just to fairy-heavy plots, but to the book cover. For me, there is a certain type of cover that screams “Dude Fantasy Novel” wherein I will find pages and pages of endless boring battlefield depictions, copious amounts of whatever the fantasy version of wenches are, and the flagrant overuse of the word eviscerate. This is a prejudice that I now recognize and take ownership of. Because this book? This book has a total “Dude Fantasy Novel” cover and I loved it.
After his first victory ends in disgrace, Demir flees the responsibility of his guild family to distance himself from a terrible war crime that happened under his leadership. When his mother is assassinated almost a decade later, he returns to the city to take over the family business and discover who is responsible for her death. As a conspiracy by prominent guild families begins to emerge, Demir uncovers a more frightening prospect. A world that was built upon and runs on the magical properties of godglass, is facing the exhaustion of that resource. As that glass-built foundation begins to crack, war breaks out and sinister figures begin to appear on the fringes of high society.
With the help of a retired fighter, a brilliant engineer, a fearless soldier and a resourceful spy, Demir races to stop an invasion, punish his mother’s killers and find a way to renew the world’s supply of godglass.
I may have to give credit to all of those fairy books that I have devoured over the last year for easing me into extended battlefield depictions. Apparently, those go down well if the characters that are engaged in the warfare are interesting and well-drawn and I’m invested in their welfare (or possible evisceration). This has all of that in spades. Unique, well-drawn characters and excellent world-building. Nary a wench in sight.
This is the first book in the Glass Immortals Series. Always excited to find a great book with the promise of more to come.