SMOKE IN THE GLASS
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If you had the choice, would you want to live forever? Ferros wouldn’t. He had his life as a soldier of the Empire of Corinthium, he had his love. But when he is killed fighting desert raiders and is immediately reborn, that life is over. Now he must train in the ways of the decadent immortal elites – and learn how to rule all those resentful, time-cursed mortals. Far in the west, on the volcanic island of Ometepe, Atisha doesn’t have that choice. She is not immortal. But the man she loves – Intitepe, the King-god – is. The only one – for he has killed all the others. Yet an ancient curse says that just as he killed his own father, a son of his will one day kill him. So if any in his harem get pregnant, and the child is male, that child is swum in the great volcano’s lava. Atisha plans to fight, to die, for her baby. But when it is born, she doesn’t have to – for it is neither boy nor girl. And Intitepe makes his first mistake in five hundred years: he sends mother and child away to await ‘developments’. In the frozen north, Luck never had a choice. He discovered immortality when he died as a sickly child – and was reborn a god. With his humped back and short right leg, he always thought his parents’ name for him a joke. For in Midgarth, only a warrior-god is prized, living for the glory of battle: to fight, kill or die, and be ever reborn. Yet Luck has other gifts – to read the signs of the world. And he has realized something… Someone is killing the gods. Corinthium. Midgarth. Ometepe. Each world knows nothing of the other. But there is a fourth world, beyond the unclimable mountains and unsailable seas. A vast land where four savage tribes have united under the prophecy of ‘the One’. A child who is neither boy nor girl. When the tribes find ‘the One’, they will climb unclimable mountains, sail unsailable seas… and conquer the wide world. Unless a broken soldier, a desperate mother and a crippled god can stop them. "An intriguing premise... an intricate, fast-paced story... Humphreys packs gods, deicide, warring tribes and some impressive world-building into just over 300 pages." ―THE GUARDIAN, UK -- |
REVIEWS
A brilliant epic fantasy debut from a master storyteller
―Sebastien de Castell
Instantly gripping and thoroughly unusual, this book ends on a cliffhanger which has me impatient for part two.
―MORNING STAR
Wonderful characters and great world-building, in Humphreys' special brand of addictive storytelling
―Diana Gabaldon
Cleverly written, at times very funny, I thoroughly enjoyed this new book.
―RAMBLING MADS
Chris Humphreys skilfully weaves together several different storylines without any feeling like they're rushed over and still manages to keep the momentum of the plot going throughout the book. It's an intriguing new look at immortality in a fantasy novel, and I highly recommend it.
―THE BOOK BUNDLE
Brilliant: smoothly-written, engaging, fascinating. The kid can write. The world is wonderful - I wish I'd thought of it
―Conn Iggulden
An intriguing premise... an intricate, fast-paced story... Humphreys packs gods, deicide, warring tribes and some impressive world-building into just over 300 pages.
―GUARDIAN
I really enjoyed this book. Smoke in the Glass isn’t pulp–Humphreys’ plot, prose, and characters give this book a sense of quality and gravity without skimping on fun and readability. If readers are in the mood for traditional fantasy with historical verisimilitude and a mythical twist, this is the novel for them. [READ FULL REVIEW]
―Grimdark Magazine
