Book Review: A Shadow on the Glass

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

A Shadow on the Glass     Amazon US PB Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB
Ian Irvine
Class/Genre:   SF AND Fantasy
Series: View From the Mirror # 1
Aspect, Jul 2001, $6.99, 672 pp.

Three worlds (Santhenar, Aachan and Tallallamem) had passages that allowed humans to travel between them. However, out of the void came the bellicose Charon who conquered Aachan. The war forced the closing of the bridges that linked the three orbs. On each world lives natives and aliens from the other worlds. In common among the three worlds are a deep fear of the Charon and a desire of those left on the wrong world to return home.

On Santhenar the chronicler Llian makes known the contents of top secret documents that contain dangerous information from a more magical era. His release of them turns him into an ostracized pariah among his peers. The psychic Karen is forced into stealing the magic Mirror of Aachan, an artifact that can save or destroy worlds. Soon afterward everyone on planet and some beings that are off-planet are after Karen. After meeting Llian, who joins herin flight, Karen struggles to survive.

The first book in Ian Irvine’s "The View from the Mirror" series is a complex, well-written science fiction fantasy that takes readers on a wild graphic trip into a strange universe. Santhenar and the key cast seem genuine and the concept of passages between tri-worlds appears real because of the tremendous depth of description, but that also slows down the epic a bit. This reviewer is disappointed that A SHADOW ON THE GLASS is not a stand-alone tale as the adventures continue with volume 2 THE TOWER OF THE RIFT that will arrive in bookstores in January 2002 or currently purchased along with 3 and 4 over the net.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner