Front Cover
Last night I finished reading Ian Irvine’s novel ‘A Shadow on the Glass’. It is the first volume of his ‘The View from the Mirror’, and an excellent introduction to the series.
The novel shows some originality that breaks away from typical high fantasy like Tolkien and Robert Jordan. The major plot sounds somewhat similar at first; an ancient evil, chained up for thousands of years, attempting to break free unto the world, but Irvine approaches the theme in a novel and interesting way. The characters are all unique, and it is evident that the author took a lot of time over developing them, their world, and their history.
The characters are one of the major strengths of the novel. Not only are they realistic and believeable, with very clear weaknesses they must overcome, but they are also likeable from the outset. Llian, despite being frustratingly incompetent, retains a charm that a reader cannot fail to feel attracted to. Karan is immediately more independent and capable, the contrast with Llian making them a perfect match, the one’s strengths counterbalancing the other’s flaws. Even the powerful leaders show very human characteristics and flaws; there are no God-like characters in this novel.
A nice thing about this book is that there aren’t too many characters. It is often the mistake that the cast is so vast that it is difficult to keep up with who is who and who is doing what, an example being in Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series. Irvine keeps the cast small, with just two main characters and a handful (around six or seven) other important characters that push Llian and Karan on their journey.
Moving onto this journey, the plot is well-written, adequately showing the motivation of each character and revealing vital information at critical points. It is a journey of discovery not only for the characters, but also for the reader. The plot is fairly fast-paced, aside from the mountain scenes that feel a little too drawn-out. In places it is also a little fragmented. In changing perspective, Irvine also changes the time; we see the same few days or hours from a different character’s point of view, and it is a little confusing to remember whether certain events are happening in sync or not. This doesn’t take away from the fast-paced feeling of the novel, and provides the reader with important information about what is happening around the world of the story.
The ending, the critical point of most books, is frustratingly confusing, although very dramatic. I won’t reveal what happens here, but it leaves on a huge cliff-hanger, and the final paragraph feels rushed. I can’t help but feel that a little more care could have been taken to make the final chapter climactic rather than the anti-climax it is. However, it does make me want to read the next novel in the series. It might not be for the right reason (I feel like I need to read it to understand what happened), but it clearly does its job.
Overall, a very good book from an author that is new to me. With engaging, likeable characters and a twisting, fast-paced plot I found it an exhilirating read, despite its flaws and the all-too-apparent lack of conclusion. I would recommend this novel to any fans of high fantasy who want something a little different.
