Historical fantasy at it's best, filled with legends and the supernatural. I loved everything from the pacing to the characters and found this an incredibly hard book to put down. The story line was unique and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Unfortunately I had to purchase a new Kindle device and could no longer access this book. I will come back and review if I read this in the future.

Review

Chris Humphreys is an excellent writer (under the name CC Humphreys), every book i have read has been a pleasure and added to the amazing group of authors from Canada. So when i heard about Smoke in the Glass and that it was his first Fantasy title i was somewhat excited…. But somehow with that excitement waning i found myself about 15 pages in thinking…”who is this? it doesn’t feel like the writing i’ve experienced before.

There is a very good reason for that….. this is a whole new world, with some very complex lands and civilizations and on rereading i could see where the author had been trying to impart as much detail as he could without it being just an info dump, it was an unexpected style .. very quickly after that realization the story started to develop and i could see how the author was building its peoples and lands and magic, all with more than one underlying plot, who are the beings who bestowed immortality? why is it so random who becomes immortal? why does someone want to tear down the natural order? can the Elite be tumbled? and so much more.

like me many will assign similar (real) nations/ myths to the lands described. My Fav character so far is Luck, who has some of the Imp Tyrion about him, and who doesn’t love the imp.

After my initial jitters with the new style from this author i found myself quickly lost in the story’s rich tapestry, the characters as with all of this authors books are amazing, he has the ability to make them very real and very personable and before you know it you have become attached to them on a emotional level. wrapped around all of that comes a very new and original landscape, and a story-line that will certainly stand out from the rest, I’ve no idea what length the series arc will have but it has the potential to be an epic and long series if the author wanted it. Normally i would say a book from this author is very character led, and it is… but then its also plot driven and magic driven… it just has so many original ideas that what he has ended up with is a very exciting and interesting plot, great people and great lands… and what will be a hugely exciting series.

The hardest thing for this book will be fantasy readers taking the leap, trying a new author in their genre… and they really should, i’ve known a couple of other authors make this leap and their amazing books sink unknown… lets try and make sure this one doesn’t, id like to see how it pans out… and also if you have not picked up Gates of Stone add that to your list also… as readers we always want something new and exciting… these books both are, so pass the word.

(Parm)

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Oh my giddy aunt.

Chris Humphreys has practically exploded and provided us with a new trilogy to grab onto with both hands.
Smoke in the Glass is a nice new trilogy to read and a nice new author for me.

Four lands, three heroes, one war.

A really nice way to sum up what the story is about. I don't know about other readers but I love a Dramatis Personae as long as its organised and makes sense - this book has an organised Dramatis Personae.
I also love a prologue that isn't a prologue that is a prologue. I know that probably makes absolutely no sense to anyone but me - but! Smoke in the Glass has a really nice prologue that isn't that is. It breaks down the history of the world into nice manageable chunks with each individual chunk of information having a really solid breakdown about each instance of immortality.

I really loved how Chris Humphreys wrote the occurrence of immortality. How it happened in the beginning, its purpose and how it progressed to where it is now. A gift to some and a curse to others.

The first of our three heroes we meet is Ferros - a soldier from a small town whose only wish is to serve the empire.
The second - Luck, an immortal god misshapen but wise.
The third - Atisha, a new mother, afraid but strong for her child.

The style of writing in this book had a good flow with a smooth transition between points of view between the three main characters and a number of the sub-characters. I find sometimes that the transition between points of view is lacklustre but I'm really pleased to say that Chris' was seamless.

I liked the splits in the worlds and the description of how their worlds work. There was throughout the book a sense of historical background particularly in the ways and mannerisms of those in Midgarth - almost mythological or Norse.

I highly recommend Smoke in the Glass and I can't wait to read the next book.

Smoke in the Glass is a fantasy tale full of adventure, conflict and deceit. How legends inspire people and gifts are not always distributed fairly or received by the most virtuous. The Immortal’s Blood Series is based in a world split into four lands, Corinthium, Ometepe, Midgarth and Land of Joy, each separated by unclimbable mountains and unsailable seas. From the beginning, the people of each land knew nothing of the others and believed themselves to be alone.

Each land has formed the same myth – a visitor fell from the skies and bestowed gifts on some of the people. The first gift given to all the lands, except the Land of Joy, was immortality to a chosen few. This gift was given indiscriminately and only made aware of in a person when they first died. In the 3 lands of immortals rather than use it for good to rule wisely, they have squandered it. The second gift was one of possession – possession of mortals and beasts for short periods – a gift that was wasted, and in Ometepe, lost.

The fourth land, a land of four tribes, the visitor gave the people a different gift. Hope. Hope in the form of a prophecy. Of someone who would come to unite the whole world. The One being born in another land. They have managed to scale the unclimbable mountains and sail the unsailable seas and have gradually entered the other lands and started killing the immortals. Only by beheading or burning can an immortal be killed.
“Now is the age of prophecy fulfilled. Now is the age of the darkness that gives way to the light. The end of the dominion of the Immortal. The beginning of the dominion of Man. The age of azana. The age of the One.”
During an assassination attempt in Midgarth, the assassin is captured and the device he uses to communicate is retrieved and it provides an opportunity to realise what’s been happening over many years. The device is a glass globe filled with smoke. When the user drinks from a hallucinogenic addictive liquid in a vial, he becomes transfixed and can see others and images of things through the smoke. Luck is an immortal in Midgarth and realises after experiencing the Smoke in the Glass that he has a mission to discover the extent of their plans and the other lands. He is a wonderful character, crippled, physically challenged but clever and strategic, compared to his brothers – I’m thinking Tyrion Lannister.

There is a central character in each land that the story follows. Luck from Midgarth, on his mission. Atisha from Ometepe who has just given birth to a no-sex child, Poum, who is The One, and she must protect the child from those determined to see it dead. Ferros is a soldier, a new immortal, from Corinthium and his story is unfolding as he comes to terms with personal issues and an invading force from the fourth land.

The story and plot are meticulously developed and delivered at a solid pace that maintains a great entertainment level. It did take a bit of time getting into the flow of the story with the many characters, places and legends – most with strange names, although there is a welcoming list of characters at the beginning of the book. I must have read the first chapter 5 times. The story left me with a strange impression, because it reads quite unique but feels very familiar. Chris Humphreys is a superb storyteller and is upfront indicating this is a trilogy which reaches no conclusions in this book but will flow seamlessly into the next – I hope.

The story is compelling and fascinating with a wonderful array of characters and a core lesson that we should use our gifts wisely. The constant warring and death in Midgarth and Corinthium are games the immortals play as they can be reborn but the mortals will die forever in these games. A time of reckoning is coming!

I would recommend this book and I'd like to thank Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.

Smoke in the Glass is the first in the historical fantasy series Immortals' Blood by bestselling author Chris Humphreys, and what a pleasant surprise it was. The writing style takes a little time to adjust and familiarise yourself with, but after the opening chapters, the pages flew by as the flow improved. This is more of a slow burn read than anything pacy and this works beautifully giving the author time to build an impressive, immersive and intricate world and a cast that come alive on the page. There are some unexpected surprises throughout and the plot is well constructed and highly entertaining.

This very much reads like a classic adult fantasy, but be warned there is rape/nonconsensual sex involved which is rather uncomfortable but treated sensitively. Full of myth, excitement, action and touching emotional scenes, it shows Humphreys is one master storyteller to keep an eye on. The attention to detail makes the world a wondrous place to explore and everything has been so well thought through. The ending has me yearning for more and I simply can't wait for the second instalment. Many thanks to Gollancz for an ARC.

My reaction to the first few pages was 'oh no! This is an early early release and it still needs a few rounds of editing!' ... but my fears were abated in the first chapter. It's all ok. It was only the prophecy - and it is a well know FACT in story-land that prophecies written in bad Engrish have more gravitas.

As for the rest of the tale, it definitely has the foundations for an epic saga. It has fantastic world-building and an interesting cast of characters. This story is really more of an introduction and I like how Humphreys isn't madly rushing towards an end-of-book cliffhanger. Maybe that's the difference between classic and YA fantasy novels: it isn't relying of lazy writing, dramatic angst and a momentous cliffhanger to keep readers rapt. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some interesting and unexpected developments in the story, but the plot twists and surprises don't give you whiplash. It is a slow burn. I am certainly second-guessing some of my original assumptions about who I thought were the heroes and villains and vice-versa, and have re-read that prophecy quite a few times when new tidbits came to light. Am definitely curious to read what happens next!

I was very happy to read again a classic fantasy, it was the first in a long time and I really enjoyed.
The world building is amazing, the characters are fleshed out, and the plot is engaging and entertaining.
I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A good fantasy read. The characters were quite well created and the mythology was also very well created giving the book an extremely interesting backdrop and overall everything went quite well with each other. The only issue that I had with this book was that it was a difficult read as the formatting was very broken and disjointed on my Kindle and it was very small on the iPad. Other than that I had no complaints about this book and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. A big thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group, Gollancz for giving me this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I enjoyed this , it’s the first traditional old school fantasty I’ve read in a long time and I need to read more now ! Great characters, great plot, full of action and emotion. Amazing world building, rich world of interesting characters
A great read

Trigger warning - rape and non consent


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Warnings: Mention of rape and non-con
This is a traditional style of fantasy, the writing takes a little getting used to but once you do it flows really well. The whole immortal thing reminded me of Highlander which was what first attracted me to it. I liked that immortals from the different worlds had different abilities apart from their immortality. One was able to possess animals and another mortals.

My favourite character was Luck and he was from a world that is similar to Norse mythology, always fighting and feasting. They can possess animals so when Luck did this he reminded me of Loki, as well as his intelligence and cunning. However his immortal family are much nicer to each other than the Norse gods were. I enjoyed how much they loved and defended each other, especially since it could have been quite opposite due to Luck's disability and how they all seemed to value physical strength so much.

I wasn't as attached to Ferros as I thought I was going to be in the beginning, I found him a bit flat. I did however like the plot of going to live in a completely different place and lifestyle that he was used to and how out of his depth he seemed to be sometimes. I especially enjoyed the scheming that was going on around him.

Atisha was interesting and I quite enjoyed her storyline and she showed a lot of growth due to what happened to her. Even though her story wasn't quite as focused on as the others I feel that it is going to get very important and much more interesting in the next book.

I really hope that there is going to be a map included in the finished book since without one I found it difficult to picture the layout of the worlds in relation to each other.

I found that Luck's story line had much more going on than Ferros or Atisha's, it had so many important plot points and information being found out that the other two seemed a bit less interesting in comparison.

Overall it was a enjoyable fantasy with some unique elements and a bit of real historical basis in some of the different cultures. The ending made me super interested in what's going to happen next!

Chris Humphrey’s takes a foray into fantasy with the first book in his Immortals series and his historical fiction roots show to great effect. He has created a fascinating, rich and wholly believeable world with the sort of detail that many fantasy writers aspire to but few deliver. The characters were engaging, the cast was diverse. Initially I was a little worried that this would tread too close to Jennifer Fallon’s Tide Lord series but while the premise is similar, the actual plot, story and character journeys are completely different. This is a rich and satisfying read. Highly recommend.

I love Chris (C.C.) Humphreys historical fiction novels, so was extremely excited to find out he had turned his pen to fantasy. Two of my favourite historical novelists, Christian Cameron and S.J.A. Turney have released incredible fantasy books, so the bar was set pretty high for this one.

Smoke in the Glass really doesnt disappoint. For what is a relatively small fantasy book, it has the feel of a much largely book, epic in scale. I think it down to the quality of the writing. There's no waffle and filler, just pure storytelling. It's refreshing to read a new fantasy that feels new and fresh.

We have 3 great main characters that are enjoyable to read, set against the backdrop of a brilliantly imagined world, full of immortals and gods, and as the plot unfolds and it becomes apparent how the story is going to progress, i could feel the excitement building at the possibilities this trilogy will offer.

Its such a great read, i really do recommend fans of fantasy picking it up and jumping straight in, you wont regret it.