Glass Immortals
#264.39 adjusted 4.35 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Ongoing 2022–present Reading commitment Low Brian McClellan Last reviewed 2026-08-06
Overview
Brian McClellan's Glass Immortals is set in the Ossan Empire, a civilization built on industrial magic using "godglass," glass imbued with magical properties, and "glassdancers" who can manipulate it. It is a standing candidate this database flagged when The Powder Mage was admitted: a genuinely distinct continuity from Powder Mage, published by Tor rather than Orbit, with an unrelated magic system (godglass vs. powder-based sorcery). The opening novel, In the Shadow of Lightning (2022), follows a disgraced glassdancer forced back into her family's industrial dynasty after her mother's murder, combining industrial-age political intrigue with an invented magic system built around manufactured, breakable artifacts rather than an innate personal power. Publication began in 2022 and is ongoing, with McClellan continuing the series after establishing his reputation through the earlier, unrelated Powder Mage books; Glass Immortals represents his move into a flintlock-adjacent but structurally distinct fantasy setting.
Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
In the Shadow of Lightning (2022) core · 4.39 (8,900 ratings); First novel of a planned trilogy; the only Core Canon entry until Book 2 publishes.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
Montego (2023) ; Prequel novella (retailer/rating-platform numbering: 0.5); Kickstarter-funded (campaign Nov-Dec 2022), wide release May 2023.
Swords, Cider, and Other Distractions (2025) ; Prequel novella (retailer/rating-platform numbering: 0.6), explicitly set nine years before In the Shadow of Lightning; Kickstarter-funded (campaign Apr-May 2025).
Quick answers
- How many books are in Glass Immortals? Glass Immortals's Core Canon is 1 book, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- Is Glass Immortals finished? Ongoing (2022–present).
- How much reading does Glass Immortals take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~576 pages).
- How is Glass Immortals ranked? #26 in this site's official ranking, based on 8,900 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #26?
Ranked #26 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.39 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (8,900 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #25, Skulduggery Pleasant (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 1 book · Ongoing · 9k ratings · Ranks #26 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No Hugo, Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, or Mythopoeic recognition was found for this universe.
Related universes
- Same author The Powder Mage: Both by Brian McClellan. Confirmed a distinct continuity: different publisher (Orbit vs. Tor) and a different magic system (powder-based sorcery vs. godglass/glassdancing); flagged as a future candidate at The Powder Mage's own admission, then later admitted separately.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.39 across 8,900 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Glass Immortals admitted; Core Canon = the sole published novel; Book 2 not yet published accepted 2026-08-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Core = the sole published novel, In the Shadow of Lightning (2022). Expanded = 2 prequel novellas (Montego, 2023; Swords, Cider, and Other Distractions, 2025), both Kickstarter-funded and explicitly billed as prequels; no internal chronology is recorded between them since their relative order to each other is unestablished. A second novel is announced but unpublished and not registered per Article 2.