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A Shadow on the Glass

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A Shadow on the Glass

By: Ian Irvine
Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
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About this listen

 Once there were three worlds, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate and on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen. At the same time, Llian, a brilliant chronicler, is expelled from his college for uncovering a perilous mystery. Thrown together by fate, Karan and Llian are hunted across a world at war, for the Mirror contains a secret that offers each species survival, or extinction ...©1998 Text copyright Ian Irvine (P)2010 Bolinda Publishing Classics Epic Fantasy

Critic Reviews

"Irvine's series opener promises a grand-scale epic fantasy that features a pair of unusual heroes and a complex world rich in history and variety. For most fantasy collections." (Library Journal)
"Compelling ... this stands out as a worldbuilding labour of love with some truly original touches." (Locus)
"Irvine has built a history and wonderful culture for his vivid world. His first novel vibrates with originality." (The West Australian)
"Ian Irvine is a great find! ...Complicated, and compelling." (Kate Elliott, author of King's Dragon)
“Arguably the most inventive fantasy author to emerge in recent years, Irvine can now consider himself comfortably ranked next to the works of Robert Jordan and David Eddings and, more appropriately, the mighty Anne McCaffrey. Formidable!” (SFX)
"Award-winning actor and narrator Grant Cartwright's semi-voiced reading captures the emotional edge of the hatreds and fears that motivate each character. He has a wide range of accents and voices which he uses effectively to convey the nuances of this complex tale." (SoundCommentary)
"In the first of the View from the Mirror quartet, Llian tells as his graduation story, the “Tale of the Forbidding.” Thus, he has become a chronicler, but his new ending to the tale has raised suspicions that he has uncovered dangerous truths. He is sent by his master on a quest that leads to a perilous journey. The pace of this story is uneven, but Grant Cartwright keeps it moving even when it lags. Cartwright, like Llian, is an engaging storyteller who shows enthusiasm for the events that unfold. As narrator, his characterizations of the numerous characters (of the human race and others) are resourceful." (AudioFile Magazine)
All stars
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The story was told beautifully, making the images vivid. I loved the story line. Just downloaded the next one.

Loved this telling

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This series was recommended to me by a friend and I'm so thankful. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the characters, and the promise of more to come.

Overall I found that it felt somewhat pretentious to start with, but utterly gripping by the end.

Thee performance for me wasn't as strong. I had a little trouble differentiating the characters by their voices, and for such a long and in-depth book as this, I find it absolutely vital to have that.

I look forward to completing the series.

Brilliant way to start the journey.

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Loved it . a very busy and descriptive price of work. 👍 can't wait to hear more.

awesome

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A fantastic piece of writing, while the first quartet is clearly high fantasy, the rest of the series straddles the lime between high fantasy and Grimdark. Not crazy about the voice actor though. Someone that doesn't sound 16 would be nice.

This is an amazing Fantasy world(s)

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Love that there is a great Aussie fantasy writer, and that it is read buy an Aussie, great story

Great story, love that it is Aussie

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I love this world. I have read it a couple of times but have just listened to the audiobook for the first time and loved it! I love hearing an Australian narrator as well as the author is also Australian. Can’t wait to listen to the rest of the series!

Wonderful book and great narrator

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I am so glad I found this series, I am going to enjoy dedicating my year to reading the three worlds books.

This story has so much detail and so much history packed into it, it was almost overwhelming… but I was so engrossed in the story I felt like I didn’t “have the time” to go back and take it in. This may one day be a reread 🤣

What I didn’t like about this book were a couple of the senior characters, very deliberately entitled and “all knowing” one in particular being so insufferable that I could help but cringe whenever she spoke…

But what I loved about this book, which in many ways is unique for me reading epic fantasy, our FMC was the strong worldly one, while the MMC was constantly being criticised and bullied for his softness, and yet took the grief with grace and just continued to fight for his friend. Yes there is a minor undertone of romance between the 2 but it barely rates a mention compared to the vastness of the rest of the story.

Overall for me this has the makings of a great fantasy adventure and I am excited to keep reading!

A great start to a new epic adventure

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The story is bit all over the place hard to get into in fact very hard ..very slow and dull events with nothing really happening at all , Mostly due to the very very poor narrator , maybe he is still learning but no tone to create a feel of who is talking in the story , like he is just reading the novel to himself , 4 hours in i had to stop , did not remmeber one line of what I heard or know what it was about or who was who with the dull reading ..would not recommend but maybe some will like it ..but much much better out there

not my cup of tea

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but couldn't get on board with the characters and the way the story was told. The fantasy world seems to hold potential but the story telling couldn't carry it off for me. I got halfway through and gave up.

really tried to like it

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