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The Glass Field
In 1986, with Chernobyl smouldering on the news and the Cold War casting a deep shadow, Scott becomes convinced that nuclear conflict is inevitable. Sensitive, watchful, and haunted by personal grief, he immerses himself in post-apocalyptic stories and survival games, drawn to the clarity they offer when the future feels out of control.
Jodie is brilliant, abrasive, damaged. Fiercely determined to keep the world at arm’s length, she wears loneliness like armour, trusting her solitude to protect her.
Drawn together by their fears, Jodie and Scott form an uneasy, wary alliance. But as time passes, their shared vision of cataclysm becomes increasingly seductive.
The Glass Field is an intimate, quietly unsettling novel about what we cling to when the world feels close to breaking.
Jodie is brilliant, abrasive, damaged. Fiercely determined to keep the world at arm’s length, she wears loneliness like armour, trusting her solitude to protect her.
Drawn together by their fears, Jodie and Scott form an uneasy, wary alliance. But as time passes, their shared vision of cataclysm becomes increasingly seductive.
The Glass Field is an intimate, quietly unsettling novel about what we cling to when the world feels close to breaking.
- GenresLiterary Fiction
326 pages, Paperback
Published May 14, 2026
About the author
Guy Burt
4 books60 followersGuy Burt (he/him) is a novelist and BAFTA award-winning screenwriter.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Against a background of Chernobyl and Greenham Common, we see the uncertainty of the time through the unique points of view of Scott and Jodie, two mid-teens who have each suffered trauma and loss, living somewhat isolated lives from their peers and coming together in understanding and acceptance of each other. Serious themes of love, friendship, loyalty, self-worth, insecurity and fear for the future are explored more effectively than if adults had been the protagonists, since the innate vulnerability and sense of insecurity of the young couple makes their responses rawer and more desperate.
The story moves along, alternately in either Jodie’s or Scott’s head but, at times, in the context of video games and the world of Judge Dredd comics so that, occasionally I was tempted to wonder whether the story itself was a video game. “If this was a game..” is a repeated motif. The writing is spare and informal with, for example, no intrusive speech marks. In the scene where Jodie sees the nuclear missiles, the prose is punchy and staccato, echoing her thoughts and fears.
There is a scene of a family dinner, prepared by Scott, which acts as a sort of fulcrum towards the middle of the book, where the atmosphere relaxes after initial tension and for a brief time, one can imagine a happier life. Despite this, the two see themselves as “in a world without family or friends to lean on or help them”. Jodie considers “stepping off the world” It is almost as if the video game is being lived out, with options at the end of every scene to move the action along. “What do you want to do now?” is another repeated motif. Will Jodie and Scott opt for life within the family or carry out their desperate plan to save themselves from the threat of apocalyptic destruction? Will that plan, in fact, save them in a different way?
Jodie and Scott are very engaging characters, Scott’s vulnerability and Jodie’s spikiness and fascination with death are well realised. A number of lesser characters such as Charlie and Leah are fully developed in cameo, providing a foil to Jodie and Scott.. I found it compulsive reading and apt subject matter for our times, even though this book was being written before the threats to security we now endure. It is a story of hope, friendship and love in its many forms. Guy Burt has developed a very different style from the successful books he wrote many years ago. This is different but equally compelling.
4 stars
The story moves along, alternately in either Jodie’s or Scott’s head but, at times, in the context of video games and the world of Judge Dredd comics so that, occasionally I was tempted to wonder whether the story itself was a video game. “If this was a game..” is a repeated motif. The writing is spare and informal with, for example, no intrusive speech marks. In the scene where Jodie sees the nuclear missiles, the prose is punchy and staccato, echoing her thoughts and fears.
There is a scene of a family dinner, prepared by Scott, which acts as a sort of fulcrum towards the middle of the book, where the atmosphere relaxes after initial tension and for a brief time, one can imagine a happier life. Despite this, the two see themselves as “in a world without family or friends to lean on or help them”. Jodie considers “stepping off the world” It is almost as if the video game is being lived out, with options at the end of every scene to move the action along. “What do you want to do now?” is another repeated motif. Will Jodie and Scott opt for life within the family or carry out their desperate plan to save themselves from the threat of apocalyptic destruction? Will that plan, in fact, save them in a different way?
Jodie and Scott are very engaging characters, Scott’s vulnerability and Jodie’s spikiness and fascination with death are well realised. A number of lesser characters such as Charlie and Leah are fully developed in cameo, providing a foil to Jodie and Scott.. I found it compulsive reading and apt subject matter for our times, even though this book was being written before the threats to security we now endure. It is a story of hope, friendship and love in its many forms. Guy Burt has developed a very different style from the successful books he wrote many years ago. This is different but equally compelling.
4 stars
June 10, 2026
A character-driven coming-of-age story with two unique characters. Their pairing is powerful.
In 1986, with Chernobyl on the news and the Cold War looming, Scott believes nuclear conflict is inevitable. Jodie, brilliant, abrasive, and damaged, wears loneliness as armour, trusting her solitude for protection.
Scott’s character draws on a psychological link between early loss, especially of a mother in adolescence, and a gravitation towards catastrophes. Losing his mother shatters his assumption of a stable world, causing his internal world to feel like a disaster zone. Imaginal catastrophes mirror this inner state. Chernobyl provides a backdrop for his search for predictability in chaos, hoping studying it can create an illusion of control. Rehearsing for disaster restores some agency, almost avoiding ‘small feelings’ by focussing on large-scale tragedies.
Jodie, a self-harmer, sees Scott as a mirror, not of her behaviour, but of her internal experience. They share emotional language and intensity, seeking high-stakes metaphors for their pain. Scott’s catastrophising offers her a managed version of her self-harm. She finds comfort in his lack of comfort, not despite his catastrophes, but because of them. In his obsession with disaster, she finds a language equal to her own invisible wreckage.
The writing is observational, and the setting isn’t just widow dressing, it is the story’s quietest, most devastating engineering feat. I was almost the same age as Jodie and Scott in 1986, and no adults had convincing answers to Chernobyl. This pairing isn’t a twee romance, it’s two alarm systems that ring at the same frequency, and their bond becomes survival, not just comfort. I’ll think of this pair for a while.
In 1986, with Chernobyl on the news and the Cold War looming, Scott believes nuclear conflict is inevitable. Jodie, brilliant, abrasive, and damaged, wears loneliness as armour, trusting her solitude for protection.
Scott’s character draws on a psychological link between early loss, especially of a mother in adolescence, and a gravitation towards catastrophes. Losing his mother shatters his assumption of a stable world, causing his internal world to feel like a disaster zone. Imaginal catastrophes mirror this inner state. Chernobyl provides a backdrop for his search for predictability in chaos, hoping studying it can create an illusion of control. Rehearsing for disaster restores some agency, almost avoiding ‘small feelings’ by focussing on large-scale tragedies.
Jodie, a self-harmer, sees Scott as a mirror, not of her behaviour, but of her internal experience. They share emotional language and intensity, seeking high-stakes metaphors for their pain. Scott’s catastrophising offers her a managed version of her self-harm. She finds comfort in his lack of comfort, not despite his catastrophes, but because of them. In his obsession with disaster, she finds a language equal to her own invisible wreckage.
The writing is observational, and the setting isn’t just widow dressing, it is the story’s quietest, most devastating engineering feat. I was almost the same age as Jodie and Scott in 1986, and no adults had convincing answers to Chernobyl. This pairing isn’t a twee romance, it’s two alarm systems that ring at the same frequency, and their bond becomes survival, not just comfort. I’ll think of this pair for a while.
June 3, 2026
This was such an interesting read, I haven’t read books based on Chernobyl, so this was thought provoking but having it through teenagers ‘eyes’ made it more engaging and emotional.
I really liked that we see events through Jodie and Scott’s POVs and how their friendship develops, the use of video games really added another dimension to the events and who doesn’t love references to 80s video games!
There are so many emotions through this book and the author portrays these beautifully, it’s my first book by the author but it won’t be my last.
I really liked that we see events through Jodie and Scott’s POVs and how their friendship develops, the use of video games really added another dimension to the events and who doesn’t love references to 80s video games!
There are so many emotions through this book and the author portrays these beautifully, it’s my first book by the author but it won’t be my last.
June 17, 2026
This remarkable book had so many strands to it that I felt like I’d read at least 3 books in one when I turned the final page. Part fictional account of everyday life in the days when Chernobyl and the cold war was the headline conversation and all too real, part coming of age and difficult parental relationships, and part fast paced thriller. All brought together by the use of prefect prose to paint a taut atmospheric mood and haunting tension.
The Glass Field is as unique as they come. Can’t recommend it enough.
The Glass Field is as unique as they come. Can’t recommend it enough.
June 13, 2026
I won this in a giveaway
May 20, 2026
This is apocalypse meets 1986. The year of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the Chernobyl disaster and the near end of the Cold War. Scaremongering is at large, protestors take to the streets, fears of an imminent nuclear attack are ever present, both Scott and Jodie know this and they’ve been expecting it.
This was such a refreshing novel. Scott and Jodie are the epitome of teenage angst and it’s brilliant. The two share a bond built on their shared trauma and together they obsess over their fears of a nuclear attack, both seeking an escape from aspects of their lives they feel unable to face. Their relationship encompasses the beauty of being young and inexperienced, that desperation for survival and yet not knowing how to navigate a world that feels as though it’s moving against you.
Burt writes in such a way that is gritty, rarely do I find myself grinning through the entirety of a book, his writing and descriptions are impeccable. This book was fun, I’m quite picky with romance but this was the perfect balance between that and adventure. I wish this book had existed when I was 15.
This was such a refreshing novel. Scott and Jodie are the epitome of teenage angst and it’s brilliant. The two share a bond built on their shared trauma and together they obsess over their fears of a nuclear attack, both seeking an escape from aspects of their lives they feel unable to face. Their relationship encompasses the beauty of being young and inexperienced, that desperation for survival and yet not knowing how to navigate a world that feels as though it’s moving against you.
Burt writes in such a way that is gritty, rarely do I find myself grinning through the entirety of a book, his writing and descriptions are impeccable. This book was fun, I’m quite picky with romance but this was the perfect balance between that and adventure. I wish this book had existed when I was 15.
May 24, 2026
A huge thank you to @thebookdealer @readmedia_ for this #gifted #PR copy of the book which, incidentally, is really nice to hold! I love the texture of the cover and the paper inside too.
Anyway, on to the book… This is a historical fiction, set in 1986 with a really different slant. It covers aspects of the Chernobyl disaster and the effects of The Cold War but through the eyes of two teenagers. I thought this was engaging as the two main characters, Scott and Jodie (two unlikely friends), don’t quite understand what has happened, but may have more of an insight to the future than adults of this time due to their love for video games and obsessions with nuclear war.
The story mirrored the two main characters: troubled and unsettled. There was a sense of foreboding, and real heartache and trauma was disclosed as we found out more about each character. I loved the teenage angst as their relationship developed - two vulnerable youngsters on the outside, lost and quietly craving companionship.
There were elements to this story that were quite unique and made a different reading experience for me. With the links to video games of this time, as well as games/ scenarios the two teenagers had made up in their own heads, it was difficult to know what was real, their interpretation or potential warnings for the future.
This book came out this month, I’ll be interested to hear what other readers think on this one!
Anyway, on to the book… This is a historical fiction, set in 1986 with a really different slant. It covers aspects of the Chernobyl disaster and the effects of The Cold War but through the eyes of two teenagers. I thought this was engaging as the two main characters, Scott and Jodie (two unlikely friends), don’t quite understand what has happened, but may have more of an insight to the future than adults of this time due to their love for video games and obsessions with nuclear war.
The story mirrored the two main characters: troubled and unsettled. There was a sense of foreboding, and real heartache and trauma was disclosed as we found out more about each character. I loved the teenage angst as their relationship developed - two vulnerable youngsters on the outside, lost and quietly craving companionship.
There were elements to this story that were quite unique and made a different reading experience for me. With the links to video games of this time, as well as games/ scenarios the two teenagers had made up in their own heads, it was difficult to know what was real, their interpretation or potential warnings for the future.
This book came out this month, I’ll be interested to hear what other readers think on this one!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Guy Burt, in The Glass Field, has an uncanny knack for creating the isolated, frightened and lonely worlds of over-imaginative 15-year-olds, caught up in the fractious and febrile post-World War Two Thatcherite "Cold War".
The two protagonists, Scott and Jodie, both emotionally troubled in different ways, live near (the military institutions) Sandhurst and Greenham Common and fill their imaginative lives with fears about radiation, nuclear war, near-misses and conspiracy theories. Those of us with long-ish memories will recognise the historical events, and the misinterpretations, and remember the need of adolescents to find meaning in a world they are just beginning to understand. Usefully for this process, the adults in the novel are all ineffectual and shadowy, leaving the teenagers free rein to fantasise. However, as an adult reader, I'd have liked the adult stories, tantalisingly hinted at, to have been more fleshed out.
The first half of the novel is grounded in the beautifully-detailed world of suburban 1986 southern England, from comics to computers to a sophisticated Spanish dinner (the skills of the 15-year-old protagonists in all these and more sometimes stretch credulity), then pivots to a thrilling second half, with plenty of opportunity for political, sociological and ecological commentary.
No plot spoilers, though!
The two protagonists, Scott and Jodie, both emotionally troubled in different ways, live near (the military institutions) Sandhurst and Greenham Common and fill their imaginative lives with fears about radiation, nuclear war, near-misses and conspiracy theories. Those of us with long-ish memories will recognise the historical events, and the misinterpretations, and remember the need of adolescents to find meaning in a world they are just beginning to understand. Usefully for this process, the adults in the novel are all ineffectual and shadowy, leaving the teenagers free rein to fantasise. However, as an adult reader, I'd have liked the adult stories, tantalisingly hinted at, to have been more fleshed out.
The first half of the novel is grounded in the beautifully-detailed world of suburban 1986 southern England, from comics to computers to a sophisticated Spanish dinner (the skills of the 15-year-old protagonists in all these and more sometimes stretch credulity), then pivots to a thrilling second half, with plenty of opportunity for political, sociological and ecological commentary.
No plot spoilers, though!
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Glass Field by Guy Burt is a coming-of-age story set under the shadow of the Cold War. It follows two British teenagers - Jodie who struggles with self-harm, and Scott who is grieving the loss of his mum - as they form an unlikely connection through their shared fear of nuclear war.
Told through alternating perspectives, the novel captures the intensity of adolescence and the search for a place in the world, made even more uncertain by the sense that everything could disappear in an instant.
"There is nowhere left to go and everything is breaking open and she is too small, she is not strong enough, there was supposed to be a girl-sized shape cut into the world somewhere but she could never find it and instead the world has crammed itself into her. And there is no room left in her any more to fit the world, she has been cut free and left to drift in the wind."
I appreciated the way the story is grounded with references to real near-miss nuclear incidents, as well as the glimpses of parents trying, but often failing to help their children.
Themes of video games and comic books filter throughout and add to the world building (although it made me wonder at times if this was all part of a game Jodie and Scott were playing).
Overall, it’s a quietly powerful story about fear, identity, and connection - which is sadly still relevant today.
Told through alternating perspectives, the novel captures the intensity of adolescence and the search for a place in the world, made even more uncertain by the sense that everything could disappear in an instant.
"There is nowhere left to go and everything is breaking open and she is too small, she is not strong enough, there was supposed to be a girl-sized shape cut into the world somewhere but she could never find it and instead the world has crammed itself into her. And there is no room left in her any more to fit the world, she has been cut free and left to drift in the wind."
I appreciated the way the story is grounded with references to real near-miss nuclear incidents, as well as the glimpses of parents trying, but often failing to help their children.
Themes of video games and comic books filter throughout and add to the world building (although it made me wonder at times if this was all part of a game Jodie and Scott were playing).
Overall, it’s a quietly powerful story about fear, identity, and connection - which is sadly still relevant today.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fifteen-year old Scott lives with his father in the Heights, near a British military facility in 1986; Scott's mom died eight months ago but they don't acknowledge it out loud, or deal with the loss in a healthy manner. Scott's dad pretends to work all the time, and Scott keeps busy with physical labor, reading and creating comic books, and dying over and over in a nuclear holocaust video game. Then one day he meets and quietly bonds with Jodie Armitage, the local misfit freak, over mutual interest in computers, graphic novels, and local implications of the quickly escalating international arms race; and his whole world changes along with hers.
I have to say I wholly disapprove of any writing about the act of cutting that makes it seem elegant or in any way positive at all, I think it is simply unconscionable to romanticize such a harmful and destructive practice, full stop. However, I do appreciate the author's ability to show how such a fragile, tortured soul is able to heal and thrive with love and perhaps that wouldn't have been possible without graphically presenting the depths of her suffering.
Even if the ending wasn't clearcut, and I wasn't able to understand who the alienated teenagers who disappeared were, or to fully follow the Judge Anderson story arc in the comics, I loved this end of civilization story about Scott and Jodie, and didn't ever want it to end. I don't want our world to end now either... but The Glass Field definitely makes clearer what the end times may look like.
The Glass Field is scheduled for publication 14 May, 2026. My thanks to NetGalley and Jaro Press for this ARC.
I have to say I wholly disapprove of any writing about the act of cutting that makes it seem elegant or in any way positive at all, I think it is simply unconscionable to romanticize such a harmful and destructive practice, full stop. However, I do appreciate the author's ability to show how such a fragile, tortured soul is able to heal and thrive with love and perhaps that wouldn't have been possible without graphically presenting the depths of her suffering.
Even if the ending wasn't clearcut, and I wasn't able to understand who the alienated teenagers who disappeared were, or to fully follow the Judge Anderson story arc in the comics, I loved this end of civilization story about Scott and Jodie, and didn't ever want it to end. I don't want our world to end now either... but The Glass Field definitely makes clearer what the end times may look like.
The Glass Field is scheduled for publication 14 May, 2026. My thanks to NetGalley and Jaro Press for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Guy Burt's The Glass Field is a silky read, revealing its essentials slowly and at exactly the right moments. Issues like loss, grief, sexuality, and the slow walk into adulthood might be thematically common, but not here. Protagonists Scott and Jodie are finely drawn, with deep respect for the tender moment in which they find themselves. Old souls, well in possession of their own stories, waiting for the world to catch up to them. It isn't a stretch to believe in the world they see. One headed for disaster. And as the novel ramps up to thriller status, Burt's attention to the story's core humanity, makes it easy to surrender to its dreamscape logic. When finished with The Glass Field, I left Scott and Jodie's world thinking about my own young life. When everything felt like a mountain to be climbed. And how often I was told, "It's not the end of the world." But Scott and Jodie's dilemma, might possibly be just that.
Review of advance copy
Set in the mid 1980s this coming of age book is an excellent book and, for me, very nostalgic. Scott and Jodie, a pair of teenagers who don’r really fit in with their peers, are terrified that the world will end in nuclear war. Their friendship grows as they make plans for what they will do when the apocalypse comes.
The characters are deep and well-developed, the prose measured and skilfully written. There are themes and tones here that are reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, but the nuclear themes and the shadows in Scott and Jodie’s pasts give The Glass Field a darker edge.
My independent review is of a giveaway from Library Thing’s Early Reviewers.
The characters are deep and well-developed, the prose measured and skilfully written. There are themes and tones here that are reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green, but the nuclear themes and the shadows in Scott and Jodie’s pasts give The Glass Field a darker edge.
My independent review is of a giveaway from Library Thing’s Early Reviewers.
June 22, 2026
I rarely enjoy novels with teenage protagonists. Yet, I LOVED this beautiful story of two near adults wending their way through the minefields of pain their childhoods brought them to. I found the characters so compelling that, at some level, I conflated them with real-life people: On the night I reached the book’s (very satisfying) end, I dreamt of the characters intermingling with my stepson and favorite nieces! As with his prior books, Burt’s prose is exquisite, story is original and imagery is transportive. Bring "The Glass Field" on a long flight and it will go by in flash. Or cozy up with it on a Sunday afternoon and forget your troubles. Wherever you read it, it will delight.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really enjoyed this novel. A lovely romance novel about two Cold War teens in England. The discussions about connection, mental health, all framed in the paranoia of the Reagan/Thatcher Era of geopolitics made for a page-turner. Scott and Jodie are wonderfully full characters and their relationship feels very real. Definitely recommend when it’s released.
July 6, 2026
This is a comining of age book following 2 teenagers.
Set in the 1980s you meet Jodie and Scott that are frightened the world will end in a nuclear war.
They both share a bond and fears about a nuclear attack you hear about them both through there POVs The book has romance, adventure and survival.
A good book.
Set in the 1980s you meet Jodie and Scott that are frightened the world will end in a nuclear war.
They both share a bond and fears about a nuclear attack you hear about them both through there POVs The book has romance, adventure and survival.
A good book.
Review of advance copy received from Author
An excellent novel with a deep powerful message about the fragility of youth and the cruelty of the real world. Powerful and moving.
June 7, 2026
This read was exactly as it said, an intimate, quietly unsettling novel, covering grief, love, friendship and fear. Whilst set in 1986 post Chernobyl and during the Cold War, the themes in this book around the ease of destruction and fear of nuclear war and the fallout from a nuclear attack felt real enough given the current climate and I think for me that made the book hit harder.
Scott and Jodie are two teenagers who start off knowing of each other but not as friends, following their story of friendship and growth is heartwarming, they way each of them troubled in their own way help each other to face their fears, whilst making a plan for survival.
I wanted them both to succeed as the book developed, as their was something so childlike about parts of their friendship even though they are trying to solve situations that most adults wouldn’t be able to cope and deal with.
A coming of age story, with a darker side of nuclear war, protests and fear. A friendship you want to cheer on and succeed. I flew through this book in one day as I was so taken by Scott and Jodie and their story.
Scott and Jodie are two teenagers who start off knowing of each other but not as friends, following their story of friendship and growth is heartwarming, they way each of them troubled in their own way help each other to face their fears, whilst making a plan for survival.
I wanted them both to succeed as the book developed, as their was something so childlike about parts of their friendship even though they are trying to solve situations that most adults wouldn’t be able to cope and deal with.
A coming of age story, with a darker side of nuclear war, protests and fear. A friendship you want to cheer on and succeed. I flew through this book in one day as I was so taken by Scott and Jodie and their story.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews