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Glass Thorns #5
Playing to the Gods
The fifth book in Melanie Rawn's superb high fantasy series Glass Thorns that blends the worlds of magic, theater, art, and politics
In this final volume of Rawn’s acclaimed series Glass Thorns, the boys are at the top of their theatrical game. Their only real competition for the hearts and gold of the public are the Shadowshapers. Nevertheless, the past years of financial struggle, since their manager proved to have been embezzling, have taken a toll on the group’s creativity.
A shocking event brings all that to an end and brings Touchstone back together to create a play that will rattle the ceilings and shatter all the glass in palaces and theaters alike. An ancient conflict will come to a violent conclusion on stage, and all the gods will be watching.
In this final volume of Rawn’s acclaimed series Glass Thorns, the boys are at the top of their theatrical game. Their only real competition for the hearts and gold of the public are the Shadowshapers. Nevertheless, the past years of financial struggle, since their manager proved to have been embezzling, have taken a toll on the group’s creativity.
A shocking event brings all that to an end and brings Touchstone back together to create a play that will rattle the ceilings and shatter all the glass in palaces and theaters alike. An ancient conflict will come to a violent conclusion on stage, and all the gods will be watching.
- GenresFantasyHigh FantasyMagic
448 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2017
About the author
Melanie Rawn
79 books1,260 followersMelanie Rawn received a BA in history from Scripps College and worked as a teacher and editor before becoming a writer.
She has been nominated for a Locus award on three separate occasions: in 1989 for Dragon Prince (in the first novel category), in 1994 for Skybowl (in the fantasy novel category), and again in 1995 for Ruins of Ambrai (in the fantasy novel category).
She has been nominated for a Locus award on three separate occasions: in 1989 for Dragon Prince (in the first novel category), in 1994 for Skybowl (in the fantasy novel category), and again in 1995 for Ruins of Ambrai (in the fantasy novel category).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 28, 2017
This is the conclusion to the Glass Thorn series. I really enjoyed Touchstone, the first book. The second, Elsewhens and the third, Thornlost did not grab me as strongly but the conclusion in this book was excellent. The theatre group, Touchstone, finally addresses all the issues of the first three books. It ties everything up and provides a suitable ending for the myriad characters
Ms. Rawn has done a masterful job in presenting an eclectic cast of characters. The characters often seem to be wallowing in personal revulsion. Introspection is carried to extremes often leading to depression. Ms. Rawn shows that people can deal with their personal ghosts and addictions and over come them. Practically all the allusions to societal ills such as discrimination, poverty, perversion that were made without being done with a heavy hand are addressed.
I found this book far more captivating than the previous four but sometimes things need to be seen to the end to appreciate the whole.
I recommend the book.
Ms. Rawn has done a masterful job in presenting an eclectic cast of characters. The characters often seem to be wallowing in personal revulsion. Introspection is carried to extremes often leading to depression. Ms. Rawn shows that people can deal with their personal ghosts and addictions and over come them. Practically all the allusions to societal ills such as discrimination, poverty, perversion that were made without being done with a heavy hand are addressed.
I found this book far more captivating than the previous four but sometimes things need to be seen to the end to appreciate the whole.
I recommend the book.
October 6, 2018
Clever and mad
My review is for the entire Glass Thorns series, because, one: I binge read all of them this past week or so and can’t really separate them in my mind, and two: I really think they should be binged; all together as one long, Amazing Journey. Like a... rock opera. Truly, I couldn’t imagine having to wait to read the next book in this series, so I count myself lucky to have discovered Touchstone well after the final book was released.
This insane combination of an utterly original high fantasy and a sex, drugs, and rock and roll biopic paying homage to The Who as well as other 60’s icons (including the Beatles) is pure magic! It has renewed my love of the fantasy genre with something fresh and unconventional and beautifully written. It has also expanded my love for The Who and my sorrow over the untimely death of Keith Moon, but that’s another story...
However, this book series isn’t just an homage to the author’s favorite rock band. The characters are unique and well developed with their own motivations and emotions; not direct copies of the real life counterparts whom inspired their existence. Same with the story: there are all these events referencing actual events that are somehow woven into the narrative to seamlessly correspond to the original plot of the series. It’s subtle and doesn’t in the least feel forced, but at the same time, if you’re an avid fan of The Who or the Beatles or at the very least rock and roll, the references can’t be missed—though, I must admit, it took me over half of the first book to catch on.
Which brings me to my next point: even if you don’t get the references, the characters and their stories are impossible to let go of. This isn’t a traditional high fantasy with a clear antagonist and some great evil to combat. The heroes are artists; they hone their craft, they fight with each other, they fight their own demons, etc.. We follow the story because we’re rooting for them to be successful and happy and loved because we care about them, not because we expect them to save the world or win a war in the end or anything like that. Though eventually there are rivals and antagonists and such, the main focus is on the evolution and maturation of the characters and their emotional/intellectual journeys.
Aside from all of that complex tale weaving, this is at its core a story about art and it’s power to reach people; to say something and make people think about things that they may not otherwise, as well as entertain and make people feel. It’s about choice and consequences, and it’s kind of a love story... though not in the most conventional sense. It’s a breathtaking series; Contemporary, skillfully written, and a bit out of this world... what else can I say. I love it to death.
Oh, and, if you’re sensitive to swearing and excessive drug use in literature... maybe skip this one, I guess. But you’ll be missing out.
My review is for the entire Glass Thorns series, because, one: I binge read all of them this past week or so and can’t really separate them in my mind, and two: I really think they should be binged; all together as one long, Amazing Journey. Like a... rock opera. Truly, I couldn’t imagine having to wait to read the next book in this series, so I count myself lucky to have discovered Touchstone well after the final book was released.
This insane combination of an utterly original high fantasy and a sex, drugs, and rock and roll biopic paying homage to The Who as well as other 60’s icons (including the Beatles) is pure magic! It has renewed my love of the fantasy genre with something fresh and unconventional and beautifully written. It has also expanded my love for The Who and my sorrow over the untimely death of Keith Moon, but that’s another story...
However, this book series isn’t just an homage to the author’s favorite rock band. The characters are unique and well developed with their own motivations and emotions; not direct copies of the real life counterparts whom inspired their existence. Same with the story: there are all these events referencing actual events that are somehow woven into the narrative to seamlessly correspond to the original plot of the series. It’s subtle and doesn’t in the least feel forced, but at the same time, if you’re an avid fan of The Who or the Beatles or at the very least rock and roll, the references can’t be missed—though, I must admit, it took me over half of the first book to catch on.
Which brings me to my next point: even if you don’t get the references, the characters and their stories are impossible to let go of. This isn’t a traditional high fantasy with a clear antagonist and some great evil to combat. The heroes are artists; they hone their craft, they fight with each other, they fight their own demons, etc.. We follow the story because we’re rooting for them to be successful and happy and loved because we care about them, not because we expect them to save the world or win a war in the end or anything like that. Though eventually there are rivals and antagonists and such, the main focus is on the evolution and maturation of the characters and their emotional/intellectual journeys.
Aside from all of that complex tale weaving, this is at its core a story about art and it’s power to reach people; to say something and make people think about things that they may not otherwise, as well as entertain and make people feel. It’s about choice and consequences, and it’s kind of a love story... though not in the most conventional sense. It’s a breathtaking series; Contemporary, skillfully written, and a bit out of this world... what else can I say. I love it to death.
Oh, and, if you’re sensitive to swearing and excessive drug use in literature... maybe skip this one, I guess. But you’ll be missing out.
September 26, 2017
1. It's not crap, yet it's not fantastic either.
2. The series could have been condensed into a superb trilogy. Maybe.
3. I say maybe, because the middle three books actually -were- solid, with the fourth installment leaving me impatient for the series finale. But this one turned out like the first: a whole lot of exposition that just feels a little flat, almost patched together.
I hate to feel anything less than amazed about this series, as it's lightyears ahead of Ms. Rawn's urban romance outing (which was ok). But the truth is that I'm a bit let down. Even though I read the book in four days I never really -engaged- with it, and that I think is why I'm a little nonplussed.
Regardless, thank you to Melanie for another decade of stories...nonplussed or not they're still appreciated.
2. The series could have been condensed into a superb trilogy. Maybe.
3. I say maybe, because the middle three books actually -were- solid, with the fourth installment leaving me impatient for the series finale. But this one turned out like the first: a whole lot of exposition that just feels a little flat, almost patched together.
I hate to feel anything less than amazed about this series, as it's lightyears ahead of Ms. Rawn's urban romance outing (which was ok). But the truth is that I'm a bit let down. Even though I read the book in four days I never really -engaged- with it, and that I think is why I'm a little nonplussed.
Regardless, thank you to Melanie for another decade of stories...nonplussed or not they're still appreciated.
July 22, 2021
Having read the first four in the series quite a while ago I was on the lookout for the final book in the series. I missed it being published but happened to find it on eBay - a new book, in hardback, as not available electronically.
The book did not disappoint - this isn't traditional fantasy to my mind. Melanie Rawn has written startlingly good traditional fantasy series which I have devoured with great joy and a certain amount of tears. This series is a tough one to categorise as it doesn't include an epic journey to find a talisman or similar things! It could be about an epic internal journey for the two main characters. It is set in another world, where there is magic and conflict around magic, but this series and this book is about friendship, about art and performance, about growing up, about relationships (good and bad) and about the politics of censorship and control, and the exercise of power. The final book brings everything together neatly...but recognises that the end is never really the end, just a new beginning. I doubt we will see Touchstone again...and that's ok because we have them in the books and perhaps, just perhaps, they are out there performing, telling stories that touch the heart - just as Melanie Rawn has done.
The book did not disappoint - this isn't traditional fantasy to my mind. Melanie Rawn has written startlingly good traditional fantasy series which I have devoured with great joy and a certain amount of tears. This series is a tough one to categorise as it doesn't include an epic journey to find a talisman or similar things! It could be about an epic internal journey for the two main characters. It is set in another world, where there is magic and conflict around magic, but this series and this book is about friendship, about art and performance, about growing up, about relationships (good and bad) and about the politics of censorship and control, and the exercise of power. The final book brings everything together neatly...but recognises that the end is never really the end, just a new beginning. I doubt we will see Touchstone again...and that's ok because we have them in the books and perhaps, just perhaps, they are out there performing, telling stories that touch the heart - just as Melanie Rawn has done.
September 30, 2022
sobbing crying throwing up
ughhhhh!!!
all the past four books of heartache and heartbreak and four kids heading down a path to destruction were WORTH IT!!! cayden’s journey of self realization happened sort of already, but watching meika marure and grow up and realize that his party life behavior was going to kill him was so, so satisfactory. little hints throughout the series all come together for the ending “big bad” scene, which was pretty high stakes for a series about a theater group.
the very last few pages almost made me cry. watching this group of four kids grow up over nine years, making bad choices and good choices, falling in love, starting families, giving up short term pleasures in exchange for their love for each other—good Lord i love them all. 10/10. i never expected to love these books so much.
told ben that the glass thorns series is sort of the equivalent of calling your fantasy novels the heroin needle series. it’s accurate and funny and i love how these books deal with issues you really don’t usually find in fantasy novels.
ughhhhh!!!
all the past four books of heartache and heartbreak and four kids heading down a path to destruction were WORTH IT!!! cayden’s journey of self realization happened sort of already, but watching meika marure and grow up and realize that his party life behavior was going to kill him was so, so satisfactory. little hints throughout the series all come together for the ending “big bad” scene, which was pretty high stakes for a series about a theater group.
the very last few pages almost made me cry. watching this group of four kids grow up over nine years, making bad choices and good choices, falling in love, starting families, giving up short term pleasures in exchange for their love for each other—good Lord i love them all. 10/10. i never expected to love these books so much.
told ben that the glass thorns series is sort of the equivalent of calling your fantasy novels the heroin needle series. it’s accurate and funny and i love how these books deal with issues you really don’t usually find in fantasy novels.
November 24, 2018
This is probably the best book out of them all, with maybe the exclusion of the first book. This installment took us to many great places and tied everything up very nicely. I really liked the ending. I'm not craving more from these characters. I think they deserved their happy ending, and am content to let them have it. Everything that has happened in the previous four books has created this perfect ending. It pulls everything together and concludes perfectly. I'm definitely going to be keeping my eye on Rawn more diligently to see if she writes any more.
June 10, 2018
I wan to give this a better rating but it dragged for soooo long before it got to the good but very brief ending. I'm sure some will love the long rambling style the finally gets you to the end but it makes it a very long book.
September 24, 2026
3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
The magical theater troupe Touchstone reaches the peak of their career, while facing not only substantial personal risks but risks to the entire kingdom.
Review
I bought and read the first book of this series and liked but didn’t love it. I bought the rest of the series not on that basis, but on the strength of Rawn’s previous books. That proved to be a mistake.
This concluding volume is far stronger than the previous one, but mainly because it wraps up some threads. It’s not really good, and is certainly a disappointment after Rawn’s early strengths. Many of the book’s weaknesses echo or continue flaws of the series as a whole.
In the end, this is in many ways a series about fantasy drug addicts. I’m all for grimdark, but I honestly did not find this concept interesting or engaging. For most of the series, the characters a) realize taking lots of drugs can harm your life, and b) go ahead and take lots of drugs. It’s frustrating because they ignore available data and common sense, but also not engaging. I wasn’t ever interested in their struggle with addiction, because it’s never really presented as addiction; they just like drugs. None of them ever really struggles with the issue. They don’t take drugs because they can’t help it, but because it’s fun, even though they know it’s stupid. And, in this final book (spoiler!) they just stop. Without really trying very hard, and for no reason that wasn’t present in the previous four books.
Rawn talks a lot about magic in the book, but it’s never at all clear how it works, even in the theater. Not even the roles of the four dramatists is ever really clear. And there’s other magic that just happens, even though it seems to have no connection with the other magic we’ve seen. Rawn’s writing tends to be about relationships, not worldbuilding, so this isn’t a huge shock, but it did seem sloppy.
Unfortunately, the relationships are also sloppy. Having heavily, heavily hinted at a relationship reveal for the first four books, Rawn apparently loses her nerve at the last minute and just drops the idea. Maybe we’re meant to understand that it will happen in the characters’ future, but I found it odd that she worked very hard to set the whole thing up but didn’t follow through. She similarly teases another relationship (Cade-Megs) and then never does anything with it. She says, for example, that Cade would find it “unthinkable” to lose Megs, but in fact he doesn’t think about her much, and they rarely cross paths. It’s a relationship that screams ‘author convenience’, even though Rawn has sown seeds that could have been developed into intriguing plot threads. The whole thing feels sketched in but never finished. A central mystery (Mieka and his wife) fizzles out.
There’s a persistent thread about the role of art and the artist, and that was interesting, but no one ever reaches any conclusions about it, so it ends up feeling like a philosophical distraction. Morality, on the other hand, rarely gets a look in, and the characters’ morals seem remarkably flexible and situational.
While Rawn’s ending is deliberately somewhat disjointed, it didn’t work for me. There’s no support for it, and it plays havoc with the worldbuilding she’s done. Again, the author note points out that this is intentional, but it didn’t work for me, even as a joke.
The whole series ran long. The third book I found hard to pick up. This last book I picked up not primarily from interest, but to get the series over with. The whole thing could and should have been considerably compressed, to just two or three books. One thing that suggests insufficient editing is that, in this and previous books, some dialogue and concepts are repeated almost word for word in different places.
On the whole, I can’t recommend the series. It has engaging characters and some fun ideas, but unless you either love the mechanics of theater or love stories about drug use, the whole thing runs too long and is too frustrating to encourage most people to embark on it.
Summary
The magical theater troupe Touchstone reaches the peak of their career, while facing not only substantial personal risks but risks to the entire kingdom.
Review
I bought and read the first book of this series and liked but didn’t love it. I bought the rest of the series not on that basis, but on the strength of Rawn’s previous books. That proved to be a mistake.
This concluding volume is far stronger than the previous one, but mainly because it wraps up some threads. It’s not really good, and is certainly a disappointment after Rawn’s early strengths. Many of the book’s weaknesses echo or continue flaws of the series as a whole.
In the end, this is in many ways a series about fantasy drug addicts. I’m all for grimdark, but I honestly did not find this concept interesting or engaging. For most of the series, the characters a) realize taking lots of drugs can harm your life, and b) go ahead and take lots of drugs. It’s frustrating because they ignore available data and common sense, but also not engaging. I wasn’t ever interested in their struggle with addiction, because it’s never really presented as addiction; they just like drugs. None of them ever really struggles with the issue. They don’t take drugs because they can’t help it, but because it’s fun, even though they know it’s stupid. And, in this final book (spoiler!) they just stop. Without really trying very hard, and for no reason that wasn’t present in the previous four books.
Rawn talks a lot about magic in the book, but it’s never at all clear how it works, even in the theater. Not even the roles of the four dramatists is ever really clear. And there’s other magic that just happens, even though it seems to have no connection with the other magic we’ve seen. Rawn’s writing tends to be about relationships, not worldbuilding, so this isn’t a huge shock, but it did seem sloppy.
Unfortunately, the relationships are also sloppy. Having heavily, heavily hinted at a relationship reveal for the first four books, Rawn apparently loses her nerve at the last minute and just drops the idea. Maybe we’re meant to understand that it will happen in the characters’ future, but I found it odd that she worked very hard to set the whole thing up but didn’t follow through. She similarly teases another relationship (Cade-Megs) and then never does anything with it. She says, for example, that Cade would find it “unthinkable” to lose Megs, but in fact he doesn’t think about her much, and they rarely cross paths. It’s a relationship that screams ‘author convenience’, even though Rawn has sown seeds that could have been developed into intriguing plot threads. The whole thing feels sketched in but never finished. A central mystery (Mieka and his wife) fizzles out.
There’s a persistent thread about the role of art and the artist, and that was interesting, but no one ever reaches any conclusions about it, so it ends up feeling like a philosophical distraction. Morality, on the other hand, rarely gets a look in, and the characters’ morals seem remarkably flexible and situational.
While Rawn’s ending is deliberately somewhat disjointed, it didn’t work for me. There’s no support for it, and it plays havoc with the worldbuilding she’s done. Again, the author note points out that this is intentional, but it didn’t work for me, even as a joke.
The whole series ran long. The third book I found hard to pick up. This last book I picked up not primarily from interest, but to get the series over with. The whole thing could and should have been considerably compressed, to just two or three books. One thing that suggests insufficient editing is that, in this and previous books, some dialogue and concepts are repeated almost word for word in different places.
On the whole, I can’t recommend the series. It has engaging characters and some fun ideas, but unless you either love the mechanics of theater or love stories about drug use, the whole thing runs too long and is too frustrating to encourage most people to embark on it.
October 19, 2019
Great end to a great series. I love how the main characters figure themselves out, turn their lives around, conquer their addictions (well, the unhealthy ones, anyway), and open themselves up to a life of love and laughter.
Not all of the loose ends are tied up (who was the love letter to, Cade? Will you ever admit to yourself that you're in love with your glisker, and vice versa? Will Meg ever tell you that she tricked you into giving her father an heir?), but that's ok, because it means that you can revisit the world in your mind and think about how the characters might be doing.
I'm glad that I met these crazy kids and got to explore their world, and I'm thinking about checking out Rawn's other series(s).
Not all of the loose ends are tied up (who was the love letter to, Cade? Will you ever admit to yourself that you're in love with your glisker, and vice versa? Will Meg ever tell you that she tricked you into giving her father an heir?), but that's ok, because it means that you can revisit the world in your mind and think about how the characters might be doing.
I'm glad that I met these crazy kids and got to explore their world, and I'm thinking about checking out Rawn's other series(s).
September 5, 2020
OMG! This series is just so perfect!!
I was breathless towards the end of this!
Such great characters, such a fabulous premise!
Descriptions so vivid, they leap off the page!
Theatre, glorious theatre, that I've missed so much over last 6 months brought to life and then some!!
Highly recommend this series!
Get to know Touchstone...you'll never look back!!
I was breathless towards the end of this!
Such great characters, such a fabulous premise!
Descriptions so vivid, they leap off the page!
Theatre, glorious theatre, that I've missed so much over last 6 months brought to life and then some!!
Highly recommend this series!
Get to know Touchstone...you'll never look back!!
February 4, 2018
What to say? Well, it's easily the worst of the series. It was a series of books I really enjoyed, even if it was very slow getting where it was going. This last book was completely out of character in its pacing, rushing heedlessly to a bewildering end that was also unsatisfactory. What a shame.
March 24, 2018
Oh, what a finale for this wonderful series. Rawn does a masterful job of tying things up and creating a fitting end to the play. Combining theater, magic and a really unique world, this series is highly recommended. But, oh how I will miss the clever, mad little elf!
October 1, 2020
Finally got to read the last in this series. Why was it never published in the UK or in paperback? Had to give in & buy hardback.
So good to be back with these characters & find out what happened to everyone. Love it.
So good to be back with these characters & find out what happened to everyone. Love it.
January 21, 2018
Great ending to what I beleive is the conclusion to this series. Have always loved Miss Rawn's books.
April 15, 2018
But I don't want it to end! I want to continue the adventures with Touchstone and the Royals!
September 7, 2017
I have really enjoyed this series! A really different take on a world with many of the classic western fantasy races of humans, wizards, elves, pixies, trolls and a group of young men out on adventures with plucky female family and friends. These young men are more like drug saturated rock stars than sword and spell weaving heroes, but it really changes the tone and the ultimate treasure.
As a fifth book, this is a tour-de-force, keeping our interest with new events while resolving a host of issues with only a single jarring paragraph of dialog that threw me out of the story about midway. Otherwise I couldn't put it down.
As a fifth book, this is a tour-de-force, keeping our interest with new events while resolving a host of issues with only a single jarring paragraph of dialog that threw me out of the story about midway. Otherwise I couldn't put it down.
October 10, 2019
The boys of Touchstone are at the top of their theatrical game. Their only real competition for the hearts and gold of the public are the Shadowshapers. Nevertheless, the past years of financial struggle, since their manager proved to have been embezzling, have taken a toll on the group's creativity. A shocking event brings all that to an end and brings Touchstone back together to create a play that will rattle the ceilings and shatter all the glass in palaces and theaters alike. An ancient conflict will come to a violent conclusion on stage, and all the gods will be watching.
January 12, 2018
I will have to read all 5 together since the finale didn’t seem to flow as well as the previous books. But the plot and resolution was satisfying so I do believe that the reread will be quite satisfactory.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews