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The Shadow Glass
Jack Corman is failing at life. Jobless, jaded and facing the threat of eviction, he’s also reeling from the death of his father, one-time film director Bob Corman. Back in the eighties, Bob poured his heart and soul into the creation of his 1986 puppet fantasy The Shadow Glass, but the film flopped on release and Bob was never the same again.
In the wake of Bob’s death, Jack returns to his decaying childhood home, where he is confronted with the impossible — the puppet heroes from The Shadow Glass are alive, and they need his help. Tipped into a desperate quest to save the world from the more nefarious of his father’s creations, Jack teams up with an excitable fanboy and a spiky studio exec to navigate the labyrinth of his father’s legacy and ignite a Shadow Glass resurgence that could, finally, do Bob proud.
In the wake of Bob’s death, Jack returns to his decaying childhood home, where he is confronted with the impossible — the puppet heroes from The Shadow Glass are alive, and they need his help. Tipped into a desperate quest to save the world from the more nefarious of his father’s creations, Jack teams up with an excitable fanboy and a spiky studio exec to navigate the labyrinth of his father’s legacy and ignite a Shadow Glass resurgence that could, finally, do Bob proud.
397 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
119 people are currently reading
4882 people want to read
About the author
Josh Winning
5 books309 followersJosh Winning is a nostalgia nut, book/film lover and author of
The Shadow Glass
, which is like Labyrinth meets Stranger Things, and
Burn the Negative
, which is like Scream meets My Best Friend's Exorcism.
He is senior film writer at Radio Times, writer at Total Film, SFX and Den of Geek, and the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.
Josh lives with his cat Penny and dreams of one day convincing Sigourney Weaver to yell “Goddammit!” at him.
He is senior film writer at Radio Times, writer at Total Film, SFX and Den of Geek, and the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.
Josh lives with his cat Penny and dreams of one day convincing Sigourney Weaver to yell “Goddammit!” at him.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 431 reviews
January 7, 2024
So much 1980s nostalgia here...I love it! If you loved watching Jim Henson's fantasy movies, especially Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, be sure to check this out. (I must've watched Labyrinth at least 30 times as a kid...I remember I was surprised to learn that David Bowie was a famous musician outside of the movie. 🤣)
March 6, 2022
4.0 Stars
This was such an entertaining dark fantasy story that I would highly recommend for anyone who loved Jim Henson shows of the 1980s like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
Clearly, inspired by these iconic films, this story was entertaining, imaginative and a little creepy.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves those old movies with the strange puppets.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was such an entertaining dark fantasy story that I would highly recommend for anyone who loved Jim Henson shows of the 1980s like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
Clearly, inspired by these iconic films, this story was entertaining, imaginative and a little creepy.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves those old movies with the strange puppets.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
February 1, 2022
“One Kettu is worth a thousand armies, if she has courage deep and blade sharp.”
The Shadow Glass is the remarkable upcoming novel by Josh Winning. To share his love for the golden age decade which brought us fantasy films featuring puppets on high-stake quests, Winning delivers an 80’s nostalgic revival tale which will have you longing to crack out those VHS tapes and become lost in an era of magic, adventure and escapism.
Back in 1986 a film by Bob Cormac was created, The Shadow Glass was born and released into the world only to become a flop at the cinema. This film had been Bob’s lifelong dream, a passion, an obsession, and it’s failure had left him broken. Yet the film did eventually find its audience and so it transformed into a ‘cult puppet masterpiece’ among its fan base. Much to his son Jack Cormac’s dismay, his father became a hero to these people, whilst beneath the surface their relationship became estranged.
The Shadow Glass opens with our main protagonist Jack returning to his childhood home some time after his father had passed away. When Jack returns to Bob’s house it is with much resentment and reluctance, but what he finds forever changes the course of his life. The puppets from the movie are alive, Iri, the world they live in, is on the brink of destruction and the only one who can help save it is Jack. Unfortunately Jack doesn’t believe any of this is real, but with the help of an excitable teenage fanboy, a group of quirky Shadow Glass guild members, and a short tempered studio executive cousin, they band together to conquer the impossible. Iri must be saved, the puppets must return to their world, and Jack must finally confront his past.
Each chapter begins with different excerpts from film reviews, to transcripts of YouTube Videos, script segments from The Shadow Glass screenplay, magazines articles, or interviews with Bob Cormac. Through these Winning builds a picture of The Shadow Glass, a story centred around the hero kettu, a fox-like puppet called Dune, who saves the land of Iri from the clutches of the amphibian-like skalion race and their evil queen, Kunin Yillda, who the Kettu’s have been in conflict with for centuries. From these extracts we also begin to learn what kind of a man Bob Cormac really was, and how much his story meant to its fans. Those who love The Shadow Glass relive their childhood and their fond memories of the film by rewatching and then introducing it to their children, sparking a new generation of fans, which we all know in turn inspires reboots, sequels, fanfic and spin-offs, to bring a classic to a modern audience. Thus Bob’s creation lived on.
“A story only kept going if people remembered it, if they lived it over and over again. If it was forgotten, it
evaporated.
Ceased to exist.”
I immediately connected to this story in a multitude of ways. The narrative is wonderfully laced with references to 80’s pop culture which I adored spotting, and many scenes replicated the kind of scenes found in movies from the era, with Winning paying homage to The Jim Henson Company. Winning perfectly captures how the escapist movies of the 80’s, such as The Neverending Story and Labyrinth, enthralled its audience in worlds full of puppets, fantasy adventure and a touch of peril. They stay with us because they remind us of a time when we believed in magic, when life wasn’t so complicated and good always conquered evil. The way many of the characters felt about the world of Iri, is exactly how I feel for Middle-Earth, it feels like home.
”One by one, images around the room shivered and stirred, as if awakened by her words. Jack stared in astonishment. All around them the canvasses whirled, leaves
rustling as creatures dipped in and out of view while a hulking painted leviathan opened its fanged mouth to roar at a bleeding sky. Jack almost thought he heard it.
'It is wild,' Zavanna said. 'It is Iri.
It is home.'”
Speaking of characters, I loved how quirky they were and how they were often extremely relatable. When Jake, a man in his mid thirties, jobless and in a fair bit of debt, enters his father’s attic and discovers the puppet Savanna, Dune’s sister, and her mate Brol have come to life and need his help, is understandably overwhelmed and reluctant to believe for the first half of the novel. It is Toby, a teenage Shadow Glass fanatic, who steps up and helps Jack on his quest. Oh how I adored excitable nerdy Toby so much, his deep knowledge of The Shadow Glass, his faith in the quest to save Iri, held such charm. He also added a great deal of humour, as did many of the other characters.
The way feisty Zavanna continuously referred to Jack as ‘the manchild’, never failed to make me laugh, and loyal warrior Brol often made me chuckle, especially when he declared Mike’s Video store as ’The domain of the Scribes of Film’ - almost as though it was a holy religion, which I guess to the puppets it was. Then there were the Shadow Guild members, Anya, Sumi, Nell, and Toby’s boyfriend Huw. I loved how these were characters from all different backgrounds banding together in their love for a fantasy movie and how their belief was unquestionable. Jack’s cousin, Amelia, was also a significant character as she showed him another side to his father.
On a deeper level Winning doesn’t just give us a fun escapist novel, he also shows us that although we fans idolise the creators of our favourite movies and books, and put them on a pedestal, they can be entirely different people behind the curtains, messy and complex. We discover that Jack’s father was a drunk, a man who neglected his son throughout his childhood, a man who cared more for his own obsessions. Yet as the novel progresses Jack discovers that his father was more than just a bitter drunken man, behind the mask he was a man sunk into depths of grief after Jack’s mum passed, whose lifelong dream failed. Essentially Bob was a father who made many mistakes, but once he became ill, he tried to right his wrongs and found a way to use The Shadow Glass to reconnect with his son even after his passing. I loved how poignant and heartfelt this narrative arc was.
Ultimately though this is a story of the power of fandom. I love, love, love the way Winning portrayed fandom and our obsessions; the way we collect as much merchandise from the movie as we can - figures, games, posters, novelisations. The way we also collect as much information as we can, always trying to delve that bit deeper. How we band together in our nerdom. Movies, books and games can have such a wonderful impact on our lives. The scene with The Dragon Con illustrated this perfectly and was an absolute delight.
Winning shows us that a single person alone does not own a film or book, these things are created to be shared, to be loved by a community, to be built upon and to grow. Upon its release it is no longer just the creator’s work, it belongs to us, for us to interpret and enjoy in our own ways.
“This wasn't about using nostalgia
as a shield, it was about celebrating
the things that defined them, the characters that spoke to their
heart's truth, the things that made them different and unique and powerful in their own special way. It united them.”
The Shadow Glass speaks to a generation who hold a deep fondness for their childhood, who still long to believe in magic and adventure, but also to those who are proud to be different. Ultimately Winning writes a love letter to 80’s fantasy fans, fandoms, and those enamoured by nostalgia.
E-ARC provided by Lydia at Titan Books. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
The Shadow Glass will be released on 22nd March 2022 but you can preorder your copy here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Glass...
The Shadow Glass is the remarkable upcoming novel by Josh Winning. To share his love for the golden age decade which brought us fantasy films featuring puppets on high-stake quests, Winning delivers an 80’s nostalgic revival tale which will have you longing to crack out those VHS tapes and become lost in an era of magic, adventure and escapism.
Back in 1986 a film by Bob Cormac was created, The Shadow Glass was born and released into the world only to become a flop at the cinema. This film had been Bob’s lifelong dream, a passion, an obsession, and it’s failure had left him broken. Yet the film did eventually find its audience and so it transformed into a ‘cult puppet masterpiece’ among its fan base. Much to his son Jack Cormac’s dismay, his father became a hero to these people, whilst beneath the surface their relationship became estranged.
The Shadow Glass opens with our main protagonist Jack returning to his childhood home some time after his father had passed away. When Jack returns to Bob’s house it is with much resentment and reluctance, but what he finds forever changes the course of his life. The puppets from the movie are alive, Iri, the world they live in, is on the brink of destruction and the only one who can help save it is Jack. Unfortunately Jack doesn’t believe any of this is real, but with the help of an excitable teenage fanboy, a group of quirky Shadow Glass guild members, and a short tempered studio executive cousin, they band together to conquer the impossible. Iri must be saved, the puppets must return to their world, and Jack must finally confront his past.
Each chapter begins with different excerpts from film reviews, to transcripts of YouTube Videos, script segments from The Shadow Glass screenplay, magazines articles, or interviews with Bob Cormac. Through these Winning builds a picture of The Shadow Glass, a story centred around the hero kettu, a fox-like puppet called Dune, who saves the land of Iri from the clutches of the amphibian-like skalion race and their evil queen, Kunin Yillda, who the Kettu’s have been in conflict with for centuries. From these extracts we also begin to learn what kind of a man Bob Cormac really was, and how much his story meant to its fans. Those who love The Shadow Glass relive their childhood and their fond memories of the film by rewatching and then introducing it to their children, sparking a new generation of fans, which we all know in turn inspires reboots, sequels, fanfic and spin-offs, to bring a classic to a modern audience. Thus Bob’s creation lived on.
“A story only kept going if people remembered it, if they lived it over and over again. If it was forgotten, it
evaporated.
Ceased to exist.”
I immediately connected to this story in a multitude of ways. The narrative is wonderfully laced with references to 80’s pop culture which I adored spotting, and many scenes replicated the kind of scenes found in movies from the era, with Winning paying homage to The Jim Henson Company. Winning perfectly captures how the escapist movies of the 80’s, such as The Neverending Story and Labyrinth, enthralled its audience in worlds full of puppets, fantasy adventure and a touch of peril. They stay with us because they remind us of a time when we believed in magic, when life wasn’t so complicated and good always conquered evil. The way many of the characters felt about the world of Iri, is exactly how I feel for Middle-Earth, it feels like home.
”One by one, images around the room shivered and stirred, as if awakened by her words. Jack stared in astonishment. All around them the canvasses whirled, leaves
rustling as creatures dipped in and out of view while a hulking painted leviathan opened its fanged mouth to roar at a bleeding sky. Jack almost thought he heard it.
'It is wild,' Zavanna said. 'It is Iri.
It is home.'”
Speaking of characters, I loved how quirky they were and how they were often extremely relatable. When Jake, a man in his mid thirties, jobless and in a fair bit of debt, enters his father’s attic and discovers the puppet Savanna, Dune’s sister, and her mate Brol have come to life and need his help, is understandably overwhelmed and reluctant to believe for the first half of the novel. It is Toby, a teenage Shadow Glass fanatic, who steps up and helps Jack on his quest. Oh how I adored excitable nerdy Toby so much, his deep knowledge of The Shadow Glass, his faith in the quest to save Iri, held such charm. He also added a great deal of humour, as did many of the other characters.
The way feisty Zavanna continuously referred to Jack as ‘the manchild’, never failed to make me laugh, and loyal warrior Brol often made me chuckle, especially when he declared Mike’s Video store as ’The domain of the Scribes of Film’ - almost as though it was a holy religion, which I guess to the puppets it was. Then there were the Shadow Guild members, Anya, Sumi, Nell, and Toby’s boyfriend Huw. I loved how these were characters from all different backgrounds banding together in their love for a fantasy movie and how their belief was unquestionable. Jack’s cousin, Amelia, was also a significant character as she showed him another side to his father.
On a deeper level Winning doesn’t just give us a fun escapist novel, he also shows us that although we fans idolise the creators of our favourite movies and books, and put them on a pedestal, they can be entirely different people behind the curtains, messy and complex. We discover that Jack’s father was a drunk, a man who neglected his son throughout his childhood, a man who cared more for his own obsessions. Yet as the novel progresses Jack discovers that his father was more than just a bitter drunken man, behind the mask he was a man sunk into depths of grief after Jack’s mum passed, whose lifelong dream failed. Essentially Bob was a father who made many mistakes, but once he became ill, he tried to right his wrongs and found a way to use The Shadow Glass to reconnect with his son even after his passing. I loved how poignant and heartfelt this narrative arc was.
Ultimately though this is a story of the power of fandom. I love, love, love the way Winning portrayed fandom and our obsessions; the way we collect as much merchandise from the movie as we can - figures, games, posters, novelisations. The way we also collect as much information as we can, always trying to delve that bit deeper. How we band together in our nerdom. Movies, books and games can have such a wonderful impact on our lives. The scene with The Dragon Con illustrated this perfectly and was an absolute delight.
Winning shows us that a single person alone does not own a film or book, these things are created to be shared, to be loved by a community, to be built upon and to grow. Upon its release it is no longer just the creator’s work, it belongs to us, for us to interpret and enjoy in our own ways.
“This wasn't about using nostalgia
as a shield, it was about celebrating
the things that defined them, the characters that spoke to their
heart's truth, the things that made them different and unique and powerful in their own special way. It united them.”
The Shadow Glass speaks to a generation who hold a deep fondness for their childhood, who still long to believe in magic and adventure, but also to those who are proud to be different. Ultimately Winning writes a love letter to 80’s fantasy fans, fandoms, and those enamoured by nostalgia.
E-ARC provided by Lydia at Titan Books. Thank you for the copy! All quotes used are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
The Shadow Glass will be released on 22nd March 2022 but you can preorder your copy here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Glass...
March 28, 2022
Flash Book Review: A love letter to 80s fantasy film like The NeverEnding Story (1984), Labyrinth (1986), and The Dark Crystal (1982).
---
As a child, Jack loved the world of Iri that his father created in his cult classic film, The Shadow Glass. As an adult, he’s jobless and bitter over his father’s obsession, and he wants nothing to do with Bob Co., the film company Bob left behind after his death. Jack is in no way prepared for a storm to bring the discarded puppets from The Shadow Glass to life, and he’s suddenly surrounded by brave kettu warriors and evil skalions in the search for an artifact that will save their world. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Titan Books. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), parent/child death, gore, body horror, dismemberment, poison, violence, cancer, grief.
I had a chance to beta read this, so getting the opportunity to buddy read it again with Roberta from Offbeat YA was so wonderful. This book has a special place for both of us (and the rest of #TheShadowGlassGuild), and I’m so happy to see it find its way into the hearts of fans everywhere. The Shadow Glass is a love letter to 80s fantasy films like Labyrinth (1986) and The NeverEnding Story (1984), with its own original twists. The world and characters are new but feel familiar, and it’s a sort of sequel-in-spirit to those films. We fought monsters and saved worlds with Atreyu and Sarah when we were younger, but what happens when we grow up and no longer believe in magic?
The book is well-paced, and the quest starts off strong in the early chapters without too much set-up, allowing us to pick up on the world-building as we go. The action/battle scenes are exciting and tense, with an almost cinematic quality to them that pays homage to the films of childhood. However, there’s also plenty of downtime in between fight scenes while the characters follow clues to hunt for the missing pieces of the Glass (in true quest fashion). It gives the novel breathing room to get to know the characters and the worlds.
Jack’s character arc is strong, and it’s satisfying to watch him transition from a bitter non-believer to the hero the story needs. Learning to accept our parents as humans with their own flaws and private battles is a tough lesson, especially after they’re gone, and that grief buried under Jack’s anger makes for an emotional read. My favorite character, hands down, is Zavanna, one of the foxlike kettu warriors who loves as fiercely as she protects. She’s brave, sassy, and as real as the human characters, alongside her warmer partner, Brol. My second favorite, of course, is Toby’s cute and fluffy lub. (Where can one acquire his t-shirt that says “I LUB YOU”? Asking for a friend.)
The villains of the novel are equally well-drawn, and the ravenous queen Kunin Yillda is downright terrifying, helped by her manipulative soothsayer, Nebfet. The puppets grow more lifelike the longer they’re on Earth, synthetic fur becoming real, stuffing turning to flesh and blood, and it’s a cool detail to track throughout the novel. If there’s a shortcoming in the characters, I think it’s that we never get to see more of the Guild members who help Jack on his quest. There’s little page-time with them, and while I liked them all in theory, they never felt as real as the non-human characters, with the exception of Jack and Toby.
I sometimes struggle to get into fantasy worlds, but Winning makes it easy to pick up on the various intricacies of Iri, using Jack’s memories and the bits of media such as scripts, book excerpts, and blog articles in between the chapters. These are brief and well-timed, and I really felt like they added to my experience of the novel, helping to flesh out both the world of Iri and the cultural impact of Bob’s film. The book examines both the light and dark sides of fandom, from the way fandom love can be a powerful creative force and a bonding experience, to the toxic sides of fandom in gatekeeping and purism. It’s clear Winning truly understands what it means to be fan of something in a way that shapes our lives and brings brightness to dark times, and that love is at the heart of The Shadow Glass.
Books don’t always live up to their comparisons–and 80s nostalgia fantasy is a high bar–but this one does in creativity, but most of all in heart. The ending is an emotional homage to a lot of these films, and just like I needed to give the Childlike Empress a new name and visit the friends I made in the labyrinth in the bedroom mirror when I was a child, I need to remember why magic and fantasy worlds are just as important as an adult as they are when we’re younger, and The Shadow Glass gives me that. Revisiting this book in the future will be like checking in with an old, much-loved friend. Thanks so much to Josh for sharing this beautiful story with us. 💛
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
---
I had a chance to beta read this, and I highly recommend it for fans of Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and other 80s nostalgia cinema! Can’t wait to have a copy on my shelf! 😍
---
As a child, Jack loved the world of Iri that his father created in his cult classic film, The Shadow Glass. As an adult, he’s jobless and bitter over his father’s obsession, and he wants nothing to do with Bob Co., the film company Bob left behind after his death. Jack is in no way prepared for a storm to bring the discarded puppets from The Shadow Glass to life, and he’s suddenly surrounded by brave kettu warriors and evil skalions in the search for an artifact that will save their world. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Titan Books. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), parent/child death, gore, body horror, dismemberment, poison, violence, cancer, grief.
I had a chance to beta read this, so getting the opportunity to buddy read it again with Roberta from Offbeat YA was so wonderful. This book has a special place for both of us (and the rest of #TheShadowGlassGuild), and I’m so happy to see it find its way into the hearts of fans everywhere. The Shadow Glass is a love letter to 80s fantasy films like Labyrinth (1986) and The NeverEnding Story (1984), with its own original twists. The world and characters are new but feel familiar, and it’s a sort of sequel-in-spirit to those films. We fought monsters and saved worlds with Atreyu and Sarah when we were younger, but what happens when we grow up and no longer believe in magic?
The book is well-paced, and the quest starts off strong in the early chapters without too much set-up, allowing us to pick up on the world-building as we go. The action/battle scenes are exciting and tense, with an almost cinematic quality to them that pays homage to the films of childhood. However, there’s also plenty of downtime in between fight scenes while the characters follow clues to hunt for the missing pieces of the Glass (in true quest fashion). It gives the novel breathing room to get to know the characters and the worlds.
Jack’s character arc is strong, and it’s satisfying to watch him transition from a bitter non-believer to the hero the story needs. Learning to accept our parents as humans with their own flaws and private battles is a tough lesson, especially after they’re gone, and that grief buried under Jack’s anger makes for an emotional read. My favorite character, hands down, is Zavanna, one of the foxlike kettu warriors who loves as fiercely as she protects. She’s brave, sassy, and as real as the human characters, alongside her warmer partner, Brol. My second favorite, of course, is Toby’s cute and fluffy lub. (Where can one acquire his t-shirt that says “I LUB YOU”? Asking for a friend.)
The villains of the novel are equally well-drawn, and the ravenous queen Kunin Yillda is downright terrifying, helped by her manipulative soothsayer, Nebfet. The puppets grow more lifelike the longer they’re on Earth, synthetic fur becoming real, stuffing turning to flesh and blood, and it’s a cool detail to track throughout the novel. If there’s a shortcoming in the characters, I think it’s that we never get to see more of the Guild members who help Jack on his quest. There’s little page-time with them, and while I liked them all in theory, they never felt as real as the non-human characters, with the exception of Jack and Toby.
I sometimes struggle to get into fantasy worlds, but Winning makes it easy to pick up on the various intricacies of Iri, using Jack’s memories and the bits of media such as scripts, book excerpts, and blog articles in between the chapters. These are brief and well-timed, and I really felt like they added to my experience of the novel, helping to flesh out both the world of Iri and the cultural impact of Bob’s film. The book examines both the light and dark sides of fandom, from the way fandom love can be a powerful creative force and a bonding experience, to the toxic sides of fandom in gatekeeping and purism. It’s clear Winning truly understands what it means to be fan of something in a way that shapes our lives and brings brightness to dark times, and that love is at the heart of The Shadow Glass.
Books don’t always live up to their comparisons–and 80s nostalgia fantasy is a high bar–but this one does in creativity, but most of all in heart. The ending is an emotional homage to a lot of these films, and just like I needed to give the Childlike Empress a new name and visit the friends I made in the labyrinth in the bedroom mirror when I was a child, I need to remember why magic and fantasy worlds are just as important as an adult as they are when we’re younger, and The Shadow Glass gives me that. Revisiting this book in the future will be like checking in with an old, much-loved friend. Thanks so much to Josh for sharing this beautiful story with us. 💛
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
---
I had a chance to beta read this, and I highly recommend it for fans of Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and other 80s nostalgia cinema! Can’t wait to have a copy on my shelf! 😍
June 24, 2024
This is like How to Sell a Haunted House meets Five Nights at Freddie’s meets Spiderwick.
”Jack, didn’t you hear Brol’s story? The Shadow Glass was stolen from the kettu castle, Nebfet was enchanting it when Zavanna found her…none of that happened in the movie. We’re in new territory. We’re in a real-life sequel to The Shadow Glass! I always wanted to find out what happened next, and now we’re living it!”
What happens when fiction and reality collide?
This isn’t a book that gets a lot of attention, but those who have read it have raved about it.
I think this was another case of me having very didn’t expectations.
This book is a homage to the 80s and 90s that shows love for cult 1980s films like The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth.
Considering I have never watched those, and I was born in 2003, so I couldn’t tap into that nostalgia.
I feel like this book is made for a very specific audience and unfortunately that wasn’t me.
Bookstagram
”Jack, didn’t you hear Brol’s story? The Shadow Glass was stolen from the kettu castle, Nebfet was enchanting it when Zavanna found her…none of that happened in the movie. We’re in new territory. We’re in a real-life sequel to The Shadow Glass! I always wanted to find out what happened next, and now we’re living it!”
What happens when fiction and reality collide?
This isn’t a book that gets a lot of attention, but those who have read it have raved about it.
I think this was another case of me having very didn’t expectations.
This book is a homage to the 80s and 90s that shows love for cult 1980s films like The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth.
Considering I have never watched those, and I was born in 2003, so I couldn’t tap into that nostalgia.
I feel like this book is made for a very specific audience and unfortunately that wasn’t me.
Bookstagram
March 4, 2022
On my blog.
Rep: gay characters, sapphic characters
CWs: gore, eye gore
Galley provided by publisher
The Shadow Glass is a thrill ride of a book, 400 pages of pure chaos. I sped through the book, too engaged to put it down, except when I was finally forced to go to sleep before an early morning shift. Even then, all I could think about was this book.
The story follows Jack, who, following his father’s death, is forced to return to his childhood home and sort through its contents. Jack’s father created a cult classic puppet film, one that has since garnered a large and loyal fanbase, but Jack wants nothing to do with it all. That is, until he has no choice on the matter, when those puppets appear in his world, along with the villains of their tale.
The Shadow Glass is probably one of the most creative fantasy books I’ve read in a long while. I loved the whole idea of puppets coming to life, leaping across worlds and trying to take over. It’s a book I could so clearly see coming to life on screen, and I think that also helps when it comes to its plot. That it’s a book about a film, that you can so easily see being a film itself, is great.
Part of that is the pacing of the book. It throws you right in there, within a few chapters, and you’re dragged along at breakneck speed, forced to get to grips with things as rapidly as Jack is (a little aside, I loved how his general reaction to everything was basically fuck no. Relatable). It’s not a book that gives you a moment to rest, and that contributes to how fun it was to read as well.
The other part of this is in its characters. All of the main characters leap off the page (there are one or two side characters who weren’t that memorable, but then, they didn’t really do much anyway), so life-like that it feels like you’re standing right next to them. Particularly the puppets, who were also the funniest part of the book. I think this is a book full of characters that I just want to read more about.
But the thing is: this isn’t just an adventure story. It’s a story about reckoning with childhood traumas, coming to realise that the experiences you had with someone may not be the same as everyone else’s, and forgiveness (where possible). Jack’s journey in this book is probably my favourite part of it—at the start, he’s bitter, and rightfully so from his POV, but throughout he’s introduced to different perspectives on his father, as a creator, as a lover, as a friend, and he starts to see where his bias lies. But none of that detracts from Jack’s experiences either. I felt there was good nuance here in that respect.
With The Shadow Glass, I’m pretty sure I’ve found a new favourite. So, when it comes to 22nd March, I’ll be begging you all to read it too.
Rep: gay characters, sapphic characters
CWs: gore, eye gore
Galley provided by publisher
The Shadow Glass is a thrill ride of a book, 400 pages of pure chaos. I sped through the book, too engaged to put it down, except when I was finally forced to go to sleep before an early morning shift. Even then, all I could think about was this book.
The story follows Jack, who, following his father’s death, is forced to return to his childhood home and sort through its contents. Jack’s father created a cult classic puppet film, one that has since garnered a large and loyal fanbase, but Jack wants nothing to do with it all. That is, until he has no choice on the matter, when those puppets appear in his world, along with the villains of their tale.
The Shadow Glass is probably one of the most creative fantasy books I’ve read in a long while. I loved the whole idea of puppets coming to life, leaping across worlds and trying to take over. It’s a book I could so clearly see coming to life on screen, and I think that also helps when it comes to its plot. That it’s a book about a film, that you can so easily see being a film itself, is great.
Part of that is the pacing of the book. It throws you right in there, within a few chapters, and you’re dragged along at breakneck speed, forced to get to grips with things as rapidly as Jack is (a little aside, I loved how his general reaction to everything was basically fuck no. Relatable). It’s not a book that gives you a moment to rest, and that contributes to how fun it was to read as well.
The other part of this is in its characters. All of the main characters leap off the page (there are one or two side characters who weren’t that memorable, but then, they didn’t really do much anyway), so life-like that it feels like you’re standing right next to them. Particularly the puppets, who were also the funniest part of the book. I think this is a book full of characters that I just want to read more about.
But the thing is: this isn’t just an adventure story. It’s a story about reckoning with childhood traumas, coming to realise that the experiences you had with someone may not be the same as everyone else’s, and forgiveness (where possible). Jack’s journey in this book is probably my favourite part of it—at the start, he’s bitter, and rightfully so from his POV, but throughout he’s introduced to different perspectives on his father, as a creator, as a lover, as a friend, and he starts to see where his bias lies. But none of that detracts from Jack’s experiences either. I felt there was good nuance here in that respect.
With The Shadow Glass, I’m pretty sure I’ve found a new favourite. So, when it comes to 22nd March, I’ll be begging you all to read it too.
August 15, 2023
oh, what a perfect book
April 15, 2022
ARC received in exchange for an honest review
Following the death of his father, Jack Corman returns to the family home only to discover that the puppets from his father's cult 80s film The Shadow Glass have come to life. Forced into an adventure alongside teenage neighbour Toby, cousin Amelia and a couple of fox warriors, Jack soon realises that saving the world will mean he has to take a long hard look at the pitiful life he leads, and dredge up old memories he'd rather forget. No one said being a hero would be easy.
This immediately felt like a love letter to every great fantasy movie from the 1980s and 90s. We get mentions of Labyrinth, Gremlins, Dark Crystal and Willow among others, in a plot that is rife with common tropes associated with these movies, from a chosen one to a quest for a magical item. It plays heavily into the nostalgia for an 80s child like myself, and I think people of a similar age who grew up with similar cultural references will love this. Its fast paced, with punchy dialogue and ultimately really captivating. You can almost imagine that The Shadow Glass really was a film we all watched growing up, and I kind of wish I had a VHS tape of it to watch.
I also thought the main character Jack was well developed. This is very clearly his story, his quest, and it's as much a search for the The Shadow Glass as it is a search for his acceptance of the loss of his father and an examination of his grief. He has an incredibly fraught and complicated relationship with his father Bob, loving him yet also hating him for the way he picked his movie and the world of Iri over being a father to Jack. I liked the character arc that Jack goes through, with the support of his new found friends and family, to accept Bob for who he was and loving the good times while not shying away from the bad either.
I did think that the secondary characters were less well developed, especially Amelia. She's mainly used as a prop to support Jack and his endeavours and also as a way into the movie studios. I thought she could have done with a bit more backstory and fleshing out. I also wanted a bit more backstory from the world of Iri itself. We see everything through the eyes of others who have been there or have seen the film, and get no primary descriptions of the world itself and its lore. Although this helps to create this idea that Iri is very much out of reach and otherworldly, sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the names of different creatures and what they were and I floundered at times to stay in the story.
Wonderfully imaginative story that takes inspiration from an unforgettable time in cinematic history. This would translate brilliantly to film. Highly recommend for any fantasy fan.
Following the death of his father, Jack Corman returns to the family home only to discover that the puppets from his father's cult 80s film The Shadow Glass have come to life. Forced into an adventure alongside teenage neighbour Toby, cousin Amelia and a couple of fox warriors, Jack soon realises that saving the world will mean he has to take a long hard look at the pitiful life he leads, and dredge up old memories he'd rather forget. No one said being a hero would be easy.
This immediately felt like a love letter to every great fantasy movie from the 1980s and 90s. We get mentions of Labyrinth, Gremlins, Dark Crystal and Willow among others, in a plot that is rife with common tropes associated with these movies, from a chosen one to a quest for a magical item. It plays heavily into the nostalgia for an 80s child like myself, and I think people of a similar age who grew up with similar cultural references will love this. Its fast paced, with punchy dialogue and ultimately really captivating. You can almost imagine that The Shadow Glass really was a film we all watched growing up, and I kind of wish I had a VHS tape of it to watch.
I also thought the main character Jack was well developed. This is very clearly his story, his quest, and it's as much a search for the The Shadow Glass as it is a search for his acceptance of the loss of his father and an examination of his grief. He has an incredibly fraught and complicated relationship with his father Bob, loving him yet also hating him for the way he picked his movie and the world of Iri over being a father to Jack. I liked the character arc that Jack goes through, with the support of his new found friends and family, to accept Bob for who he was and loving the good times while not shying away from the bad either.
I did think that the secondary characters were less well developed, especially Amelia. She's mainly used as a prop to support Jack and his endeavours and also as a way into the movie studios. I thought she could have done with a bit more backstory and fleshing out. I also wanted a bit more backstory from the world of Iri itself. We see everything through the eyes of others who have been there or have seen the film, and get no primary descriptions of the world itself and its lore. Although this helps to create this idea that Iri is very much out of reach and otherworldly, sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the names of different creatures and what they were and I floundered at times to stay in the story.
Wonderfully imaginative story that takes inspiration from an unforgettable time in cinematic history. This would translate brilliantly to film. Highly recommend for any fantasy fan.
May 30, 2022
A somewhat rote fantasy adventure that will live or die on the strength of its nostalgia appeal. Filled with familiar-feeling characters, plot beats and ideas, The Shadow Glass is certainly not pushing anything new or exciting. The result may be either comfortingly familiar or tediously unoriginal, possibly depending somewhat on your relationship to the 80s fantasy movies that we’re playing with here- The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story etc. Now I’ve seen all these movies and many more of that era and genre, many when I was younger. And I enjoyed them, and I remember enjoying them and specific parts of them that gave me specific emotional responses, and specific parts of them that were interesting; cool world-building elements or lovable/hateable characters. The issue with the particular flavour of nostalgia found in The Shadow Glass is that it does nothing more than remind you of all of these other works, works that stand on their own merits. It never adds anything fresh to the conversation, never builds on or extends the original works in any way. Ultimately, we end up with Ready Player One, but with 80s films instead of 80s games.
The plot is by no means bad, but it all feels very perfunctory. It is the classic hero’s journey with only the barest of dressing over the framework. Obviously the hero’s journey is a cornerstone of storytelling, and there is no problem with using it- the problem is using it without understanding of where it comes from. Good plotting should follow from well-defined character motivations; ideally multiple characters whose opposing motivations drive the conflicts of the book. Or I’d settle for one character with a need; that lacking quality or possession that drives them onwards to seek conflict in order to find whatever it is they’re looking for. Plotting becomes pretty transparent when it’s clear that the characters are there to act out the plot rather than drive it, and this feels especially apparent in this book.
Our main character Jack is the son of cult hero filmmaker Bob Corman [1], who has relatively recently passed away. Bob was the creator of the classic film The Shadow Glass, featuring a cast of colourful puppets and some intriguing dark-fantasy worldbuilding. Returning to their childhood home on the night of a large thunderstorm, Jack inspects some of these puppets and finds that some of them are coming to life. This includes the villains of the film, who make their way out into the world with vague “take-over-the-world” type ambitions [2]. It falls to Jack to stop them, and along the way they will have to confront their feelings and memories about their father and their father’s legacy. We are helped by some pretty stock side-kick characters, cast in this particular episode as superfans of The Dark Crystal- the nerds (I say this lovingly) who know the ins and outs of the world and its characters; along with of course two of the main characters from the film, anthropomorphic fox-like puppets.
Notes from the previous paragraph:
[1]: Bob Corman is referred to by their fans and by various media outlets simply as ‘Bob’. I realise this is a stupid thing to get caught up on, but I struggle to suspend my disbelief to the point where any Bob could possibly be famous enough to just be ‘Bob’. There’s a reason Bill Gates, probably one of the most famous people on the planet, is not referred to simply as ‘Bill’. In specific subcultures maybe, but in general media? It’s just not going to happen. Sorry Bobs.
[2]: Honestly, I don’t remember what their motivations were at all. Did they want to destroy the world or take it over? Were they doing this for any specific reason? Haven’t the foggiest. They were the evil puppets, and the good puppets needed to stop them, that’s as much as really matters for this book.
Jack starts off resentful towards their father, for the emotional neglect and absence that they suffered growing up. They are presented as disgruntled, disinterested (especially in The Shadow Glass and their father’s works) and probably a bit depressed. Nevertheless, when things start getting weird and puppets start coming to life, we get the eye-rolling exchange with Toby (the main sidekick character[3]) which is almost exactly: T- “We need to go on the adventure!” J- “Not interested, thanks” T- “But think about The Shadow Glass!” J- “OK fine I’ll do the adventure.” It’s moments like these where the framework is all too visible; the hero typically will refuse the call to adventure before either experiencing something that forces them into it or being reluctantly persuaded. But carrying out these rote motions fails to understand the principles underpinning this journey. The persuasion seems like it just should not work, based on what we’ve come to understand as Jack’s character up to this point. Imagine if Jack genuinely had refused the call to adventure; now we have a story where the biggest fan of this old film has to dive into its reality, could be fun! And we might even have got some more genuine personal conflicts. But no, because stories “have” to have this Call To Adventure, Refusal, and then Ultimate Acceptance, that’s what we get.
[3]: Toby seems to have been stalking Jack and/or Bob’s house, this is seemingly never mentioned again.
There are countless other examples of characters acting in ways that seem designed to push plot, rather than arising organically from decisions or motivations. One early example- after discovering that magic is real, monster-puppets are coming to life and have bitten off one of their fingers, Jack decides to go to a business meeting. It’s pretty impossible to connect with any of these characters, in large part because they are so clearly ‘characters’, with no attempt at inner depth. What was Jack’s life for the past ten years? Are they really entirely defined by the actions and creations of their father? It’s an entire empty void that really needs filling- as it is it feels almost like these characters popped into existence at the beginning of the story; there is no fleshed-out world to support them.
The author John Winning is a frequent contributor to SFX magazine; honestly this fact explains a lot about the content and style of the book. It has a very Hollywood fantasy feel to it- to the extent that I had to keep reminding myself that it was meant to be set in England (at book club, someone was sure it was America) as something about the setting just didn’t ring true- this is more surprising from an actually British writer. It’s also stuffed full of crowd-pleasing tropes (although few of them are executed well): the lovable little fluffy creature that turns out to be a giant monster; the reclusive and emotionally distant father figure, tied to themes of legacy and artistic creation; the lovable nerd crew; saving the land with the power of imagination; a misguided human who sides with the baddies… All of these elements are present, but none of them seem to be used to say anything new or interesting, and in some cases (as previously mentioned), their presence is at odds with the rest of the book itself.
Ultimately, it’s a popcorn action book, and it is mired in nostalgia. If you like The Neverending Story, or The Dark Crystal, or Labyrinth; go watch those films! They still exist. I really can’t recommend reading a book that just rehashes elements from those without adding anything new to the conversation.
The plot is by no means bad, but it all feels very perfunctory. It is the classic hero’s journey with only the barest of dressing over the framework. Obviously the hero’s journey is a cornerstone of storytelling, and there is no problem with using it- the problem is using it without understanding of where it comes from. Good plotting should follow from well-defined character motivations; ideally multiple characters whose opposing motivations drive the conflicts of the book. Or I’d settle for one character with a need; that lacking quality or possession that drives them onwards to seek conflict in order to find whatever it is they’re looking for. Plotting becomes pretty transparent when it’s clear that the characters are there to act out the plot rather than drive it, and this feels especially apparent in this book.
Our main character Jack is the son of cult hero filmmaker Bob Corman [1], who has relatively recently passed away. Bob was the creator of the classic film The Shadow Glass, featuring a cast of colourful puppets and some intriguing dark-fantasy worldbuilding. Returning to their childhood home on the night of a large thunderstorm, Jack inspects some of these puppets and finds that some of them are coming to life. This includes the villains of the film, who make their way out into the world with vague “take-over-the-world” type ambitions [2]. It falls to Jack to stop them, and along the way they will have to confront their feelings and memories about their father and their father’s legacy. We are helped by some pretty stock side-kick characters, cast in this particular episode as superfans of The Dark Crystal- the nerds (I say this lovingly) who know the ins and outs of the world and its characters; along with of course two of the main characters from the film, anthropomorphic fox-like puppets.
Notes from the previous paragraph:
[1]: Bob Corman is referred to by their fans and by various media outlets simply as ‘Bob’. I realise this is a stupid thing to get caught up on, but I struggle to suspend my disbelief to the point where any Bob could possibly be famous enough to just be ‘Bob’. There’s a reason Bill Gates, probably one of the most famous people on the planet, is not referred to simply as ‘Bill’. In specific subcultures maybe, but in general media? It’s just not going to happen. Sorry Bobs.
[2]: Honestly, I don’t remember what their motivations were at all. Did they want to destroy the world or take it over? Were they doing this for any specific reason? Haven’t the foggiest. They were the evil puppets, and the good puppets needed to stop them, that’s as much as really matters for this book.
Jack starts off resentful towards their father, for the emotional neglect and absence that they suffered growing up. They are presented as disgruntled, disinterested (especially in The Shadow Glass and their father’s works) and probably a bit depressed. Nevertheless, when things start getting weird and puppets start coming to life, we get the eye-rolling exchange with Toby (the main sidekick character[3]) which is almost exactly: T- “We need to go on the adventure!” J- “Not interested, thanks” T- “But think about The Shadow Glass!” J- “OK fine I’ll do the adventure.” It’s moments like these where the framework is all too visible; the hero typically will refuse the call to adventure before either experiencing something that forces them into it or being reluctantly persuaded. But carrying out these rote motions fails to understand the principles underpinning this journey. The persuasion seems like it just should not work, based on what we’ve come to understand as Jack’s character up to this point. Imagine if Jack genuinely had refused the call to adventure; now we have a story where the biggest fan of this old film has to dive into its reality, could be fun! And we might even have got some more genuine personal conflicts. But no, because stories “have” to have this Call To Adventure, Refusal, and then Ultimate Acceptance, that’s what we get.
[3]: Toby seems to have been stalking Jack and/or Bob’s house, this is seemingly never mentioned again.
There are countless other examples of characters acting in ways that seem designed to push plot, rather than arising organically from decisions or motivations. One early example- after discovering that magic is real, monster-puppets are coming to life and have bitten off one of their fingers, Jack decides to go to a business meeting. It’s pretty impossible to connect with any of these characters, in large part because they are so clearly ‘characters’, with no attempt at inner depth. What was Jack’s life for the past ten years? Are they really entirely defined by the actions and creations of their father? It’s an entire empty void that really needs filling- as it is it feels almost like these characters popped into existence at the beginning of the story; there is no fleshed-out world to support them.
The author John Winning is a frequent contributor to SFX magazine; honestly this fact explains a lot about the content and style of the book. It has a very Hollywood fantasy feel to it- to the extent that I had to keep reminding myself that it was meant to be set in England (at book club, someone was sure it was America) as something about the setting just didn’t ring true- this is more surprising from an actually British writer. It’s also stuffed full of crowd-pleasing tropes (although few of them are executed well): the lovable little fluffy creature that turns out to be a giant monster; the reclusive and emotionally distant father figure, tied to themes of legacy and artistic creation; the lovable nerd crew; saving the land with the power of imagination; a misguided human who sides with the baddies… All of these elements are present, but none of them seem to be used to say anything new or interesting, and in some cases (as previously mentioned), their presence is at odds with the rest of the book itself.
Ultimately, it’s a popcorn action book, and it is mired in nostalgia. If you like The Neverending Story, or The Dark Crystal, or Labyrinth; go watch those films! They still exist. I really can’t recommend reading a book that just rehashes elements from those without adding anything new to the conversation.
March 13, 2022
‘In a forgotten time, in a forgotten world, deep within a forgotten chamber few have ever seen, the Shadow Glass sees all.’Bob Corman’s 1986 feature debut, The Shadow Glass, was a flop at the box office. The “puppet-animated fantasy adventure” has since gained a cult following but Bob’s son, who was one of The Shadow Glass’ first super-fans, wants nothing to do with it.
Jack’s childhood, once a magical place brimming with imagination and joy, darkened when his father morphed from his hero to someone he barely recognised as his obsession with Iri (pronounced eerie) and its inhabitants consumed him.
Returning to his childhood home after his father’s death, Jack discovers the characters, born in his father’s imagination, are very much alive. And they need Jack’s help.
Now erplings Bobson, a Melia, fanboy Toby and the Guild must join forces with kettu Zavanna and Brol if they have any hope of saving Iri from imminent destruction.
‘Are you friend or food?’The Shadow Glass is a love letter to the 80’s films that infused themselves into my very core and it’s about fandom: the obsessive, possessive fans that make it creepy (‘why else do you think they call us fanatics?’) and those whose love and dedication keep franchises alive. It’s about family, the ones we’re born into and the ones we form along the way. Above all, this is a hero’s journey.
‘What is a hero but a normal person overcoming their own failings to defeat the demons of their soul?’I primarily identify as a book nerd so it’s a rare week that passes without me needing to book evangelise the most recent treasure I’ve discovered. This book, though… I haven’t had this much fun reading since Dan Hanks’ Swashbucklers.
Both books major in 80’s nostalgia. Swashbucklers was the Ghostbusters/Goonies mashup I didn’t know I needed. The Shadow Glass had me reminiscing about borrowing and reborrowing The Dark Crystal and The NeverEnding Story from my local video store.
There’s no shortage of action in this book and the characters became so real to me it felt like I was fighting alongside them. I don’t know how it’s possible to feel nostalgia for a movie I’ve never seen and doesn’t exist (yet) but here we are. What’s going to stay with me the most, though, is this book’s heart.
I related to Bobson as he navigated his complicated family legacy, while figuring out who he is and what he stands for. I was fangirling alongside Toby as his passion for Iri made him practically glow from within. Occasionally I empathised with Cutter, as his pain distorted something that was once pure.
There’s so much to lub about this book. I lub the erplings. I lub kettu. I lub lubs. I even lub Kunin Yillda.
It’s fairly common for me to finish a book and immediately want to see the movie adaptation of it, whether it currently exists or not. I need a movie of this book but I also need Bob Corman’s original 1986 movie in my life.
‘It’s real and scary and it’s not safe.’Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to fall in lub with Iri.
Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
January 8, 2023
Recommend for fans of cult classic bad horror movies who prize fast-paced action and wtfuckery at its finest.
➸ Trigger warnings for .
▷ Representation: side m/m couple.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
➸ Trigger warnings for .
▷ Representation: side m/m couple.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
April 18, 2022
The Shadow Glass is a love letter to kitschy fantasy movies from the 80s. If you’re a lover of movies like Willow, The Never-Ending Story, Labyrinth, and especially The Dark Crystal, then you need to get your hands on this book. Its pages are populated with puppets come to life, a quest to save a dying fantasy realm, and a ton of pop culture references. While I loved the idea behind it, the actual execution of this story left me a bit unsatisfied, but it’s a book that I think is going to make a lot of my fellow nerdy 80s babies extremely happy.
If I were to describe The Shadow Glass in a word, it would be: zany. This felt wacky and madcap, but with a tinge of darkness. The story was almost manic in its wildness and pacing, to the point of near unbelievability even as a fantasy novel. But that was paired with a melancholy that bordered on depressive, and I found that a very odd dichotomy.
The author had interesting things to say about nerd culture, especially those who view themselves as “gate keepers” of the things they treasure, resenting even the very creators of the story or world they love should said creator decide to expand it. Which is completely their right, by the way. There is no wrong way to love the stories that speak to you, unless it involves tearing down that love in other fans. But the flip side was addressed, as well; very little is as powerful as a group of fans who wholeheartedly love something. Finding others who love the same thing you love, just as fervently, can feel like finding your tribe after going it alone. That joy and camaraderie were well presented in this novel.
I really wanted to love The Shadow Glass, but I couldn’t quite make that happen. The cause was two-fold. First, there were multiple points in the narrative where there was simply too much going on, and so much of it was over the top that I became desensitized to even the things that should’ve broken my heart or had me cheering. My other issue was with the characterization, or lack thereof. There was not much to be found in terms of character development, even though Jack was a much different person by the end of the book. He even paid for that transformation, but it still felt somehow disingenuous. And speaking of Jack, I never found him likable, even when he found his inner hero. I found him grating, and I thought the same about Zavanna. Most of the characters grated on me, actually, unless they had golden retriever energy like Toby and Brol.
While I didn’t love The Shadow Glass, I loved the idea and the heart behind it. It’s a story that I have no doubt will charm other fantasy fans, especially those who loved (and still love) Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal and the like. It encourages readers to never stop loving what you love, and to never stop believing in the magic of stories. I would love to see The Shadow Glass come to the screen, and to see how it would measure up to the movies it honors in its pages. I have no doubt that it would be just as loved as the stories that inspired it.
You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.
If I were to describe The Shadow Glass in a word, it would be: zany. This felt wacky and madcap, but with a tinge of darkness. The story was almost manic in its wildness and pacing, to the point of near unbelievability even as a fantasy novel. But that was paired with a melancholy that bordered on depressive, and I found that a very odd dichotomy.
The author had interesting things to say about nerd culture, especially those who view themselves as “gate keepers” of the things they treasure, resenting even the very creators of the story or world they love should said creator decide to expand it. Which is completely their right, by the way. There is no wrong way to love the stories that speak to you, unless it involves tearing down that love in other fans. But the flip side was addressed, as well; very little is as powerful as a group of fans who wholeheartedly love something. Finding others who love the same thing you love, just as fervently, can feel like finding your tribe after going it alone. That joy and camaraderie were well presented in this novel.
I really wanted to love The Shadow Glass, but I couldn’t quite make that happen. The cause was two-fold. First, there were multiple points in the narrative where there was simply too much going on, and so much of it was over the top that I became desensitized to even the things that should’ve broken my heart or had me cheering. My other issue was with the characterization, or lack thereof. There was not much to be found in terms of character development, even though Jack was a much different person by the end of the book. He even paid for that transformation, but it still felt somehow disingenuous. And speaking of Jack, I never found him likable, even when he found his inner hero. I found him grating, and I thought the same about Zavanna. Most of the characters grated on me, actually, unless they had golden retriever energy like Toby and Brol.
While I didn’t love The Shadow Glass, I loved the idea and the heart behind it. It’s a story that I have no doubt will charm other fantasy fans, especially those who loved (and still love) Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal and the like. It encourages readers to never stop loving what you love, and to never stop believing in the magic of stories. I would love to see The Shadow Glass come to the screen, and to see how it would measure up to the movies it honors in its pages. I have no doubt that it would be just as loved as the stories that inspired it.
You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.
May 13, 2022
The Shadow Glass will probably be someones favorite book this year. Its charming, well written, and really, everything that Ready Player One wanted to be. My 3 stars reflects my own enjoyment of it, but I want to be clear, this will be someone's 5 star read.
Overview
🤟 Epic adventure story
🤟 80s throwback
👍 Big damn hero quest
👍 Fiction coming to life
👍 No romance
The Shadow Glass tells the story of Jack, son of a "Jim Henson" celebrity who was famous for his epic puppet storytelling. The Shadow Glass was his father's legacy, a cult classic family film akin to The Dark Crystal/Neverending Story. His father is dead, and as he mourns, he finds some of his father's creations are coming to life. The next thing he knows he is set on a quest to save the world his father has created, and maybe even his own.
I was honestly picking this up expecting it to either be more horror or psychological based, since the back cover does focus pretty heavily on the mental space of Jack's character. This is in fact, a straightforward adventure fantasy, filled with magic, mystery, and friendship.
My biggest issue with it was that it didn't dig as deep as I wanted. Not a lot of heavy character exploration as much as action and a race against the clock was focused on. I struggled with the lack of perceived stakes and slightly underdeveloped characters, but I found the actual scenes on page always fun, inviting, and charming. The Shadow Glass is perfectly fashioned off of the 80s films that it loves, so going into it, expect that. This will make a fantastic movie if someone ever decided to pick it up.
I think I struggled with the back half of this book because I went in with the wrong expectations. I saw Goodreads note it as LGBT and got excited, but this actually refers to a side character who is casually noted as gay. Additionally, epic/adventure fantasy is NOT my genre (I am a politics/horror/ Grimdark person) but while I am the wrong audience for this, I really think theres so much potential. The book is a super easy read (think John Scalzi prose) that will certainly delight folks who wanted more from Ready Player One or enjoyed My Best Friends Exorcism.
Positives are that it's EXTREMELY imaginative and manages to write a cool, fun 80s inspired fantasy world nestled into a real world setting. It uses multi media between chapters to flesh out the production experience of said world, and tell the stories of how fans reacted to it. The "Puppet" characters are pretty cool and the scenes gracefully transition and take you through a cinematic experience as they hunt down the artifact known as the shadow glass to save the world.
The Shadow Glass is also extremely affectionate and loving in its portrayal of fan culture...its clearly written by someone who had a good experience in fandom, and is one of the more loving fictional depictions of what it means to be a fan AND creator.
So I didn't really love this in the end, but if you see anything that jumps out to you in my review, please give it a shot. It's a cool little book doing something different.
Overview
🤟 Epic adventure story
🤟 80s throwback
👍 Big damn hero quest
👍 Fiction coming to life
👍 No romance
The Shadow Glass tells the story of Jack, son of a "Jim Henson" celebrity who was famous for his epic puppet storytelling. The Shadow Glass was his father's legacy, a cult classic family film akin to The Dark Crystal/Neverending Story. His father is dead, and as he mourns, he finds some of his father's creations are coming to life. The next thing he knows he is set on a quest to save the world his father has created, and maybe even his own.
I was honestly picking this up expecting it to either be more horror or psychological based, since the back cover does focus pretty heavily on the mental space of Jack's character. This is in fact, a straightforward adventure fantasy, filled with magic, mystery, and friendship.
My biggest issue with it was that it didn't dig as deep as I wanted. Not a lot of heavy character exploration as much as action and a race against the clock was focused on. I struggled with the lack of perceived stakes and slightly underdeveloped characters, but I found the actual scenes on page always fun, inviting, and charming. The Shadow Glass is perfectly fashioned off of the 80s films that it loves, so going into it, expect that. This will make a fantastic movie if someone ever decided to pick it up.
I think I struggled with the back half of this book because I went in with the wrong expectations. I saw Goodreads note it as LGBT and got excited, but this actually refers to a side character who is casually noted as gay. Additionally, epic/adventure fantasy is NOT my genre (I am a politics/horror/ Grimdark person) but while I am the wrong audience for this, I really think theres so much potential. The book is a super easy read (think John Scalzi prose) that will certainly delight folks who wanted more from Ready Player One or enjoyed My Best Friends Exorcism.
Positives are that it's EXTREMELY imaginative and manages to write a cool, fun 80s inspired fantasy world nestled into a real world setting. It uses multi media between chapters to flesh out the production experience of said world, and tell the stories of how fans reacted to it. The "Puppet" characters are pretty cool and the scenes gracefully transition and take you through a cinematic experience as they hunt down the artifact known as the shadow glass to save the world.
The Shadow Glass is also extremely affectionate and loving in its portrayal of fan culture...its clearly written by someone who had a good experience in fandom, and is one of the more loving fictional depictions of what it means to be a fan AND creator.
So I didn't really love this in the end, but if you see anything that jumps out to you in my review, please give it a shot. It's a cool little book doing something different.
August 13, 2022
Format: audiobook
Author: Josh Winning ~ Title: The Shadow Glass ~ Narrator: Colin Mace
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
The Shadow Glass is a fantasy puppet movie from 1986, written by Bob Corman. It wasn’t a huge success back then. But it still has some fans today. When Bob’s son Jack was a child, he loved the story of The Shadow Glass. But now, years after the movie, after his father’s death, he is bitter and resents his father his over obsession with the world of Iri. But he is about to get on an unusual journey and will see things from a different perspective.
This audiobook was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this 80s nostalgia dark fantasy novel. I would recommend it to all who like Labyrinth, Neverending Story, and similar 80s fantasy novels or movies.
The narrator, Colin Mace, was very good. Just the right voice for this kind of story. I enjoyed his narration.
Thanks to Recorded Books for the ALC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
Author: Josh Winning ~ Title: The Shadow Glass ~ Narrator: Colin Mace
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
The Shadow Glass is a fantasy puppet movie from 1986, written by Bob Corman. It wasn’t a huge success back then. But it still has some fans today. When Bob’s son Jack was a child, he loved the story of The Shadow Glass. But now, years after the movie, after his father’s death, he is bitter and resents his father his over obsession with the world of Iri. But he is about to get on an unusual journey and will see things from a different perspective.
This audiobook was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this 80s nostalgia dark fantasy novel. I would recommend it to all who like Labyrinth, Neverending Story, and similar 80s fantasy novels or movies.
The narrator, Colin Mace, was very good. Just the right voice for this kind of story. I enjoyed his narration.
Thanks to Recorded Books for the ALC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
April 15, 2024
A hugely enjoyable slice of nostalgia. Gripping, funny, moving…everything you want in a novel.
Read
April 8, 2022Dnf 43% I feel like this is going no where which is very disappointing
September 29, 2022
Un homenaje genial a las pelis de fantasía de los 80 como Cristal oscuro, Dentro del laberinto o La historia interminable. Esta novela rinde tributo claramente a Jim Henson y su imaginación que encandilo a muchos niños de esa generación entre los que me incluyo.
La trama gira en torno a Jack Corman, el hijo de un director de cine de culto ya fallecido, creador de la película "El cristal de la sombra". Jack esta desocupado y triste y no recuerda a su padre tan positivamente como el resto de la gente lo hace. Todo empezará a cambiar cuando Zavana y Brol, dos ketus( una raza de zorros de forma humanoide) aparezcan por un portal y le pidana yuda para salvar a Iri, el mundo que creo su padre para la película.
Jack alucinará al ver a estos personajes y otros de carácter malvado aparecer por Londres para librar la batalla definitiva por la suerte de su planeta. A destacar villanos como Nebfet, la bruja y Kunin Yillda, la maléfica y podrida reina de los Skallion, una especie de ejercito de cucarachas gigantes.
Toda la novela es un homenaje a "El cristal oscuro", desde el título hasta los personajes pero los sitúa en nuestra tierra y añade toques gore . Recomendable para cualquier seguidor del cine de los 80 y Jim Henson.
La trama gira en torno a Jack Corman, el hijo de un director de cine de culto ya fallecido, creador de la película "El cristal de la sombra". Jack esta desocupado y triste y no recuerda a su padre tan positivamente como el resto de la gente lo hace. Todo empezará a cambiar cuando Zavana y Brol, dos ketus( una raza de zorros de forma humanoide) aparezcan por un portal y le pidana yuda para salvar a Iri, el mundo que creo su padre para la película.
Jack alucinará al ver a estos personajes y otros de carácter malvado aparecer por Londres para librar la batalla definitiva por la suerte de su planeta. A destacar villanos como Nebfet, la bruja y Kunin Yillda, la maléfica y podrida reina de los Skallion, una especie de ejercito de cucarachas gigantes.
Toda la novela es un homenaje a "El cristal oscuro", desde el título hasta los personajes pero los sitúa en nuestra tierra y añade toques gore . Recomendable para cualquier seguidor del cine de los 80 y Jim Henson.
January 30, 2023
3 2/3 stars. This is a love letter to Jim Henson and fan culture as a whole. This was a mostly fun foray into fantasy but there were occasional gruesome scenes sprinkled here and there. A good start for my 2023 book journey.
February 3, 2025
Rated 4.5 really.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Fresh spin on the portal fantasy trope/puppet fantasy genre with grown-up protagonists. Stuffed (pun intended) with action and heart. Reads like an impassioned love letter to '80s cinema (and fandom of any kind), but will resonate with anyone regardless of age.
Cons: Some of the side characters could have used more development/agency.
WARNING! Blood and gore. A handful of scenes are particularly gruesome.
Will appeal to: Lovers of '80 cinema (especially if it involves puppets). People who have never seen an '80 movie, but can get behind the idea of love moving mountains - or better, conjuring up worlds.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I beta-read this book. Also, Titan Books provided me with an evaluation ecopy via NetGalley (thank you!). Neither facts influenced my review in any way.
NEVER TOO LATE
The Shadow Glass reads like a love letter to movies like Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story (not to mention The Dark Crystal, to which its title pays homage - like that movie, the book centers around a quest for the pieces of the titular object), with a notable difference: its main character isn't a teen adventurer, but an embittered loser in his late thirties with (legitimate) daddy issues, who's grown to hate the fantasy world his father Bob created, the same world he idolised and whose magic he used to strongly believe in as a child. Fear not, though, because this story isn't a self-pity party - it is, for all purposes, a sometimes epic, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny coming-of-age tale with an adult at its center (which is the freshest thing about it), one who has to rediscover the power of magic and the hero within, while learning to process his anger and grief and, ultimately, to understand and forgive (plus to forge unexpected relationships, both with humans and puppets become alive 😂). [...]
Whole review here.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Fresh spin on the portal fantasy trope/puppet fantasy genre with grown-up protagonists. Stuffed (pun intended) with action and heart. Reads like an impassioned love letter to '80s cinema (and fandom of any kind), but will resonate with anyone regardless of age.
Cons: Some of the side characters could have used more development/agency.
WARNING! Blood and gore. A handful of scenes are particularly gruesome.
Will appeal to: Lovers of '80 cinema (especially if it involves puppets). People who have never seen an '80 movie, but can get behind the idea of love moving mountains - or better, conjuring up worlds.
First off...DISCLAIMER: I beta-read this book. Also, Titan Books provided me with an evaluation ecopy via NetGalley (thank you!). Neither facts influenced my review in any way.
NEVER TOO LATE
The Shadow Glass reads like a love letter to movies like Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story (not to mention The Dark Crystal, to which its title pays homage - like that movie, the book centers around a quest for the pieces of the titular object), with a notable difference: its main character isn't a teen adventurer, but an embittered loser in his late thirties with (legitimate) daddy issues, who's grown to hate the fantasy world his father Bob created, the same world he idolised and whose magic he used to strongly believe in as a child. Fear not, though, because this story isn't a self-pity party - it is, for all purposes, a sometimes epic, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny coming-of-age tale with an adult at its center (which is the freshest thing about it), one who has to rediscover the power of magic and the hero within, while learning to process his anger and grief and, ultimately, to understand and forgive (plus to forge unexpected relationships, both with humans and puppets become alive 😂). [...]
Whole review here.
December 31, 2021
Got the chance to beta read this and I’m so excited to see the final published version - eeeeeeeeee!
March 4, 2022
I loved it. Review to come
March 21, 2022
The nitty-gritty: An ode to fandoms and the nostalgia of 1980s fantasy films, The Shadow Glass drips with magic, humor, perfect pacing and thrilling adventure.
What happens when fiction and reality collide? Josh Winning’s response to that question is his addictive fantasy The Shadow Glass, a loving homage to the 80s and 90s that harkens back to cult 1980s films like The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth. I picked up this book primarily because of the cover—I mean, come on, how can you resist the fox figure and those bright colors? Even the title font is a nod to the design of The Dark Crystal’s title. I expected a quest story full of magic, and that’s exactly what I got, but The Shadow Glass is so much more. Winning has tapped into some of my long buried childhood memories and emotions, and the results were magical.
The story revolves around thirty-something Jack Corman, son of the infamous Bob Corman, the man behind the beloved puppet fantasy, The Shadow Glass, a movie that flopped when it was released in 1986 but now has a dedicated fan base. All Jack remembers about his father are the bad things: his declining mental health, his addiction to alcohol, and his embarrassing public displays. As a child, Jack loved The Shadow Glass and the puppets from the movie, but time has taken those good memories away, and now Jack hates his father and everything to do with the movie.
But when Bob dies and Jack inherits his childhood home Kettu House (named after the fox-like creatures in the movie called kettu), he comes face to face with his past. Sitting in a glass cabinet in a place of honor in the attic is Dune, the original movie puppet and the one character from the movie that Jack loved the most as a child. Instead of evoking fond memories, though, the sight of Dune brings back all of the anger that Jack has for his father, and he decides to sell the kettu puppet for the hefty price of $50,000.00.
At the same time, Jack’s estranged cousin Amelia comes to the house, telling Jack about her plans to produce a sequel to The Shadow Glass, and she wants Jack to write the script. Amelia, you see, inherited Bob Co., Bob Corman’s film company, and she believes in Bob’s vision and is eager to give the movie’s legions of fans the sequel they’ve been clamoring for. But Amelia has a problem. The original prop of the Shadow Glass—a magical mirror that plays a pivotal role in the film—has gone missing. Jack wants nothing to do with the new movie or the missing prop, but everything changes when he goes to investigate a strange sound coming from the attic. When a weird flash of lightning seems to strike nearby, Jack is stunned when The Shadow Glass puppets in the attic suddenly come to life. Two kettu named Brol and Zavanna tell Jack that Iri, the magical realm where The Shadow Glass takes place, is dying, and the only way to save it is to find and reassemble the scattered shards of the Shadow Glass.
But the clock is ticking, and they only have a short time to complete their quest. With the help of Zavanna and Brol, as well as a super-fan named Toby and his friends, Jack reluctantly joins the hunt for the missing prop. But someone else is after the Shadow Glass as well, someone who wants to shut down Amelia’s sequel for good.
The Shadow Glass was such an exciting, feel-good story, and I loved every minute of it. Winning does a great job of combining fantasy and the real world into something unique. At the same time he evokes the optimism of retro 80s fantasy films with his lovable puppets Zavanna and Brol, fierce fighters who will do anything to save their beloved Iri. It was fun to watch Jack go through a range of emotions when confronted with the impossible. At first, he thinks he’s dreaming. After all, kettu and Iri aren’t real! But little by little, events from the past start to add up. Was there some truth to Bob’s mad ramblings about Iri and Dune, and could that explain why his father seemed so crazy? Jack doesn’t know why this is happening, but he can’t deny what’s right in front of him: his father’s creations have come to life and they’re becoming more and more real with each passing moment.
This truly is a love letter to fantasy fans everywhere. I would bet than anyone who reads, watches or plays games in the genres of fantasy and science fiction is a fan of some sort, and if so you’ll probably recognize yourself in Toby and his Guild friends. I absolutely loved Toby’s character. He’s a teenage boy obsessed with The Shadow Glass franchise, and he wants nothing more than to see a sequel. When he first comes face to face with Bob’s puppets come to life, he isn’t fazed in the least. After all, his love of The Shadow Glass is so fierce, how could it not be real? He and fellow fans Sumi, Anya, Nell and Huw can’t believe their luck, not only in meeting the son of Bob Corman, but going on a quest with him to save their favorite fantasy world. Their enthusiasm and delight were infectious, and the story wouldn’t have been the same without them.
But my very favorite parts of the book were Winning’s themes of childhood memories and the power and magic of belief. At one time in his life, Jack believed in Iri and its inhabitants. He even wrote fan fiction after the film came out, imagining “what happened next” in his father’s intricate fantasy world. What if Iri really does exist because of that belief? It’s a fascinating concept, and it brought back memories of my own childhood love of magical worlds and the absolute certainty I had that magic was real. I loved seeing Jack go from a skeptical adult to a man who realizes there’s still an important piece of his childhood buried inside him.
As for action, there are plenty of thrilling fight scenes between the bad guys—the deadly skalions and their evil queen Kunin Yillda—and Jack and his friends who are trying to locate the missing Shadow Glass shards and save the world. The evil characters were a bit two dimensional and overdone, but I fell in love with everyone else, from the smallest puppet, a cat-like ball of fluff called a lub, to loyal and fierce Zavanna, Toby and his friends, Amelia and Jack (whose tense relationship has time to heal during the story) and even Bob, who isn’t in the story but whose presence infuses everything. There’s a very cool twist later on involving Dune and Jack, and I loved the emotional scenes where Jack comes to terms with his father and their fraught relationship.
I can’t end this review without mentioning Josh Winning’s writing, which is so good. His dialog is pitch perfect and hysterically funny at times, and appropriately enough, the entire story has a colorful, cinematic feel to it. Each chapter is interspersed with interesting excerpts from The Shadow Glass screenplay, interviews with Bob Corman, fan website blog posts and movie reviews and the like, and all these bits added a wonderful layer to the story. Winning ends his tale on an upbeat, emotional note that seriously gave me all the feels and left me wishing I could visit Iri myself. Highly recommended!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
What happens when fiction and reality collide? Josh Winning’s response to that question is his addictive fantasy The Shadow Glass, a loving homage to the 80s and 90s that harkens back to cult 1980s films like The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth. I picked up this book primarily because of the cover—I mean, come on, how can you resist the fox figure and those bright colors? Even the title font is a nod to the design of The Dark Crystal’s title. I expected a quest story full of magic, and that’s exactly what I got, but The Shadow Glass is so much more. Winning has tapped into some of my long buried childhood memories and emotions, and the results were magical.
The story revolves around thirty-something Jack Corman, son of the infamous Bob Corman, the man behind the beloved puppet fantasy, The Shadow Glass, a movie that flopped when it was released in 1986 but now has a dedicated fan base. All Jack remembers about his father are the bad things: his declining mental health, his addiction to alcohol, and his embarrassing public displays. As a child, Jack loved The Shadow Glass and the puppets from the movie, but time has taken those good memories away, and now Jack hates his father and everything to do with the movie.
But when Bob dies and Jack inherits his childhood home Kettu House (named after the fox-like creatures in the movie called kettu), he comes face to face with his past. Sitting in a glass cabinet in a place of honor in the attic is Dune, the original movie puppet and the one character from the movie that Jack loved the most as a child. Instead of evoking fond memories, though, the sight of Dune brings back all of the anger that Jack has for his father, and he decides to sell the kettu puppet for the hefty price of $50,000.00.
At the same time, Jack’s estranged cousin Amelia comes to the house, telling Jack about her plans to produce a sequel to The Shadow Glass, and she wants Jack to write the script. Amelia, you see, inherited Bob Co., Bob Corman’s film company, and she believes in Bob’s vision and is eager to give the movie’s legions of fans the sequel they’ve been clamoring for. But Amelia has a problem. The original prop of the Shadow Glass—a magical mirror that plays a pivotal role in the film—has gone missing. Jack wants nothing to do with the new movie or the missing prop, but everything changes when he goes to investigate a strange sound coming from the attic. When a weird flash of lightning seems to strike nearby, Jack is stunned when The Shadow Glass puppets in the attic suddenly come to life. Two kettu named Brol and Zavanna tell Jack that Iri, the magical realm where The Shadow Glass takes place, is dying, and the only way to save it is to find and reassemble the scattered shards of the Shadow Glass.
But the clock is ticking, and they only have a short time to complete their quest. With the help of Zavanna and Brol, as well as a super-fan named Toby and his friends, Jack reluctantly joins the hunt for the missing prop. But someone else is after the Shadow Glass as well, someone who wants to shut down Amelia’s sequel for good.
The Shadow Glass was such an exciting, feel-good story, and I loved every minute of it. Winning does a great job of combining fantasy and the real world into something unique. At the same time he evokes the optimism of retro 80s fantasy films with his lovable puppets Zavanna and Brol, fierce fighters who will do anything to save their beloved Iri. It was fun to watch Jack go through a range of emotions when confronted with the impossible. At first, he thinks he’s dreaming. After all, kettu and Iri aren’t real! But little by little, events from the past start to add up. Was there some truth to Bob’s mad ramblings about Iri and Dune, and could that explain why his father seemed so crazy? Jack doesn’t know why this is happening, but he can’t deny what’s right in front of him: his father’s creations have come to life and they’re becoming more and more real with each passing moment.
This truly is a love letter to fantasy fans everywhere. I would bet than anyone who reads, watches or plays games in the genres of fantasy and science fiction is a fan of some sort, and if so you’ll probably recognize yourself in Toby and his Guild friends. I absolutely loved Toby’s character. He’s a teenage boy obsessed with The Shadow Glass franchise, and he wants nothing more than to see a sequel. When he first comes face to face with Bob’s puppets come to life, he isn’t fazed in the least. After all, his love of The Shadow Glass is so fierce, how could it not be real? He and fellow fans Sumi, Anya, Nell and Huw can’t believe their luck, not only in meeting the son of Bob Corman, but going on a quest with him to save their favorite fantasy world. Their enthusiasm and delight were infectious, and the story wouldn’t have been the same without them.
But my very favorite parts of the book were Winning’s themes of childhood memories and the power and magic of belief. At one time in his life, Jack believed in Iri and its inhabitants. He even wrote fan fiction after the film came out, imagining “what happened next” in his father’s intricate fantasy world. What if Iri really does exist because of that belief? It’s a fascinating concept, and it brought back memories of my own childhood love of magical worlds and the absolute certainty I had that magic was real. I loved seeing Jack go from a skeptical adult to a man who realizes there’s still an important piece of his childhood buried inside him.
As for action, there are plenty of thrilling fight scenes between the bad guys—the deadly skalions and their evil queen Kunin Yillda—and Jack and his friends who are trying to locate the missing Shadow Glass shards and save the world. The evil characters were a bit two dimensional and overdone, but I fell in love with everyone else, from the smallest puppet, a cat-like ball of fluff called a lub, to loyal and fierce Zavanna, Toby and his friends, Amelia and Jack (whose tense relationship has time to heal during the story) and even Bob, who isn’t in the story but whose presence infuses everything. There’s a very cool twist later on involving Dune and Jack, and I loved the emotional scenes where Jack comes to terms with his father and their fraught relationship.
I can’t end this review without mentioning Josh Winning’s writing, which is so good. His dialog is pitch perfect and hysterically funny at times, and appropriately enough, the entire story has a colorful, cinematic feel to it. Each chapter is interspersed with interesting excerpts from The Shadow Glass screenplay, interviews with Bob Corman, fan website blog posts and movie reviews and the like, and all these bits added a wonderful layer to the story. Winning ends his tale on an upbeat, emotional note that seriously gave me all the feels and left me wishing I could visit Iri myself. Highly recommended!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
December 6, 2024
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For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
————————————————————————————————
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.25/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync
The Shadow Glass is unique and very different from anything else I’ve read, it’s a bit dark but exciting and very 80’s nostalgic. When I saw that this was described as a love letter to 80’s fantasy films such as The Labyrinth and The Never Ending Story, I was all in on this story. Growing up during that era myself, seeing stories like those being inspiration for something, wasn’t something I ever expected to see. While Ernest Cline has focused on the 80’s himself, with Ready Player One, he was more on the video/arcade game part of the 80’s. So I loved that Winning decided to write a story that used more nostalgia from my childhood to tell something fun and different. It made me go back and watch all of those movies that got named dropped in the novel, and showed just how much I missed being a kid.
With so many name drops of classic 80’s movies, I know the author was a huge fan of that time. The comparison I came up with while reading this was that it was more of a Labyrinth meets Gremlins, and I’ll explain. Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Never Ending Story and most 80’s fantasy films are stories that transport the reader to a different world, while The Shadow Glass does the opposite, and transports the fantastical elements, to the real world. Movies like Gremlins, Critters and even The Puppet Master are better examples of this, and even fits a little more with the seriousness of the bad puppets.
“What is a hero but a normal person overcoming their own failings to defeat the demons of their soul?”
With a story that is about a race against time to save the world of Iri from destruction, I thought this was very entertaining, it was serious and heart-rending when it needed to be, but it made me giggle on several occasions with how the characters reacted with one another, especially people seeing the puppets alive. I liked Jack’s character, at first he’s not a very good person and you just really dislike him, but this story is ultimately about his redemption, and Winning does a fantastic job of surrounding him with a great support cast like Amelia, Toby, Zavanna and Brol, that makes it worth the time to see how he redeems himself to being a likable person.
If there was one issue I had, it was with the narration, a good narrator can make a good story better, and a bad one can make a good story, worse. I like Colin Mace, I really do, he’s a good reader of words, it’s crisp and clear, but his voice lacks personality because he has a very monotonous voice. This is no disrespect, but I like my narrators to be involved with the story itself, and Mace just doesn’t really do that, he reads what’s there and that’s it. It reminds me more of a narration from a docuseries, where the narrator is not supposed to show emotion or personality. Every once in a while, you get a glimpse of something good, but that’s only if the author has something in bold or it’s something in all caps. Anyone that decides to read this, I suggest doing it without audio, it’ll make for a better experience.
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For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
————————————————————————————————
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.25/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync
The Shadow Glass is unique and very different from anything else I’ve read, it’s a bit dark but exciting and very 80’s nostalgic. When I saw that this was described as a love letter to 80’s fantasy films such as The Labyrinth and The Never Ending Story, I was all in on this story. Growing up during that era myself, seeing stories like those being inspiration for something, wasn’t something I ever expected to see. While Ernest Cline has focused on the 80’s himself, with Ready Player One, he was more on the video/arcade game part of the 80’s. So I loved that Winning decided to write a story that used more nostalgia from my childhood to tell something fun and different. It made me go back and watch all of those movies that got named dropped in the novel, and showed just how much I missed being a kid.
With so many name drops of classic 80’s movies, I know the author was a huge fan of that time. The comparison I came up with while reading this was that it was more of a Labyrinth meets Gremlins, and I’ll explain. Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Never Ending Story and most 80’s fantasy films are stories that transport the reader to a different world, while The Shadow Glass does the opposite, and transports the fantastical elements, to the real world. Movies like Gremlins, Critters and even The Puppet Master are better examples of this, and even fits a little more with the seriousness of the bad puppets.
“What is a hero but a normal person overcoming their own failings to defeat the demons of their soul?”
With a story that is about a race against time to save the world of Iri from destruction, I thought this was very entertaining, it was serious and heart-rending when it needed to be, but it made me giggle on several occasions with how the characters reacted with one another, especially people seeing the puppets alive. I liked Jack’s character, at first he’s not a very good person and you just really dislike him, but this story is ultimately about his redemption, and Winning does a fantastic job of surrounding him with a great support cast like Amelia, Toby, Zavanna and Brol, that makes it worth the time to see how he redeems himself to being a likable person.
If there was one issue I had, it was with the narration, a good narrator can make a good story better, and a bad one can make a good story, worse. I like Colin Mace, I really do, he’s a good reader of words, it’s crisp and clear, but his voice lacks personality because he has a very monotonous voice. This is no disrespect, but I like my narrators to be involved with the story itself, and Mace just doesn’t really do that, he reads what’s there and that’s it. It reminds me more of a narration from a docuseries, where the narrator is not supposed to show emotion or personality. Every once in a while, you get a glimpse of something good, but that’s only if the author has something in bold or it’s something in all caps. Anyone that decides to read this, I suggest doing it without audio, it’ll make for a better experience.
September 16, 2022
come for the living puppets trying to save the world, stay to deal with your childhood trauma
March 10, 2022
If you ever wished for the goblins to take you away "right now..."
If you know that some critters should never be fed after midnight...
If you are forever haunted by the image of a white horse sinking lower into the mud...
Then do I have the perfect book for you!
The Shadow Glass tells the story of Jack Corman who gets pulled back into his father's creative world after Bob Corman's death. Bob's movie The Shadow Glass was one of the great creative forces of the 80s and established a flourishing fan culture--but it was also a box office flop. Bob's erratic behavior over the years led to the fracturing of the relationship with his son, which was also naturally strained by the pressures of the family being involved with beloved cultural work.
Jack returns home expecting to collect an inheritance of some fairly valuable movie props and perhaps relive some bad memories of an alcoholic father who was trapped by his own mythology. Instead, he is dropped face first into a rising battle of good and evil, courtesy of armies of puppets who have come to life. Jack is soon racing to save the world his father created and his new found friends (both magical, heroic puppets and diehard fans of The Shadow Glass).
This is a grandly cinematic novel, not only in that it echoes some of the most beloved fantasy films of the 80s in theme and tone, but also in its sweeping action and brisk pace which never allows the more serious elements to bog down the momentum. This book manages to reflect meaningfully on family responsibilities, forgiveness, and the nature of toxic fandom while never losing sight of the bloody puppet battles and magical quests that likely drew the reader to pick up the book in the first place! There were several points in the book where I was honestly shouting, "YES!" at some perfect reveal or just some outrageously magnificent scene. While several images and interactions in the story harken back to famous movies, it also managed to make me ache for this movie. Like everyone who ever hunted for the book Sarah reads at the beginning of Labyrinth, this tale makes me dearly want to see these characters on screen and gasp in delight as Zavanna, Brol and the lub all come to life.
It is a story about the power of story, and the power of people who all love a tale so much that it becomes a part of the narration of their own life. I know that this book will resonate with anyone who has ever spent time in a fandom, who has argued over the finer points of lightsaber lore or felt a lingering attachment to their Hogwarts House. It captures the sense of belonging that can come from loving the same tale that other people love and the creativity that can come from a desire to bring more of that story into the world through fanfiction, critical analysis, and cosplay. But the book also explores some of the negative parts of fandom. How do we cope with being disappointed by a creator? How do we deal with fans who have diametrically opposed views of the meaning and value of a story that resonates so much to us that it has become part of our own identity? The Shadow Glass highlights the fact that the true power of a story should be used to connect people and bring them joy. And in doing so I think that this novel will indeed do just that--remind readers of the joy they have found in movies they loved long ago and hopefully bring together fans of Jack, Zavanna, Brol, and Toby as they explore the magical world of Iri.
Thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
If you know that some critters should never be fed after midnight...
If you are forever haunted by the image of a white horse sinking lower into the mud...
Then do I have the perfect book for you!
The Shadow Glass tells the story of Jack Corman who gets pulled back into his father's creative world after Bob Corman's death. Bob's movie The Shadow Glass was one of the great creative forces of the 80s and established a flourishing fan culture--but it was also a box office flop. Bob's erratic behavior over the years led to the fracturing of the relationship with his son, which was also naturally strained by the pressures of the family being involved with beloved cultural work.
Jack returns home expecting to collect an inheritance of some fairly valuable movie props and perhaps relive some bad memories of an alcoholic father who was trapped by his own mythology. Instead, he is dropped face first into a rising battle of good and evil, courtesy of armies of puppets who have come to life. Jack is soon racing to save the world his father created and his new found friends (both magical, heroic puppets and diehard fans of The Shadow Glass).
This is a grandly cinematic novel, not only in that it echoes some of the most beloved fantasy films of the 80s in theme and tone, but also in its sweeping action and brisk pace which never allows the more serious elements to bog down the momentum. This book manages to reflect meaningfully on family responsibilities, forgiveness, and the nature of toxic fandom while never losing sight of the bloody puppet battles and magical quests that likely drew the reader to pick up the book in the first place! There were several points in the book where I was honestly shouting, "YES!" at some perfect reveal or just some outrageously magnificent scene. While several images and interactions in the story harken back to famous movies, it also managed to make me ache for this movie. Like everyone who ever hunted for the book Sarah reads at the beginning of Labyrinth, this tale makes me dearly want to see these characters on screen and gasp in delight as Zavanna, Brol and the lub all come to life.
It is a story about the power of story, and the power of people who all love a tale so much that it becomes a part of the narration of their own life. I know that this book will resonate with anyone who has ever spent time in a fandom, who has argued over the finer points of lightsaber lore or felt a lingering attachment to their Hogwarts House. It captures the sense of belonging that can come from loving the same tale that other people love and the creativity that can come from a desire to bring more of that story into the world through fanfiction, critical analysis, and cosplay. But the book also explores some of the negative parts of fandom. How do we cope with being disappointed by a creator? How do we deal with fans who have diametrically opposed views of the meaning and value of a story that resonates so much to us that it has become part of our own identity? The Shadow Glass highlights the fact that the true power of a story should be used to connect people and bring them joy. And in doing so I think that this novel will indeed do just that--remind readers of the joy they have found in movies they loved long ago and hopefully bring together fans of Jack, Zavanna, Brol, and Toby as they explore the magical world of Iri.
Thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
December 8, 2024
Even better than I thought it was gonna be!
Reading this as an adult felt like what watching The Dark Crystal as a kid did: A little weird, kinda scary, but I couldn't look away.
I regret looking up whether a The Dark Crystal Con is a thing, because it is! Next February in London. The flesh is willing but the wallet is weak. I'm gonna need a miracle straight out of a Jim Henson movie.
Reading this as an adult felt like what watching The Dark Crystal as a kid did: A little weird, kinda scary, but I couldn't look away.
I regret looking up whether a The Dark Crystal Con is a thing, because it is! Next February in London. The flesh is willing but the wallet is weak. I'm gonna need a miracle straight out of a Jim Henson movie.
January 31, 2022
*sticks on Labyrinth soundtrack, ties hair back in scrunchie, dons day-glo leg-warmers*
Okay, Josh Winning's debut fantasy adventure/horror novel The Shadow Glass isn't actually set in the 80s, but that's where still where reader will find themselves transported to, in this face-paced nostalgic love-letter to dark puppet-packed fantasy movies, the power of imagination and the magic of (inner)childhood,
The Shadow Glass follows Jack Corman, estranged son a legendary puppet-fantasy filmmaker Bob Corman - whose most controversial movie, a Dark Crystal style-adventure called The Shadow Glass, thrilled & traumatised 80s kids in equal measure - and was ultimately responsible for the destruction of Jack's relationship with his once-beloved Dad.
Jack returns home for his father's funeral, hope to selling off one of The Shadow Glass's most prized puppets in order to pay off his own debts. Instead, he finds himself face-to-face with actual, living puppet characters (both good and cartoonishly, terrifyingly evil) from the Shadow Glass's "fictional" world of Iri. And so, in true 80s movie style, Jack and his ragtag band of misfit allies (including sweet Corman-fanboy, Toby, and two puppet-warriors-come-to life, Savanna & Brol) embark on a real-world quest to find missing magical mcguffins and save both Iri and our world from classically Unspeakable Evil. But of course, the clock is ticking - and not everything is what it seems...
The Shadow Glass is a cinematic, tropetatstic master-class in adventure & nostalgia, drawing on enough of the 80s greatest hits to feel immediately familiar whilst still staying fresh and original enough to avoid falling into "tired & clichéd territory". Josh Winning knows (and loves) his 80s movies, and it shows. The story pays tribute to childhood escapism and imagination- a sort of Toy Story for movie lovers - with fun twists on familiar concepts & character names, a couple of nightmarish plays on what it means to be a puppet and an adorkable band of helpful nerds who wouldn't be out of place hanging out with Justin Long's Brandon in Galaxy Quest (not an 80s movie, I know, but another nostalgic love-letter to fandom nonetheless).
Grown-up 80s kids will love the nostalgia-kick of The Shadow Glass, but those too young to remember the 80s first hand will still adore the quippy characters, loathsome villains and Winning's clever critique of toxic fandom as well as the thrill twists and turns of Jack & Toby's quest - and the tear-jerking payoff!
Obviously, this needs to be a movie. And I need a Zavanna Doll - stat!
Okay, Josh Winning's debut fantasy adventure/horror novel The Shadow Glass isn't actually set in the 80s, but that's where still where reader will find themselves transported to, in this face-paced nostalgic love-letter to dark puppet-packed fantasy movies, the power of imagination and the magic of (inner)childhood,
The Shadow Glass follows Jack Corman, estranged son a legendary puppet-fantasy filmmaker Bob Corman - whose most controversial movie, a Dark Crystal style-adventure called The Shadow Glass, thrilled & traumatised 80s kids in equal measure - and was ultimately responsible for the destruction of Jack's relationship with his once-beloved Dad.
Jack returns home for his father's funeral, hope to selling off one of The Shadow Glass's most prized puppets in order to pay off his own debts. Instead, he finds himself face-to-face with actual, living puppet characters (both good and cartoonishly, terrifyingly evil) from the Shadow Glass's "fictional" world of Iri. And so, in true 80s movie style, Jack and his ragtag band of misfit allies (including sweet Corman-fanboy, Toby, and two puppet-warriors-come-to life, Savanna & Brol) embark on a real-world quest to find missing magical mcguffins and save both Iri and our world from classically Unspeakable Evil. But of course, the clock is ticking - and not everything is what it seems...
The Shadow Glass is a cinematic, tropetatstic master-class in adventure & nostalgia, drawing on enough of the 80s greatest hits to feel immediately familiar whilst still staying fresh and original enough to avoid falling into "tired & clichéd territory". Josh Winning knows (and loves) his 80s movies, and it shows. The story pays tribute to childhood escapism and imagination- a sort of Toy Story for movie lovers - with fun twists on familiar concepts & character names, a couple of nightmarish plays on what it means to be a puppet and an adorkable band of helpful nerds who wouldn't be out of place hanging out with Justin Long's Brandon in Galaxy Quest (not an 80s movie, I know, but another nostalgic love-letter to fandom nonetheless).
Grown-up 80s kids will love the nostalgia-kick of The Shadow Glass, but those too young to remember the 80s first hand will still adore the quippy characters, loathsome villains and Winning's clever critique of toxic fandom as well as the thrill twists and turns of Jack & Toby's quest - and the tear-jerking payoff!
Obviously, this needs to be a movie. And I need a Zavanna Doll - stat!
April 19, 2023
The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning is the perfect combination of wonderful and magical nostalgia of things that I grew up with. In 1986, Bob Corman created the film flop The Shadow Glass - the culmination of Bob’s lifelong dream and passion. It’s failure left Bob a broken father until he became a cult hero amongst the fans. His son Jack feels the betray of this relationship once his father passes. He is failing at life and returns to his childhood home where is confronted with a strange scenario. The puppet heroes from The Shadow Glass are alive and they need Jack’s help. Dragged into a dangerous quest to save the world from his father’s creations, Jack teams up with unlikely heroes to navigate his father’s legacy and confront his own past.
This story was an immediately relatable connection in so many way. Winning has crafted a beautiful narrative that sings with 80s pop culture and made for an excellent Easter egg hunt throughout the novel. Scenes were reminiscent of movies such as The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth and throwbacks to the Jim Henson Company creations. Winning knows the audience he has targeted here and anyone who grow up watching worlds filled with puppets on a perilous adventure will really enjoy this journey. This was the triggering memory of times where we believed in magic, when good always vanquished evil and these worlds felt like home. The characters were valuable and relatable. Jake, a man in his mid thirties, jobless and in debt, is overwhelmed and reluctant to begin with. It isn’t until he meets the rest of the cast that Jack branches out and embraces the fandom his father has created.
Winning hasn’t just written a great fantasy novel, he has created a complex pedestal for family relationships during childhood and how these can be rooted in grief. Bob has left behind information and popular merchandise for not only the in-book nerds to pine over but ourselves. This is an interaction that was perfectly executed. Winning has shown us that things are to be shared and loved by a community. This isn’t just the work of Bob Corman but of his fans and now Winnings fans that are left to interpret this whole story.
The Shadow Glass is a generational piece that held a fondness to the adventure and magic of growing up. This was a reminder of how proud we were to be different in childhood. This is a roaring playlist to 80s fantasy fans who want to be taken back to a time where life was magical.
This story was an immediately relatable connection in so many way. Winning has crafted a beautiful narrative that sings with 80s pop culture and made for an excellent Easter egg hunt throughout the novel. Scenes were reminiscent of movies such as The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth and throwbacks to the Jim Henson Company creations. Winning knows the audience he has targeted here and anyone who grow up watching worlds filled with puppets on a perilous adventure will really enjoy this journey. This was the triggering memory of times where we believed in magic, when good always vanquished evil and these worlds felt like home. The characters were valuable and relatable. Jake, a man in his mid thirties, jobless and in debt, is overwhelmed and reluctant to begin with. It isn’t until he meets the rest of the cast that Jack branches out and embraces the fandom his father has created.
Winning hasn’t just written a great fantasy novel, he has created a complex pedestal for family relationships during childhood and how these can be rooted in grief. Bob has left behind information and popular merchandise for not only the in-book nerds to pine over but ourselves. This is an interaction that was perfectly executed. Winning has shown us that things are to be shared and loved by a community. This isn’t just the work of Bob Corman but of his fans and now Winnings fans that are left to interpret this whole story.
The Shadow Glass is a generational piece that held a fondness to the adventure and magic of growing up. This was a reminder of how proud we were to be different in childhood. This is a roaring playlist to 80s fantasy fans who want to be taken back to a time where life was magical.
April 19, 2022
Fantasy that will satisfy your ‘80s nostalgia cravings!
Reading this book will give you that same feeling you got as a kid when you were taken to Blockbuster Video and told to pick something fun to watch that night…with a Seven Eleven Slurpie to boot. Pick this one up, grab your snacks, and get ready to get your 80s fantasy vibes on! It’s got everything, puppets that come to life, seriously cute floofy creatures that cuddle you as they tremor in fear, and a villain that will chase you around every corner. Need a cool gang of misfits to help you battle the forces of evil? Check! Need fast moving chase scenes that have you gripping the edge of the sofa in terrified glee? Check! Need a book with a cover that looks just like a VHS tape? Check!
Just buy a copy, you won’t regret it! 🥰
Reading this book will give you that same feeling you got as a kid when you were taken to Blockbuster Video and told to pick something fun to watch that night…with a Seven Eleven Slurpie to boot. Pick this one up, grab your snacks, and get ready to get your 80s fantasy vibes on! It’s got everything, puppets that come to life, seriously cute floofy creatures that cuddle you as they tremor in fear, and a villain that will chase you around every corner. Need a cool gang of misfits to help you battle the forces of evil? Check! Need fast moving chase scenes that have you gripping the edge of the sofa in terrified glee? Check! Need a book with a cover that looks just like a VHS tape? Check!
Just buy a copy, you won’t regret it! 🥰
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