Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday I check out one of the most anticipated fantasy releases of 2022 with In the Shadow of Lightning by acclaimed author Brian McClellan.

Few fantasy authors have reached the impressive heights that Brian McClellan has in recent years, as this brilliant author has produced two epic fantasy series.  Debuting in 2013, McClellan wowed the world with The Powder Mage trilogy, an incredible trilogy which takes place in a kingdom that has just seen a brutal revolution by the powder mages, military mages who use gunpowder to gain various gun-related abilities.  Unfortunately, many factions opposed their revolution, including the nation’s vengeful god, and the protagonists soon find themselves involved in a desperate fight for survival.  The first book in this series, Promise of Blood, is pretty darn awesome, getting a five-star review from me, and it is one of my favourite debuts of all time.  I still really need to get through the rest of The Powder Mage novels, as well as the sequel Gods of Blood and Powder trilogy, as all the books in this series have garnered rave reviews.  However, McClellan is not slowing down as he has a new series starting next year, the first book of which is In the Shadow of Lightning.

In the Shadow of Lightning is another epic fantasy novel which has a current release date of 21 June 2022.  This book will be the first entry in McClellan’s new Glass Immortals series and looks set to take readers on another intense adventure, laden with magic, politics, intrigue and murder.

Synopsis:

From Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage, comes In the Shadow of Lightning, a brand-new epic fantasy where magic is a finite resource—and it’s running out.

Now, Demir must find allies, old friends and rivals alike, confront the powerful guild-families who are only interested in making the most of the scraps left at the table and uncover the invisible hand that threatens the Empire. A war is coming, a war unlike any other. And Demir and his ragtag group of outcasts are the only thing that stands in the way of the end of life as the world knows it.

This new novel sounds extremely fun, and McClellan is clearly setting up another rich and complex fantasy novel.  Based on the awesome above synopsis, it looks like In the Shadow of Lightning has a lot of amazing features that should translated into an incredible read.  A former noble turned grifter returning to get revenge and power sounds pretty cool, especially as it will see him get embroiled in a vast conspiracy, while also fighting to defeat rival houses and ambitious beings.  Throw in a cast of outcasts and rebels, as well as a fascinating new magical system (what does godglass do, what is happening to it? I really want to know), and you have an intriguing hit, especially in the hands of a talented author like McClellan.

Based on how McClellan wrote The Powder Mage novels, I am expecting In the Shadow of Lightning to be particularly complex and impressive read, which will no doubt drag me in and get me obsessed with its fun characters and fascinating landscape.  Honestly, I knew I would be grabbing this book the moment that I saw McClellan was writing it, and it will be great to get on board an ongoing series from this talented author.  However, I also really like the fun story described in the synopsis, and I think this book has the potential to be one of the top reads of 2022.  I cannot wait to see how this fantastic upcoming novel turns out, and I think I will have to try to read the rest of The Powder Mage trilogy before In the Shadow of Lightning comes out.