The Shadow Glass is a standalone contemporary crossworlds fantasy by Josh Winning. Due out 22nd March 2022 from Titan, it's 400 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. The thematic tie-in cover art as DVD case is well done and adds a nice little fillip to the overall vibe.
This is for all the lovers of The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. The plot revolves around the inner lives of the puppets from an 80s cult film by an eccentric genius director/creator who has passed away, his son who is grown up now and still working through issues, a dorky fanboy, and a prickly all-business producer for the current day production company who is representing the creative properties, and, of course, the puppets. It turns out the puppets were alive all along and now the hapless unwilling protagonists have to help them save the world.
This is full of pop-culture references and throwbacks to the original genre material and fans of the movies and ITC/Henson projects will get a lot more out of it than newer fans. It certainly does work well as a straight contemporary fantasy, but the nostalgia aspects were a lot of the appeal for me personally. The entire book has a very offbeat creepy vibe (especially the house!) and the author does a great job of writing creeping dread and atmospheric eeriness. There aren't so many jump scares, but there is some body horror.
The unabridged ebook has a run time of 10 hours and 16 minutes and the final release narration is capably rendered by Colin Mace. He has a gravelly and expressive voice which suits the story very well. He narrates the disparate characters distinctly and it's never a problem to keep them straight. Sound and production quality are high throughout.
Four stars. I enjoyed this one very much, both print and audiobook formats.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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