Title: The Glass Republic
Author: Tom Pollock
Publisher: Quercus US
Publication date: October 4th
“Like a lot of weapons, laughter had two edges, and the tall girl in the green hijab was intimately familiar with both. She listened to it carefully, even when while she joked, wary in case it returned.”
–Tom Pollock, The Glass Republic
So, I received this book from NetGalley for review without realizing that this was a sequel. Nonetheless, despite being a bit confused in the beginning, I was fascinated by this world that Pollock has created. It’s different than anything that I’ve read before, and it’s inclusive in a way that many books in this genre aren’t.
“Pen” Khan is used to holding secrets, especially since she and her best friend Beth discovered the secret monsters that inhabited London. The only person who truly understands is Pen’s mirror-sister Parva, who inhabits the world on the other side of the mirror, London-Under-Glass. When her sister mysteriously disappears, Pen goes into London-Under-Glass to find her, but there are people there who would do anything to keep Pen from finding her mirror-sister and ruining their fragile power.
Where do I even start with this book. Not only was I amazed and fascinated by the world that Pollock creates, a world that is the reflection of the real world (and includes intricate details I wouldn’t even think about), but Pollock also created characters that are absolutely unforgettable. I may not have had the backstory necessary to completely understand what was going on, but I was still drawn to Pen’s story, so much so that I definitely want to find the first book and figure out how she got all of her scars.
The other thing that is absolutely amazing about this book is its inclusion of diversity. Pen is a practicing Muslim (as least, that’s what I gathered), but it’s not all that defines her. For this genre, that is almost unheard of. If you’re interested in a detailed, intricate urban fantasy, you definitely found it in Tom Pollock’s book.
5/5 stars