My second book (audiobook) of the year, Storm Glass by Jeff Wheeler, is a young adult fantasy that took me by surprise. First and foremost, I didn’t realize it was a young adult novel. I skimmed the blurb before purchasing it on audible (it was on sale, so it didn’t take much to rope me in), and I assumed the characters were older than they turned out to be in the novel. However, I was not disappointed.
Storm Glass is a fantasy novel set in a world where the upper echelon of society lives in mansions that float above the ground. They travel by aircraft, never visiting the lower levels of society unless warranted by their job or some other absolute necessity. The lowest class of society lives on the ground in a city of general squalor known as the Fells, although there are nicer cities inhabited by a lower middle class that live directly under some of the sky mansions.
Immediately, the reader knows this is a story that will focus on politics and unfair wealth distribution. To be fair, this is also stated in the synopsis of the book, but it’s very clear from the early chapters that the politics and intricacies of the class system will be a very large part of this story.
To further enforce this theme, the two main characters come from vastly different circumstances, and their lifestyles are juxtaposed throughout the novel.
The book begins with Cettie, an orphan who has lived in the impoverished city of the Fells up until the start of the book, while her counterpart, Sera, is a princess who has lived a lavish lifestyle in her sky manor. The juxtaposition of their characters serves to enhance our understanding of how their upbringings have impacted their personalities, goals, and actions.
For example, Cettie is very reserved upon meeting new people. She’s excellent at gauging the trustworthiness of others because she’s had to learn this skill to survive, and she only opens up once she’s sure of their merit. She is endlessly curious because she’s been afforded very little education, and while she has strong morals and feelings of indignation, she must watch her tongue at all times out of a learned fear of punishment. Even in her new life, she is forced to reign in her true feelings because she’s afraid of losing this opportunity.
Conversely, Sera has had every opportunity afforded to her, and often scoffs at it. She shirks her lessons because they bore her, and is more curious about the city and the world below than anything to do with her current life.
To Sera’s credit, while she is a bit spoiled in nature, she also faces her own struggles. Though she is wealthy and well cared for, she is still a prisoner in her own home. Her curiosity, the main trait she has in common with Cettie, stems from a lack of knowledge about the sky city or anything beyond her manor. Her parents have never let her outside the grounds, and her life within the grounds is stagnant and tense. Her parents dislike each other with zeal, and often Sera is caught in their crossfire. Their intense dislike for one another combined with their overt ambitions for Sera has culminated in an extremely compassionate and willful child, rather than one who wishes to follow in their footsteps.
The characters’ backgrounds show that they both have reasons for wanting to leave their home lives, though certainly Cettie has much more at stake in the beginning of the novel. There is also reason for both to feel rebellious in nature due to the injustice of their situations, but the same measures of wealth and affluence that feel like a prison to Sera are also the reason she can afford to rebel outwardly where Cettie cannot.
I really like the comparisons drawn between the two and how the two characters act as symbols for the impoverished and the rich. Cettie’s lack of voice reflects the lack of voice of those below. The rich literally live in a sky city above them to completely avoid any association or knowledge of what happens in the lower class world. The grievances of the lower class are completely unheard or ignored.
Sera represents the rich, because although she has everything she needs, she is still kept in a gilded cage. By separating themselves from the poor, they have created their own sort of prison. Not only that, the rich have also created obscure rules to abide by, and any who shirk the rules become societal outcasts. In order to keep their place in the social standing, they often have to spend obscene amounts of money, and it’s mentioned that many of the rich are actually severely in debt. It is a rigid and unforgiving system created by those at the very, very top that the rest must follow.
While the book largely focuses on this wealth disparity, there are several other worldbuilding aspects that are very engaging. The wealthy have access to all sorts of machinery, from levitating houses to sky ships, that the lower classes neither have access to nor have information about. If someone from the lower classes, like Cettie for much of the first part of the book, asks about these mechanics, they’re told the machines are powered by the Mysteries.
The Mysteries are teachable, but only the wealthy are allowed to learn them. This helps keep the rich in power over the lower classes. Once the reader is able to learn more about the Mysteries through Sera, who is able to take the classes to learn them, the politics of the wealthy class deepens even more. The novel takes more of a steampunk turn there, which I really enjoyed.
There is also a mystical element to the book in regards to the supernatural and ghosts. Cettie can see ghosts, which is a rare ability, though many people can feel a ghosts presence even if they’re unaware a ghost is there. This adds an extra dimension to the book that is explored as the story moves along. Though the main plot focuses on the girls and their journeys, there are a lot of really interesting subplots and worldbuilding happening as well.
As for the writing in the novel, Wheeler’s characterization is fairly straightforward throughout the book, meaning that each character is more on the flat side than the round or complex side. Sera’s parents are harsh and uncompassionate to a fault, and they do not waver in these beliefs, nor are these beliefs really explained except “they were raised wealthy”. It’s not unrealistic, considering this is something that happens in the real world, but it’s also not especially complex.
Cettie’s new guardian, Fitzroy, is a Good Man. He sticks to his word, he genuinely cares for people, and he makes the Right Choices. This is something that he also does to a fault, as he sometimes puts the wellbeing of one person over the potential wellbeing of many. The housekeeper, Mrs. Pullman, is a Bad Woman who dislikes Cettie immediately for no reason other than that she’s from the Fells. Fitzroy’s other children also treat Cettie this way (save for Anna), which is strange considering Fitzroy is known to be extremely compassionate.
Essentially, most of the character’s are fairly one dimensional, but not in a way that takes away from the story. Instead, Wheeler uses those archetypes to guide the story in a way that allows for more focus on the worldbuilding and plot.
Because of this, the other aspects of the novel shine. His descriptions are detailed enough to create solid imagery, but not too lengthy or over the top. The plot is well-paced, although there are some reviews I’ve seen that describe the book as “boring”. I was engaged the entire time, but I also enjoy fantasy that focuses on politics and worldbuilding dynamics. If you enjoy a really action-packed fantasy book (lots of drama, fighting, etc.) this may not be your cup of tea. It is high-stakes but low-action.
Also, it is pretty clear throughout the novel that the main characters are very young. I don’t think this detracts from the book at all, but if you don’t want a story that centers around children and their exploration of the world and their circumstances, you probably wouldn’t enjoy this book. I would compare Cettie and Sera, in essence, to the protagonists of The Dark Materials or the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. They are competent and maybe overly intelligent for their age, but they’re still very young and can be hard to relate to for an older audience.
Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys more old school YA fantasy. Lately, it feels like YA fantasy is centered around female protagonists that are 17-going-on-25, and the genre has forgotten that YA fantasy often centers around younger protagonists like in Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, His Dark Materials, etc. If you’re looking for a book series that encapsulates some of that energy, this is likely a good series for you!
The Lit Wiz