Children of the Black Glass

By: Anthony Peckham

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Howl’s Moving Castle meets Neil Gaiman in this “dark and flinty” (Booklist) middle grade fantasy, set in a world as mesmerizing as it is menacing, following children on a quest to save their father who get embroiled in the sinister agendas of rival sorcerers.

In an unkind alternate past, somewhere between the Stone Age and a Metal Age, Tell and his sister Wren live in a small mountain village that makes its living off black glass mines and runs on brutal laws. When their father is blinded in a mining accident, the law dictates he has thirty days to regain his sight and be capable of working at the same level as before or be put to death.

Faced with this dire future, Tell and Wren make the forbidden treacherous journey to the legendary city of Halfway, halfway down the mountain, to trade their father’s haul of the valuable black glass for the medicine to cure him. The city, ruled by five powerful female sorcerers, at first dazzles the siblings. But beneath Halfway’s glittery surface seethes ambition, violence, prejudice, blackmail, and impending chaos.

Without knowing it, Tell and Wren have walked straight into a sorcerers’ coup. Over the next twelve days, they must scramble first to save themselves, then their new friends, as allegiances shift and prejudices crack open to show who has true power.

©2023 Anthony Peckham. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

for adolescents of all ages

I listened to this book during the summer and can't wait for book II. Peckham draws the reader into the treacherous world of Children of the Black Glass with vivid images and complex characters. The narrator's voice and production value are great as well. Highly recommended!

Gritty, magical story of survival and coming of age

I am not sure that the late Stone Age is the ideal place for young people to come of age through literature, but Tony Peckham manages with tremendous skill, psychological insight, and even love. The story of a young brother and sister responding to tragedy and risking it all in the big city of wizards, power politics, and global trade does not disappoint. 
Book has helpful skills kids can learn (mountain breathing when facing challenges) as well as empathy for those who have lost a parent, suffer poverty, abuse, or rejection.
I can’t wait for the second book in this series