Children of the Black Glass

Anthony Peckham’s fascinating middle-grade novel Children of the Black Glass combines aspects of Neil Gaiman’s eerie and flinty style with those of Howl’s Moving Castle. The story, which centers on the siblings Tell and Wren is set in a cruel alternate history that lies between the Stone and Metal ages. They reside in a little mountain town with harsh regulations that are supported by black glass mines.

They are faced with an unforgiving future when their father is rendered blind in a mining accident; he has thirty days to recover his sight or face execution. Tell and Wren set off on a dangerous journey to the fabled city of Halfway, driven by their determination to save him.