The Ash-Glass Sky

The Sun has set on the Age of Reason.1815: In the heart of the Dutch East Indies, Mount Tambora screams. It is the loudest sound in recorded history—a geological execution that sends a mountain of ash into the stratosphere, veiling the world in a "Dry Fog" that will not lift.1816: Across the globe, summer never arrives. In New England, "brown snow" falls in June. In Europe, the Napoleonic Wars have ended, but a new enemy has emerged: Famine. As bread riots turn to blood in the streets, the world begins to wonder if the Creator has finally turned His back on humanity.Inside the Villa Diodati: Trapped by relentless, sulfur-stained storms on the shores of Lake Geneva, Mary Shelley and a circle of poets engage in a dark competition to pass the time. But Mary isn't just writing a ghost story. She is breathing in the Embers of Tambora—microscopic particles that grant her visions of a world made of ash, and a monster that reflects the dying light of the sun.In the charred remains of Sumbawa: A lone survivor of the initial blast wanders a landscape turned to glass, carrying a secret that could explain why the sun refused to return.The Ash-Glass Sky is a sweeping, multi-perspective epic that weaves historical truth with a haunting, metaphysical mystery. It is a story of a world caught in a "baptism by fire," where the only thing more terrifying than the darkness outside is the darkness we find within ourselves when the light goes out.For fans of The Terror, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and rich, atmospheric historical fiction, Julian Voss delivers a stunning reimagining of the year the world went cold. Read more