Featuring stenciled edges and original art for the front and back endpapers.
A London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a powerful society of magic wielders are the only ones keeping London safe in this deft contemporary fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson with author and musician Peter Orullian.
When Jack Solomon, a struggling musician who works in London’s West End, is killed, he awakens to a new reality in which light and music are used to create magic and where living eras of the past sprawl beneath modern London, layer upon layer, all the way back to recorded history.
Jack also soon discovers that many of those who reside in the stratums of London’s past have grown angry with the present world, and that their anger is being channeled by a powerful society of light-and-music-based magic wielders who can cross the realms between life and death, between the present and the past. A past where the dead are sowing revolution against the living, and all of history is at stake.
Welcome to the Strata Wars.
Not Your Typical Sanderson, But Still Worth the Re
"My younger self would absolutely not believe that I’m out here reading an ARC for a book by Brandon Sanderson. That alone made this experience feel a little surreal. Going into this, I’ll admit I wasn’t familiar with Peter Orullian—but I definitely am now. You can really feel his influence throughout the story, especially in the musical elements woven into the magic system and the overall tone. The world feels grittier and more urban than what I typically expect. Speaking of magic; this was so good, but not in the typical Sanderson way. The thanaturgy has that signature feel I love, but it’s less rigidly defined than his usual systems. Instead, it leans into something more atmospheric, blending music, light, and familiar elements like necromancy in a way that feels both new and nostalgic at the same time. I also found the concept of the strata really fascinating. These layers of past eras almost acting like a version of the afterlife added a unique depth to the world. It’s one of those ideas I think I’d appreciate even more on a reread, especially since I was so focused on the characters and plot the first time through. Jack, our main character, stood out to me as well. His flaws, shaped by childhood trauma, made him feel very real, and I appreciated his growth as the stakes built around protecting the world. That said, I think I may have set myself up a bit by coming off the high of the Mistborn series. My expectations were sky-high, and while this book was strong in its own right, it didn’t quite hit those same peaks for me. All in all, this was a solid 4-star read, different from what I expected, but still immersive, creative, and definitely worth the read."
