But little is resolved by the end of the novel the reader’s left hoping for a sequel which, in a series called Artifacts of Empire, must surely be in the works. I really enjoyed the religious overtones-an atheist society with a cleric who calls the lost to believe in themselves, a theist society where magic is hidden and controlled, plus the question of whether gods no longer believed in are truly dead. There’s certainly much to think about and the world is beautifully imagined in all its beauty and complexity. Political intrigue, mixed messages, threats and secrets abound in this tale, with hints of religion and magic, tolerance, intolerance, faithfulness and betrayal. The dialog has a downbeat solemnity hiding more than it reveals and keeping readers and characters guessing, but Asahel is right when he proclaims, “It doesn’t protect anyone to hold back the truth… It only makes it harder to bear when it finally comes out.” A curious tension between the main characters might be explained by events in the first book of the series (I haven't read it), but events prove there’s more to the present than the past-two men divided by privilege and its lack might be united by love as well as politics, if they can only figure a way to tell and trust each other. Nicely told with viewpoints switching between chapters, Gwen Perkins’ The Jealousy Glass starts with a shipwreck and washes its erstwhile ambassador and spy ashore in a foreign land where war is threatened and peace is threatening.

The Universal Mirror by Gwen Perkins