A review by maiakobabe
Glint Book One: The Cloud Raiders by Samuel Sattin

5.0

This is the first book of an exciting all-ages sci-fi series. It takes place on Mora, a world powered by glint, a naturally occurring mineral collected at great peril by families of miners. Nearly all of the citizens of Mora live in Pits, or communities that have grown up around the mines. Only a few are able to live out of the reach of the poisonous fumes in The Citadel, the capital and center of the Temple of Sacred Defense. The fastest way out of the Pits is to enlist in the TSD, for Mora is constantly under attack by Feeders- huge beasts with many months who devour indiscriminately. Young Loon expects to live out his life working the mines, until his best friend Val is accepted into the TSD and made second in command of his brigade. Suddenly, Loon sees an opportunity to follow Val to The Citadel. Loon's mother, sick from glint fumes, and his badass grandma, a war hero and rebel, are horrified. They understand that the army offers far more death than glory, especially under the command of Supreme Regent Murc- who many or may not have Mora's best interests at heart. The story is fast paced and brightly colored. I love the mix of character designs- citizens of Mora are humanoid, but mostly bald with horns or ears of various shapes. They also vary greatly in height, weight, skin tone, and facial markings. This volume ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, so I am interested to see where the story goes in book two! I should note here that I am friends with the author, so I was able to get an advanced reader copy :)