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Saltglass

by Arlo Quinn · published via Smithbook

In a city half under the sea, a glassblower’s apprentice learns her glass can hold back water. It cannot hold it back for long.

★★★★★ 4.7 · 3 reviews 61 readers English
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Saltglass

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★★★★★

"The grumpy old glassmaster is my favourite character. Every line he has is gold."

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Why read it here

The whole book, in your browser in two minutes. Yours for life, on every device.

The old way

A file you download, then lose in a folder, or a shelf you have to make room for. Easy to pirate, easy to misplace.

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Opens in a protected reader the moment you buy, saved in your library forever, and you buy it straight from the author.

Inside

What you get

Everything included

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  • Buying directly supports Arlo Quinn

What it covers

fantasyglassblowingflooded citymagic

About this book

The city of Vell was built on the shore and is slowly returning to the sea. Its glassmakers blow saltglass from the sand of the drowned streets, and nobody has ever asked why it never breaks. Pell Arroway is sixteen, three years into her apprenticeship and tired of making fishing floats, when she blows a window that the tide will not touch. A fantasy about craft, heat, stubborn people and a city deciding whether it is worth saving.

Look inside · First chapter

In Vell the sea came in a little further every year, and every year the city stepped back from it, building new streets on the roofs of the old ones. At low tide you could look down through the green water of the harbour and see doorways, and steps, and the tops of lamp posts that nobody alive had ever seen lit. Pell Arroway had blown four thousand fishing floats in three years. She knew because she had counted, carving a mark on the furnace wall for every hundred. Round green floats, the colour

Product details

Title
Saltglass
Author
Arlo Quinn
Format
Digital · browser reader
Language
English
Category
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Delivery
In seconds · to your e-mail
Access
Lifetime · any device
Publisher
Independent · via Smithbook

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7-day guarantee

Read it. If it's not for you, we'll refund you.

You have 7 days to decide, as long as you haven't read past 20%. Write to support@smithbook.com with your order and that's it.

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Reviews

4.7
★★★★★
3 reviews
5★2
4★1
3★0
2★0
1★0
★★★★★ · pri•••@readers.staging.smithbook.test9/30/2026
Master Ossery
The grumpy old glassmaster is my favourite character. Every line he has is gold.
★★★★★ · jan•••@readers.staging.smithbook.test9/30/2026
Hot glass and cold water
The furnace scenes are so vivid. You can feel the heat on your face.
★★★★☆ · sam•••@readers.staging.smithbook.test9/29/2026
Gorgeous world
Vell is one of the best fantasy cities I have read in years. Wanted a map.

About the author

Arlo Quinn

I fix bikes at a little shop in West End, a block back from the river, and I write before work, from about five until the humidity wins. Most of my stories start with something broken and a person stubborn enough to fix it: a relay station on a dead moon, a glass furnace in a flooded city, a bush town where the iron has started to walk. I grew up in Ipswich, read every paperback in the Redbank Plains library by the time I was fourteen, and still think the best crews are the ones that argue about lunch. I share a Queenslander with two housemates, a lot of tools and a possum who lives in the roof and does not pay rent.

See all books by Arlo Quinn →

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Frequently asked questions

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You get an e-mail with a link to your personal library. No app or account setup needed. Read right in your browser, on any device, forever.

Do I download a file (EPUB / PDF)?

No. To protect the author's work, the book is read in a protected browser reader, not downloaded. That means no piracy, and it's always in your library on any device.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. 7 days from purchase for a full refund, as long as you haven't read past 20% of the book.

Is payment secure?

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How fast do I get access?

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