▸ The Glyph World — Book One
"They say the town waits for those who leave its gates. That the road remembers your feet. That every lantern lit at night is an invitation you cannot refuse."
Survival is a signal in the static.
A literary dystopian sci-fi novel · YA crossover · Book One of The Glyph World
Synopsis / Log_01
A world rewritten by the Lattice.
In the radioactive fog of the Outlands, light isn't a comfort — it's a currency. Kai, a sixteen-year-old scavenger haunted by memory loops that aren't his own, patrols the perimeter of Lockvale, the city of signals, with his dog Brute at his side.
When Wren — a quiet stranger carrying a relic that decodes the Lattice — surfaces from the Scar, Kai is pulled toward Node Zero and a doctrine older than the collapse. The glyphs are breathing again, and someone, or something, is calling his name through the static.
Porchlight is a debut about the ghosts we carry, the signals we send into the night, and the people we cannot stop walking toward.
"Gossman writes the apocalypse the way you'd remember it: not in explosions, but in the quiet sound of a lantern hung for someone who might still be walking home."
— Field notes, Runner Codex 3.2
Archive Log / 001
The Glyph World Lexicon
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| The Lattice | A semi-organic network of memory and signal threading the air after the collapse. |
| Lockvale | The city of signals, ringed by relay towers and warning sigils. |
| The Outlands | The radioactive wastes beyond Lockvale's perimeter. |
| Echoes | Glitches in the Lattice shaped like the dead. They speak in loops. |
| Glyphs | Sigils etched into bone, metal, and skin that interface with the Lattice. |
| Runners | Messengers who cross the Outlands carrying stitched signal-fragments. |
| The Scar | A region where the Lattice has thinned and time rhymes with itself. |
| Node Zero | The first relay. Officially decommissioned. Unofficially, still listening. |
| Porchlight | A lantern left burning for those who haven't returned. |
Dossier / 002
Three walk the perimeter. Only one of them remembers why.
| Name | Role | Key trait |
|---|---|---|
| Kai | Scavenger, age 16 | YA protagonist. A quiet coming-of-age arc through the radioactive Outlands. |
| Brute | The Mastiff | Kai's dog. Older than he should be. Something in his lineage keeps returning. |
| Wren | The Signal | A stranger from the Scar carrying a lantern that shouldn't burn that color. |
Reviews / Signal_05
What readers are saying.
"Porchlight is a haunting, lyrical debut — a post-apocalyptic story that trades explosions for the quiet ache of memory and the slow burn of connection."
— Anna Nore Benn, Medium review
"Gossman writes the apocalypse the way you'd remember it: not in explosions, but in the quiet sound of a lantern hung for someone who might still be walking home."
— Field notes, Runner Codex 3.2
Frequently Asked / Signal_06
Questions about Porchlight & The Glyph World.
Is Porchlight a YA novel?+
Porchlight is a literary crossover novel. It follows a 16-year-old protagonist and reads strongly as YA, but its prose and thematic depth also land as adult dystopian sci-fi — a good fit for readers who enjoy YA-adjacent coming-of-age stories with a mature, literary tone.
What genre is Porchlight?+
Porchlight is a dystopian, post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. It is set in a radioactive wasteland reshaped by a mysterious network called the Lattice, blending sci-fi world-building with literary character work.
Is Porchlight part of a series?+
Yes. Porchlight is Book One of The Glyph World series by Silas Gossman. A prequel, Node Zero, is planned for release in July 2026.
Do I need to read anything before Porchlight?+
No. Porchlight is the intended entry point to The Glyph World. Node Zero is a prequel that can be read either before or after Porchlight.
What is Porchlight about?+
Porchlight follows Kai, a teenage scavenger, and his dog Brute as they navigate the radioactive Outlands after a stranger named Wren arrives carrying a relic tied to a mysterious network called the Lattice. It is a story about memory, survival, and the search for meaning after collapse.
Where can I read a free excerpt of Porchlight?+
A free excerpt of Chapter One is available on the Excerpt page of this site.
Is there an audiobook version of Porchlight?+
An audiobook edition is in production. A first-chapter sample is available on the Audiobook page.
Interactive / Signal_03
Decode the glyphs before the static swallows them.
A browser puzzle game set in the Glyph World. It opens with a readers-only gate: In Conductor's Wake, Anchor is not a person. What is it? Solve it to enter the Outlands, rearrange fractured Lattice signals, and unlock runner logs.
Signal reconstruction in progress
The signal continues.
Get transmissions on Book Two of The Glyph World and exclusive short stories from the Outlands. No noise. Only signal.