A Darker Shade of Magic
Ratings629
Average rating4
15
Ratings629
Average rating4
A dazzling world of parallel Londons where magic thrives, starves, or lies forgotten, and where power can destroy just as quickly as it can create
Kell is one of the last Atari - magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons: Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes - Red London - and officially serves the Maresh empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.
Reviews with the most likes.
I've been hearing about his book for a while and I was a bit disappointed to be honest. I was missing some depth in the book, while the worldbuilding was very interesting, the characters fell flat to me. The concept of Antari was interesting, but the actual magic was not that exciting. I was excited about Kell at first, but then it turned out he's quite the dumbass and not actually as powerful as I expected. I did not particularly care for Lila or their relationship, orphan thief who wants power/to be free is one I've seen often and she did not have a lot of other interesting traits. The relationship that seemed to be blossoming between Kell and Lila felt a bit forced. I did like Rhy, I liked his connection to Kell and struggle with being the crown prince.
Not sure yet if I'll continue with book 2, I've heard it gets better and I'm still somewhat curious, but his book did not draw me in as much as I'd hoped.
Best book of V.E Schwab I've read so far
.
Everything is really unique and the action rhythm is really good and makes you want to know more.
Some plot twist are reaaaaally well done.
Looking forward to discover the rest of this serie and see if the next book fill my expectations.
Best book read since Grishaverse two years ago.
Update -> finished the all serie. This is so so good highly recommend this reading.
Read my review on my blog here: https://theconsultingbookworm.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/a-darker-shade-of-magic-v-e-schwab-2/
V. E. Schwab, where have you been all my life. Why did nobody tell me that you wrote such good books and that when I started reading one, I wouldn't be able to put it down.
I am not going to write about plot, characterisation or world building etc coz you can read all about that stuff yer Sen, there's loads of that stuff. What you really want to know if you are reading this book is ‘is it any good. Well the answer is in the stars. I don:t usually give that amount as I can usually find some flaws, but this is perfecto.
Featured Series
3 primary booksShades of Magic is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by V. E. Schwab.
Series
1 primary book2 released booksThe Shades of Magic Universe is a 9-book series with 1 primary work first released in 2015 with contributions by V. E. Schwab and Jaime Valero Martínez.
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