
'A Darker Shade of Magic' by V.E. Schwab follows Kell, a magician who can travel between four parallel worlds - White London, Red London, Grey London, and Black London. The story revolves around Kell's journey to return a forbidden talisman, installed with dangerous magic, to Black London. Along the way, he is aided by Delilah Bard, a thief from Grey London, as they navigate through different Londons with varying levels of magic and power struggles. The plot is fast-paced, filled with action, adventure, and plot twists, making it an engaging read for fans of urban fantasy and epic fantasy genres.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
There are moments of violence and dark magic, which could be triggering for some readers.
From The Publisher:
A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Antari-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 cut-purse 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.
"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...This is a book to treasure."-Deborah Harkeness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy
Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light
Ratings (292)
Incredible (49) | |
Loved It (91) | |
Liked It (86) | |
It Was OK (34) | |
Did Not Like (29) | |
Hated It (3) |
Reader Stats (730):
Read It (287) | |
Currently Reading (7) | |
Want To Read (311) | |
Did Not Finish (26) | |
Not Interested (99) |
11 comment(s)
I have been wanting to read this book for years and after finishing The invisible life of Addie LaRue and absolutely loved it I decided it was time to finely start the series. But was very underwhelmed by this story, wasn't quite the fun fantasy adventure I'd been wanting and maybe I hyped this book too much. It isn't a bad book by any means, V E Schwab writes good stories, it was just not really for me. Might give the second book a go but I'm not exactly dying to continue
FUN! Jumped right into book 2 ...
Es un buen inicio de saga, aunque se podría tomar tranquilamente como autoconclusivo.
El mundo es original y los protagonistas caen bien prácticamente desde que aparecen, aunque hay muy pocos secundarios con peso.
En el desarrollo he encontrado un par de problemas, y es que parece que no suceda mucho durante la historia y las partes de lucha tienen demasiada elipsis que diluye lo bien que están escritas.
One of my favorite series of all time.
All world building and no story
Things happen and words get spoken. The world building is fine but the central story is lost. I made it to 25% without a plot before I quit reading.
****4.5****
The story happens in London. Sorry, Londons (plural). There are four londons and they exist parallelly. Only “Antari” are able to travel across them and they are very few, I mean only two in this story. “Antari” are born magicians and have different eye colors.
There is Red London, which is full of magic, ruled by Maresh Dynasty and One Antari Kell Maresh is an adopted son to the king Maxim here. And the Crown Prince Rhy and Kell are like brothers and they are ready to give their lives for each other.
Grey London, which is more like our world, no magic, fight for survival and Delilah Bard aka “Lila” , the kick-ass lady , the thief, the wanna be pirateer etc etc is here in this world.
White London, where magic is treated like slave and power is the hands of Dane Twins, Holland the other “Antari” , a slave to Dane twins and he hates it.
Black London, a myth now, which fell when magic took over, and no one talks about it now.
“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
Kell and Holland are the people who travel across these worlds. Kell, especially travels across the world’s keeping a correspondence between the ruling kings and keeps the relation alive. But he also does an illegal activity which is to collect tokens from different worlds and on such an occasion is mugged by Lila in Grey London.
“Sure I do,” countered Lila cheerfully. “There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London,” she recited, ticking them off on her fingers. “See? I’m a fast learner.”
But in White London , Dane twins are plotting something more and has let Holland on a task. That is to capture Kell and make him a slave too. But in that pursuit and run Lila and Kell become a team and miraculously she too goes across Londons (from gray to red). And the adventure begins with a nasty turn of events where Rhy is bound for life with magic to Kell.
“Kell wore a very peculiar coat.
It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.”
The narration is witty, and Lila is the only sole character here who is adorable and a bullet of adrenalin. Kell on the other hand, was not so hard or he was always in doubt even though he had power! Holland on the other hand was mature and who had some brains though. Rhy Maresh was the Crown Prince, spoilt a bit and with no magic at all. He was kind to all but he still had a childishness around him.
The world building is good. All characters are different and well built. Narration is fast and witty. This is kind of introduction to the trilogy and a bit slower than the next two in the trilogy.
Happy World-Jumping!!
Quite fun and enjoyable!
4.75*
Liked the first book but the covers are the best part of the series.
Storyline
About the Author:
VICTORIA "V.E." SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, Our Dark Duet and Vicious. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post and more, translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been optioned for television and film. When she's not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she splits her time between Nashville, TN and Edinburgh, Scotland and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.
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