A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Aug. 15th, 2015 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Kell is one of the last travellers – magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city. There’s Grey London, without magic and ruled by the mad King George III. Red London – where magic is revered, and where Kell was raised alongside the heir to the empire. White London – where people fight to control the remaining magic and magic fights back. And once there was Black London …
Officially Kell is the Red traveller, carrying letters between the monarchs of each London. Unofficially he is a smuggler, a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences. His escape to Grey London leads to a run-in with Delilah, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations, who forces Kell to take her on a proper adventure. But perilous magic is afoot, and an adventure becomes a mission to save all of the worlds.
Kell is an Antari – a magician able to travel between the parallel universes of Grey London (“our” London, which is ruled by the mad King George III and has lost all traces of magic), White London (ruled by the cruel and ruthless twins Astrid and Athos and where its inhabitants lust for the power that magic gives them) and Red London (where Kell’s been raised by the king and queen as an adopted brother to Prince Rhys). The only land that Kell doesn’t travel to is Black London, which has been consumed by magic and is too dangerous to visit.
Kell’s job is to travel between the Londons, carrying letters between their respective monarchs but he can’t resist doing a little smuggling on the side so when someone in White London asks him to take something to Red London, he doesn’t refuse. But doing so puts him in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy involving dangerous magic that threatens all of the worlds. His only ally is Delilah, a thief who lives in Grey London but who aspires to something more and who’s loyalty is not something to be relied on ...
V. E. Schwab’s standalone novel is an ingenious mix of other world and historical fantasy that kept me turning the pages. Schwab’s carefully constructed world has interesting rules and details and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the various Londons and their attitudes to and use of magic. Kell’s a fascinating protagonist, different from and separate to the inhabitants of each world. The only person who understands what it is to be Antari is Holland who, unfortunately, was a little underdeveloped for me. In fact, the antagonists are the weakest part of the novel as all are two-dimensional while Rhys didn’t convince me as the playboy friend who Kell cares for. Fortunately Delilah makes up for this – amoral, tough and very determined, she’s quick to spot and exploit an opportunity and smart enough to adapt to a world that’s very different to the one she was brought up in and I particularly liked the way that you’re never quite sure of her motives, i.e. whether she’s using Kell or genuinely sympathetic to his plight and the ending is open-ended enough for a sequel (which I’d definitely read). While not perfect, this book is still worth a look and I look forward to seeing what Schwab does next.
The Verdict:
V. E. Schwab’s standalone novel is an ingenious mix of other world and historical fantasy that kept me turning the pages. Schwab’s carefully constructed world has interesting rules and details and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the various Londons and their attitudes to and use of magic. Kell’s a fascinating protagonist, different from and separate to the inhabitants of each world. The only person who understands what it is to be Antari is Holland who, unfortunately, was a little underdeveloped for me. In fact, the antagonists are the weakest part of the novel as all are two-dimensional while Rhys didn’t convince me as the playboy friend who Kell cares for. Fortunately Delilah makes up for this – amoral, tough and very determined, she’s quick to spot and exploit an opportunity and smart enough to adapt to a world that’s very different to the one she was brought up in and I particularly liked the way that you’re never quite sure of her motives, i.e. whether she’s using Kell or genuinely sympathetic to his plight and the ending is open-ended enough for a sequel (which I’d definitely read). While not perfect, this book is still worth a look and I look forward to seeing what Schwab does next.
Kell is one of the last travellers – magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city. There’s Grey London, without magic and ruled by the mad King George III. Red London – where magic is revered, and where Kell was raised alongside the heir to the empire. White London – where people fight to control the remaining magic and magic fights back. And once there was Black London …
Officially Kell is the Red traveller, carrying letters between the monarchs of each London. Unofficially he is a smuggler, a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences. His escape to Grey London leads to a run-in with Delilah, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations, who forces Kell to take her on a proper adventure. But perilous magic is afoot, and an adventure becomes a mission to save all of the worlds.
Kell is an Antari – a magician able to travel between the parallel universes of Grey London (“our” London, which is ruled by the mad King George III and has lost all traces of magic), White London (ruled by the cruel and ruthless twins Astrid and Athos and where its inhabitants lust for the power that magic gives them) and Red London (where Kell’s been raised by the king and queen as an adopted brother to Prince Rhys). The only land that Kell doesn’t travel to is Black London, which has been consumed by magic and is too dangerous to visit.
Kell’s job is to travel between the Londons, carrying letters between their respective monarchs but he can’t resist doing a little smuggling on the side so when someone in White London asks him to take something to Red London, he doesn’t refuse. But doing so puts him in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy involving dangerous magic that threatens all of the worlds. His only ally is Delilah, a thief who lives in Grey London but who aspires to something more and who’s loyalty is not something to be relied on ...
V. E. Schwab’s standalone novel is an ingenious mix of other world and historical fantasy that kept me turning the pages. Schwab’s carefully constructed world has interesting rules and details and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the various Londons and their attitudes to and use of magic. Kell’s a fascinating protagonist, different from and separate to the inhabitants of each world. The only person who understands what it is to be Antari is Holland who, unfortunately, was a little underdeveloped for me. In fact, the antagonists are the weakest part of the novel as all are two-dimensional while Rhys didn’t convince me as the playboy friend who Kell cares for. Fortunately Delilah makes up for this – amoral, tough and very determined, she’s quick to spot and exploit an opportunity and smart enough to adapt to a world that’s very different to the one she was brought up in and I particularly liked the way that you’re never quite sure of her motives, i.e. whether she’s using Kell or genuinely sympathetic to his plight and the ending is open-ended enough for a sequel (which I’d definitely read). While not perfect, this book is still worth a look and I look forward to seeing what Schwab does next.
The Verdict:
V. E. Schwab’s standalone novel is an ingenious mix of other world and historical fantasy that kept me turning the pages. Schwab’s carefully constructed world has interesting rules and details and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the various Londons and their attitudes to and use of magic. Kell’s a fascinating protagonist, different from and separate to the inhabitants of each world. The only person who understands what it is to be Antari is Holland who, unfortunately, was a little underdeveloped for me. In fact, the antagonists are the weakest part of the novel as all are two-dimensional while Rhys didn’t convince me as the playboy friend who Kell cares for. Fortunately Delilah makes up for this – amoral, tough and very determined, she’s quick to spot and exploit an opportunity and smart enough to adapt to a world that’s very different to the one she was brought up in and I particularly liked the way that you’re never quite sure of her motives, i.e. whether she’s using Kell or genuinely sympathetic to his plight and the ending is open-ended enough for a sequel (which I’d definitely read). While not perfect, this book is still worth a look and I look forward to seeing what Schwab does next.
