quippe | Entries tagged with v. e. schwab

The 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.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

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.

The Blurb On The Back:

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates – brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognised the same ambition in each other. A shared interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals and intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl with a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find – aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge – but who will be left alive at the end?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

V. E. Schwab’s first book for adults is a tightly plotted, original take on the superhero story that reads as X-MEN meets THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. There are no heroes in this novel – Victor and Eli are each deeply flawed people who rely on warped logic and personal vengeance to justify their behaviour. I really liked the way Schwab gives them each an ability that reflects their personality and how they learn to use those abilities against others. The grudge that exists between them is nicely sketched out and well mirrored by the relationship between the ExtraOrdinary sisters Sydney and Serena. I was less sold on Eli’s reasons for eradicating other ExtraOrdinaries because the quasi-religious rationale didn’t have a huge amount of build-up in his backstory with Victor (although Schwab’s writing just about carried me) and this equally applied to Serena’s reasons for working with Eli, which wasn’t helped by her flip-flop attitude to Sydney. I also didn’t think that the love triangle between Victor, Eli and Angie really added anything to the book because Eli and Victor’s relationship was so well drawn that it was motivation enough for each character. However, I enjoyed the way Schwab handles the time-jumps to incorporate background information into the plot and there’s a great sense of pace and momentum as events draw to an inevitable and bloody conclusion while also finding time for some twists that I didn’t see coming. The book ends with the potential for a sequel, which I would definitely want to check out and in the meantime, I will catch up on Schwab’s YA back catalogue.