A Darker Shade of Magic
By V. E. Schwab
- Release Date: 2015-02-24
- Genre: Fantasy
Description
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
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Reviews
Entrancing
5By NOLA2VEGASDefinitely had me hooked! Read on my kindle as I am awaiting apple to make a ereader for night time reading.Good Book
5By kkgirl19It was such a good book. The magic system and world building were a 10/10. Characters were so likable. Overall such a fun read!Not quite my cup of magic
3By svc bearcatThe book’s world building is very interesting but unfortunately the pacing of the story seems rushed to me, action scene melting into action scene. Also the magic system seemed to have potential but in the end I was disappointed by the way the story concludedPage Turner
5By ferret_bardThis review was first published on Kurt's Frontier. Synopsis: Kell lives as one of the last two Antari. Antari are magicians able to travel between specific points in parallel worlds. This point is London, of which there are three: Red, Grey, and White. Once there was a Black London which no one speaks of now, save in whispers. Kell’s home is in Red London, called Arnes by the locals of this world. Kell serves as ambassador between the Londons, traveling to White London with constant bloody regime changes and Grey London which exists without magic. Kell also smuggles little trinkets between the worlds. When an exchange goes wrong, Kell escapes to Grey London and gets robbed by Delilah Bard, who then saves him from a deadly enemy. Kell takes her to Red London where dangerous magic and treachery lurk at every turn. Review: I usually don’t pick up alternative world stories as they tend to be confusing. I almost didn’t pick it up the second time I saw it on the Bookery’s shelves. I’m glad I did. The worlds were different enough that I could keep track of which was which. V. E. Schwab uses elemental-based magic, a good grounding point for magical systems. The interplay between the characters proved to be fun. Kell is a magician who can walk between worlds with the dangerous and highly illegal hobby of smuggling. When he unwittingly smuggles a magical object from Black London, events are set in motion that leads him to Delilah Bard, a Grey London pickpocket who wants a proper adventure. What followed kept me turning the pages. I already picked up the two sequels in the series.Fun read!
5By ElectricChanceBrilliant and funA change in pace for magical worlds
4By cay26❤️I would the book at first slowed paced but towards the middle it came in handy knowing small bits of information about the worlds.One of the best series I ever read
5By //chris\\The story is so original and the magic system is amazing. You’ll fall in love with the characters and the world VE Schwab has created.A Darker Shade of Magic
5By Hobbs3girlsAn excellent book and an even more excellent series. This series has been one of my favorite to read thus so far. The first book perfectly entrances you in the story of the main characters and does an even better job in the second and third book. The characterization is incredible and I felt deeply attached to all of the characters by the end.Surprising in the best sense
5By ••georgian••As one of my favorite authors, i had high hopes for V.E. Schwab going into this book but was thoroughly impressed nonetheless. Somehow, this wonderful woman made me feel like i was right there beside Kell the whole time. The world is masterfully built, the characters have true to life complexity, and the plot is refreshingly new though it maintains the best features of other popular fantasies. Though I did like Vicious better, this book is a treat.Good book
4By unlikebrettThe writing is well crafted, and keeps the reader interested. Sometimes foreshadowing seems a little on the nose, but overall an enjoyable read.Fun, light read
4By shaketeachmdIf you are looking for a unique take on the world of magic, this is a good place to start. The novel's pacing is brisk and the characters intriguing. It is not a complex story, nor is it very deep; however, it never tries to be. It is fun to read, which is exactly what I wanted.living!!!
5By sonseungs🙏🏾🙌🏾Fantastic!
5By Rona KennedyFantastic book! The setting in the various Londons is so creative and the rich details of each London and their differences are so tangible. I feel like I know the characters like I would my close friends. I was totally captivated by the the characters, the story and challenges they faced and the incredible worlds created in each London. Bravo! On to book 2!Read this book
5By Starfire8181I really loved this book. I haven't read anything by Victoria Schwab before, but I had heard good things about A Darker Shade of Magic and decided to give it a try, and to make it my bookclubs book of the month. I was really happy that there was a male protagonist, as much as I love my YA and NA, I can only spend so much time in the minds of teenage girls before I need a break; and this book is a much needed break. I really enjoyed that fact that the majority of the book is from Kell's perspective. I also appreciated reading Lila's perspective. I found her character to be fun, and spunky, and just enough kickass to be believable. While some may find the lack of character development to be an issue, I feel that we learn just enough about the characters in this first book; if it were a stand-a-lone then it might be a problem, but as there are going to be more books it was perfect. I like that we learn about the characters slowly, and that their own lives are as mysterious to them as they are to us, the reader. I can't wait to find out the unknowns along with them. This was a wonderful book and I can not wait for the next one to come out. Sidetone ***I am hoping that there are no love triangles in the next book, please no love triangles, I am so tired of the love triangle.***Great Read!
5By Jaser6This book was satisfying read from beginning to end. It's a tale I will not forget and journey that I can not wait to embark on again!A solid ya book, charecters could have been better
4By Wear146It is a good ya adult book with an interesting setting, I was however disappointed with the apparent degree to which the main charecters lacked critical thinking skills and found the female sidekick to be obnoxious for most of the story.It showed promise, but...
3By Michael HeggenI read the sample chapter and was intrigued. Parallel worlds, regency London, and a world-shifting protagonist with some definite shades of grey. Hmm! Sounds like fun! So, I bought it. The novel turned out to be... a good deal less than I had hoped. After a promising first several chapters, the two protagonists—one the aforementioned grey-shaded Londoner, the second a pickpocket with aspirations of becoming a pirate—meet each other, and the book goes downhill from there. The protagonists seemed to lose several IQ points, and the plot felt like a quickly made Hollywood action flick—and just as predictable. And then there were the cheesy lines from two-dimensional (as in poorly developed, not literally flat) villains—especially during fight scenes. There were also several subject areas where the writer hadn't done her homework—especially anything to do with ships—and it showed. (Don't write what you don't understand.) The beginning led me to hope for something along the lines of Jo Walton's "Tooth and Claw", or "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" by Susannah Clarke, or Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere". Disappointingly, the middle and end of the book turned out to be more like mediocre young adult fiction, but without the coming-of-age aspect—and with slightly lower hormone levels. Tor Books, the publisher, dropped the ball on this one even more than the writer. They should have worked more with this new writer to develop what could have been a very interesting novel.Amazing
5By Sir cook 313Love this book to death a must read the way the characters come to life in kell turns out to be selfless hero in how much care's about his brother in all of the cool magic is amazing only hope we get more soon 🙏
