A Darker Shade of Magic

I thought this interview was interesting, particularly the question: “Were you ever worried of falling into another common fantasy/YA trope where women are considered better than others because they have masculine traits?”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ve-schwab-this-savage-song-book-interview/2016/07/14/5c425646-49f2-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html

I do sometimes get frustrated with the similarity of “strong female characters” who have to be emotionless and totally driven in order to be considered “strong”–to me sensitivity, humor and empathy are also important sources of strength.

However I think the author had a good answer: “Someone called Delilah Bard [from “A Darker Shade of Magic”] a trope the other day, and she’s basically a gender-fluid, cross-dressing, aspiring pirate thief obsessed with knives. The day she becomes a trope, I’ll be so happy. But until that moment, I need more Delilah Bards.”

Just finished A Darker Shade of Magic this weekend! I was mainly drawn to this book for the gorgeous cover, but it definitely delivered on the plot, too—elemental magic, parallel Londons, a sorcerer-smuggler who travels between worlds, a badass lady-thief who dreams of being a pirate…overall, a lot of fun!

Schwab has a great writing style, not too ornate or too simplistic, just enough to draw you in without drowning you in unnecessary details and without trying to hide things away for the sake of being clever. The world building here has strong elements of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, with the way that worlds can overlay each other and what’s in one place might be in another, but be different, but Schwab makes this concept her own. Red London was absolutely breathtaking and I want to live there. White London was coldly terrifying, just alien enough to put you on edge. And Black London… Well, call me crazy, but I would love to see Black London. The way the mythology is set up here makes Black London seem like a place that could be beautiful or terrible, or both at once, and those are the sorts of settings I love the most. I hope that we get to actually see it in future books. And while I usually immediately start shipping people in this book, I liked that Lila and Kell remained somewhat friendly, somewhat exasperate partners for this. Might that evolve into something more in the future? Maybe. I can’t really tell from this, though there are a couple of instances that hint it might. I could go either way on this part; I think they could be good together, but I’m just as content to see them remain friends, which is honestly pretty rare in books, and even more rarely done well. Overall, a beautiful, riveting fantasy.

This is a book that I started in a bookstore and then couldn’t find again for another six months, despite it being really popular. I have bad luck, it seems. But it was worth the wait–and I think the fact that I kept on looking for that long says something about its appeal.
The obvious selling point of this book is world building. It contains three worlds: one your basic steampunk London, one saturated in magic and scented with roses, and one dusted with ash and iron where it’s dangerous to even walk the streets due to magical feuds. Each world is unique, but the magic system and Kell, the main character, do a neat job of tying them together.
I also loved the characters. Kell’s kind of a badass: he’s not really a combatant but he’s good at magic and would do ANYTHING to protect the worlds and his brother, Rhy. Lila, the deuteragonist, is independent and adventure-seeking, and (thank God!) not a love interest. Then there’s the mysterious antagonist, Holland, who plays a foil to Kell since he has many of the same skills but a bitter backstory. Kell comes from the London that smells of roses, but Holland comes from the London gritty with ash.
Anyways, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes strong world building in fantasy that is neither urban nor epic but somewhere in between, with good characters to boot. Haven’t read the rest of the series yet but I’m looking forward to it.

The story of this book is based on an amazing foundation, and even knowing that it’s the first one of a trilogy I was satisfied by the way it develops and the way it ends. It gives a sense of closure but not of an ending.
You know that the story will continue, somehow, but if you stop here, you will have finished hearing the tale you came to hear.

V. E. Schwab weaves a tale about Magic and the power and peril it poses to this world, or worlds, to be exact.

“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London.”

There are various Londons, in various realities, and you can travel through them if you have the right power, which is extremely rare.
There is Grey London, a place with no magic and a fairly regular. Red London, where balance is paramount and magic flows almost freely. White London, where people hunger for magic and abuse it. And the lost London, Black London, where magic ran wild and destroyed everything. Or so they say, because Black London was sealed long ago to protect the others, if it ever existed.

“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.”

It’s from one of these worlds that Kell, one of the main characters, comes from. He’s a magic user, one of those who can travel between worlds, and other things, and he does that in the service of the rulers of Red London, but he also smuggles trinkets from other worlds as a side job.
It’s during one of those times that he is set up while making a delivery, and travels to Grey London while running away, where he meets Lila Bard .

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”

And what a character Lila is. Originally from Grey London, she wishes for a life of adventure and for something more than what she has. A thief and street urchin, Lila does what she needs to survive and on a certain night that thing is to steal from Kell.
This turns into a journey through the Londons and to the discovery that Magic is not to be handled lightly.

There are more characters than just Kell and Lila, of course.
Holland, Kell’s counterpart from White London, and Astros and Astrid, the sadistic twin rulers of that London.
Also, the rulers of Red London, and Rhys the crown prince, Kell’s adoptive parents and brother, respectively.

“Some thought magic came from the mind, others the soul, or the heart, or the will. But Kell knew it came from the blood.”

Everything in this book is written with care and attention. And there’s something for everyone that enjoys reading fantasy.
I was drawn to the world building and the way all the Londons connect with each other and how they are so similar and yet so different.
Then of course there’s the Magic. It’s a kind of magic that not only comes from inside but one that is alive too.

At the beginning I said that you can finish reading this book and not continue the series. However, I know I will. It may take a little while, between reading this as a buddy read and being in the middle of other books, but be sure that I will return.

Magic and the multiple Londons are just the beginning of this intriguing novel. Kell and Lila are in interesting pair, both struggling to discover their paths. Magic becomes not only a backdrop to their story but a character in and of itself—everywhere, in all things, and in Kell and Lila. I am eager to read the next book in this series to discover if magic, like love, will destroy or save them.

Recommending the first books in series that I love. Stories about alternate versions of existing cities are my catnip and this series has 4 Londons! Plus, cross dressing pirates, fabulous relationships, and heartbreaking relationships. It’s one of those books you’ll devour, then greedily jump to book 2.

Well, that was fantastic! I was shocked at how quickly I read this book. The chapters weren’t that long so I fell into the “just one more chapter” syndrome and next thing I knew I said “just one more chapter” six or seven times. I am really happy this is a series because, though the plot was AMAZING I really wanted to dive more into the characters themselves.

Like Kell was cool, and the book did a great job at the beginning establishing what his responsibilities were and how he has strayed from them for some time. I just, I wanted more! And obviously Schwab wanted to give us more since it’s a series, but, I don’t know maybe I’m just rambling, I just really wanted to see more brotherly moments in the kingdom, actually see the king and queen a bit, hear more about the revolutions in white London, I guess I just loved the world so much I never wanted to leave.

Obviously, Delilah stole the show. Every scene she was in she made it hers. It was impossible not to pay more attention to her than everyone else and I liked how Schwab blatantly wrote how much she changed at the end when she was fighting the Queen in White London.

I thought Rhy had SO much potential and I really hope to see him more in the next books cause that dynamic between him and Kell is fantastic. He is loved by his people and doesn’t realize how strong he is because he’s constantly comparing himself to Kell’s magic.

All in all I loved this book and cannot wait to continue the series.

Interesting concept. Great start of a series.

I read the entire trilogy on a week! So original!