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 …
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.
Review of 'A Darker Shade of Magic' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
My first @veschwab book, but I'd been eyeing A Darker Shade of Magic in the bookstores for a while now. I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger and got it (based mostly on the back cover description and the fact that V is lovely on twitter). I'm keeping this short and sweet (and spoiler free) for now, but I'm really looking forward to reading more of her work.
Review of 'A Darker Shade of Magic' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
4 solid stars.
I was keen on liking this book, and I did. Only it didn't throw me off my feet and into a bucket of enthusiasm head first, as I had hoped it would.
What I definitely liked about it was the idea of the four Londons propped on a chain of magicality (yes, this is an English word - not my fault the OED classifies it as "rare") to normality, with Grey London being modelled on the actual city in the time of Mad King George and Prinny, and the whole world-building. I loved the idea that there would be fixed points (like that one tavern) which would appear in all the Londons at the exact same place. And speaking of world-building, I also was amazed at the perfect match the author was for me: just when I was beginning to feel I'd seen enough of that and …
4 solid stars.
I was keen on liking this book, and I did. Only it didn't throw me off my feet and into a bucket of enthusiasm head first, as I had hoped it would.
What I definitely liked about it was the idea of the four Londons propped on a chain of magicality (yes, this is an English word - not my fault the OED classifies it as "rare") to normality, with Grey London being modelled on the actual city in the time of Mad King George and Prinny, and the whole world-building. I loved the idea that there would be fixed points (like that one tavern) which would appear in all the Londons at the exact same place. And speaking of world-building, I also was amazed at the perfect match the author was for me: just when I was beginning to feel I'd seen enough of that and might get on with some story now, Schwab set off the plot proper. On top of that, I did love the fact that a convincing would-be pirate queen teams up with the mage to save the prince, not the princess - though I fear that there is a love story lurking there with Kell and Delilah (who also might turn out to have had an Antari eye like him at one point which would be ever so corny in combination...)
What made me smile and sigh at the same time, and also substract a star, was when I realised that, for all the new and bright ideas for her world, the author had made me read a Lord of the Rings condensed replica, concerning the main story: Kell (Frodo) comes into possession of a powerful magical stone (ring) and after contemplation decides it is best to go and return (destroy) it to(in) Black London (Mordor, Mount Doom). On his journey he is accompanied, not to say dragged along, by his less "chosen" but also less distractable companion Delilah (Samwise) and hindered by dubious character Holland (Gollum - sorry for that one) who wants the stone (ring) for himself. Troublesome journey, near-escapes from death, etc., and in the end not Kell (Frodo) sends back (destroys) the stone (ring) to (in) Black London (the fires of Mount Doom), but Holland (Gollum) does, possibly (definitely) dying in the process. That was somewhat too close and put me off being after the next part as keenly as I might have been.
Still, it was done so covertly and felt rather like an hommage than plagiarism which reconciled me to the book so that I might read on at some point anyway, I suppose.
