A Darker Shade of Magic: A Novel

by V. E. Schwab

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

If you haven't discovered the Shades of Magic series — what are you waiting for? Transport yourself to a fabulous new world via a perfect balance of plot and narrative voice.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab, return to the beginning of the phenomenal Shades of Magic series with A Darker Shade of Magic, now in a brand new trade paperback edition

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.

Other books by V. E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Shades of Magic series
A Darker Shade of Magic
A Gathering of Shadows
A Conjuring of Light

Villains Duology
Vicious
Vengeful

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250344182
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Series:	Shades of Magic Series , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	36,352
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

VICTORIA “V. E.” SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades universe, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts series, Gallant, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Fragile Threads of Power. When not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/05/2015
Schwab (Vicious) creates an ingenious set of nesting alternate Londons in this imaginative, well-crafted fantasy. There’s Grey London, set in our mundane world’s Regency era; Red London, where magic flourishes along with the populace; and White London, where a desperate struggle to control magic has bled the city and its people. No one speaks of Black London, consumed by magic and presumed destroyed. Kell, adopted brother of Red London’s prince and one of the few Antari, who can travel between worlds, is a royal emissary and collector of forbidden artifacts from other Londons. When Kell is tricked into taking a dangerous artifact of Black London into Red, he falls in with the cross-dressing Grey thief Lila Bard, a cutpurse with a quick tongue and her own sense of honor. Confident prose and marvelous touches—a chameleon coat, a scarlet river of magic, a piratical antiheroine—bring exuberant life to an exhilarating adventure among the worlds. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Confident prose and marvelous touches-a chameleon coat, a scarlet river of magic, a piratical antiheroine-bring exuberant life to an exhilarating adventure among the worlds."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Compulsively readable...her characters make the book."—NPR

"Feels like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books...kept me engrossed by its story every bit as much as I was fascinated by its complex, multilayered world."—io9.com

"Has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy...This is a book to treasure." -Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of The All Souls trilogy

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2014
The doors connecting the worlds have been closed for years, with only rare magic users such as Kell able to travel between. A member of the royal household of Red London, Kell journeys to other Londons (including Grey London, our nonmagical world from the age of mad King George III) with correspondence for the monarchs of the realms, forbidden from taking anything else between the worlds. Then he inadvertently comes into possession of an artifact from interdicted Black London, quarantined since its magic grew out of control. A young thief named Lila from Grey London helps him when a fellow magician from White London turns on Kell, seeking a path to power. VERDICT The three Londons we see (and rumors of the one we do not) will captivate fantasy readers. They are pleasantly grounded by the grimy Georgian version that is Lila's home. While scrappy, pragmatic wannabe pirate Lila is a big draw, Kell and White London magician Holland round out a great cast. There is much more to explore in this amazing world from the acclaimed author of Vicious.

Library Journal

2014-12-06
A fast-paced fantasy adventure that takes readers into a series of interconnected worlds ruled by magic—or the lack of it. Long ago, the doors between worlds were open, and anyone with magic could travel from one to the next. Now the doors are closed, and only a chosen few have the power to travel between Grey London, a world without magic, Red London, a world suffused with it, and White London, a world where magic is scarce, coveted and jealously guarded. As for Black London, the city consumed, no one would be so foolish as to risk a trip—not even Kell. Officially, he's a royal messenger, carrying letters among the rulers of the three Londons. Unofficially, he's a smuggler who collects artifacts from other worlds. It's that habit that leads him to accept a dangerous relic, something that shouldn't exist. And it's when a wanted Grey London thief named Lila steals the artifact that the real trouble starts—for both of them. Schwab (Vicious, 2013, etc.) creates a memorable world—actually, three memorable worlds—and even more memorable characters. Lila in particular is a winningly unconventional heroine who, as she declares, would "rather die on an adventure than live standing still." The brisk plot makes this a page-turner that confronts darkness but is never overwhelmed by it.Fantasy fans will love this fast-paced adventure, with its complex magic system, thoughtful hero and bold heroine.

Kirkus Reviews