Matt
After finishing A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy, I found myself wondering what she was going to do with a sequel. After all, Darker Shade is a very strong standalone novel that doesn’t really set things up for a trilogy. After reading A Gathering of Shadows, I am more convinced that Schwab didn’t exactly know what she was going to do either, but she still managed to write a mostly great book.
Something that Schwab nails throughout A Gathering of Shadows is vibes. Vibes can carry a book a long way for me and A Gathering of Shadows has fantastic vibes. It’s just a really fun read thanks to its sexy, adventurous atmosphere. From the moment the book starts it’s a damn good time. It’s such a good time that I managed to ignore some of the things I didn’t like about it. A Gathering of Shadows is a weird book in that I have a much easier time verbalizing what I didn’t like about it as opposed to what I did like about it despite me being mostly positive on it overall. Sometimes a writer just knows how to construct a really fun reading experience without necessarily being technically perfect and that’s totally ok. I honestly think A Gathering of Shadows is a more enjoyable book than its predecessor even if I do think Shadows has a far weaker plot and more annoying dialogue. Schwab just gets how to put characters in positions that make them interesting and that is key. Do I wish that she had done a better job in Darker Shade of making these positions make more sense? Of course, but she didn’t do that and Shadows is still a really fun ride that I would gladly recommend to people who enjoyed the first book. I can’t say I’m super excited for the conclusion to this trilogy but if there’s anyone who can make a great book out of otherwise mediocre attributes, it’s Schwab.
After finishing A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy, I found myself wondering what she was going to do with a sequel. After all, Darker Shade is a very strong standalone novel that doesn’t really set things up for a trilogy. After reading A Gathering of Shadows, I am more convinced that Schwab didn’t exactly know what she was going to do either, but she still managed to write a mostly great book.
Something that Schwab nails throughout A Gathering of Shadows is vibes. Vibes can carry a book a long way for me and A Gathering of Shadows has fantastic vibes. It’s just a really fun read thanks to its sexy, adventurous atmosphere. From the moment the book starts it’s a damn good time. It’s such a good time that I managed to ignore some of the things I didn’t like about it. A Gathering of Shadows is a weird book in that I have a much easier time verbalizing what I didn’t like about it as opposed to what I did like about it despite me being mostly positive on it overall. Sometimes a writer just knows how to construct a really fun reading experience without necessarily being technically perfect and that’s totally ok. I honestly think A Gathering of Shadows is a more enjoyable book than its predecessor even if I do think Shadows has a far weaker plot and more annoying dialogue. Schwab just gets how to put characters in positions that make them interesting and that is key. Do I wish that she had done a better job in Darker Shade of making these positions make more sense? Of course, but she didn’t do that and Shadows is still a really fun ride that I would gladly recommend to people who enjoyed the first book. I can’t say I’m super excited for the conclusion to this trilogy but if there’s anyone who can make a great book out of otherwise mediocre attributes, it’s Schwab.