A Darker Shade of Magic

Really good adventure/action story with a mix of Lord of the Rings and Sliders.

3.5 I didn't think I would like it at first. It was slow to start and it didn't hold my attention, but it did picked up, and I absolutely adored Lila! I will definitely try and get my hands on the sequel.

The problem with reading books that have got book of the year is that they come loaded with tons of expectations. And then its usually a downhill journey. I guess that's why the really good books will never disappoint no matter how highly they are rated. Sadly, this one is not in that league. Don't get me wrong its still a good book but it never reaches the heights of story telling that needs to merge with the concept of parallel universe which by the way are very well handled. So what we get is a nice and simple story with fair character builds and a simplified but well defined rules. Magic is not really explained but it is well managed. For that I might venture further into the series.

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Si el año pasado hubiera podido hacer mi resumen de mejores lecturas, sin duda A Darker Shade of Magic habría estado en ella y en los lugares importantes.

Como soy muy olvidadiza, estuve armando listas y pequeños resúmenes de cada libro leído el año pasado y que no pude reseñar, para poder hacer la reseña más coherente. La cosa es que solo he puesto cuatro cosas en esa lista y todas ellas son fangirleo vergonzoso sobre este libro. En serio, la manera en la que el corazón me late y la sonrisa idiota nace NO ES NORMAL.

¿Qué tiene de especial? Te estarás preguntando. La respuesta es simple: TODO.

Para empezar la trama te deja completamente intrigado desde el inicio, me confundí un poquito al comenzar, no lo voy a negar, pero una vez que logras diferenciar los Londres, necesitaras leer más y más sobre cada uno. A pesar de estar en la sinopsis, durante unos capítulos tuve la idea que estos Londres eran ciudades vecinas, en realidad son mundos paralelos (!!!), explicados de una manera que... Schwab es una artista de la palabra. Haría lo que sea por tener su tipo de imaginación.

LILA BARD AKA MY BEAUTIFUL SINNAMON ROLL

Tanto Adelina como Lila podrían destruir el mundo y yo estaría ahí aplaudiéndoles, haciéndoles barra, en serio. Pienso en Lila y mi alma se regenera un poco, mi piel se limpia, tengo una pizca de fe en la humanidad...

Lila me recuerda mucho a los personajes de serie que adoraba de niña (Charmed, Xena, Rellic Hunter), ella es todo lo quiero en un personaje femenino, no es perfecta y eso es lo que me gusta más de ella, su brújula moral está un poco movida. Y, algunos podrían decir que es muy masculina. Yo siento que la parte femenina está cubierta por los hermanos Kell y Rhy.

PRINCE & PRINCE CINNAMON ROLL

Son. Demasiado. Adorables, a mi pobre bebe Rhy lo hicieron sufrir en este primer libro igual a pobre Kell, antari bebé.

Todos son mis bebes Y DEBEN SER PROTEGIDOS, estoy considerando seriamente adoptar dos niños para ponerle a una Lila Adelina Bard y al otro Kell Rhy o Rhy Kell, el problema es que me tendría que quedar con ellos.

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC

V.E. Schwab simplemente trajo una obra maestra de la fantasía con este libro, quizá para ti este exagerando, pero siento todo este amor por el libro en el kokoro. No solo son los personajes principales, es la historia, la estética, es los personajes secundarios, es los villanos malditos, son los escenarios y los pasados de los personajes y la magia. Oh, la magia.

Y tengo que parar aquí, respirar y prepararme para A Gathering of Shadows

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At first I found this one difficult to get into, interesting world, but I wasn't captured by the characters or story. I found it improved once Lila and Kell met.

If I understand correctly this is the first in a series? I may continue, but I'm not sure.

4.5 Stars

Initial Thoughts: I really love Victoria's writing. It just pulls you right into the plot and the characters. Also I need the next book like now!

Review:


“Love doesn't keep us from freezing to death, Kell, or starving, or being knifed for the coins in our pocket. Love doesn't buy us anything, so be glad for what you have and who you have because you may want for things but you need for nothing.”

Victoria Schwab is one of those writers that you cannot help but love. She is quirky and eccentric and has an amazing ability to write amazing worlds. I had only read The Archived and Vicious by her but I knew going into this book that I was not going to be disappointed in terms of writing or character development. I do not even know why I put off reading this book. I should have read it as soon as it came out.

Parallel universes are a very interesting topic and recently there has been a increase in these kinds of books. But what I love about this topic is that every book is different. The genre itself is vastly different because the parallel universes each author creates can vary in so many different ways. I loved how this book focuses on four different Londons each with varying levels of magic and power. I also appreciated that it was not just those who could travel from universe to universe that knew about the alternate Londons. It was interesting to see how other people reacted and lived knowing this information.

This book focuses on Kell and Lila who meet during one of Kell's trips “abroad.” Immediately I loved their banter and the connection between them. Both are very independent and capable individuals, but you could see they worked better together.

This really has nothing to do with the quality of the book itself, but Kell's reversible (reversible isn't even right because it appears to have an infinite about of sides) jacket is pure genius. I loved how everywhere he went he would have to switch his jacket around to find the right style for his current project. The jacket just added to the quirkiness and the oddity that is Kell and his ability.

There is so much left to explore in this trilogy especially with all four Londons. This book really only focuses on two of them. I would really love to see more of the other two, which I think we will get. I also have so many questions about Lila and how she was able to help for the whole book and if there is more to her than we are being told (which I highly suspect there to be).

I really had no issues with this book. It was a fascinating tale in other Londons filled with magic, power, and secrecy. I cannot wait for the next book to see where Kell and Lila's story goes next. One last thought, this is considered an adult book, but I would say it is one of those books that is really fine for everyone. It is definitely a good book for people just starting to go from YA Fantasy to Adult Fantasy.

Read my review on my blog here: https://theconsultingbookworm.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/a-darker-shade-of-magic-v-e-schwab-2/

Never anything less than fully engaging, this book (the first part of a trilogy) is absolutely worth reading. The plot is very good, the writing fluid and fun, but the characters are what make this story so great. Likeable yet flawed, as all the best characters are, they're what make an otherwise good fantasy adventure into something great.

Reread after so many years and it is still such a magically wonderful world.

I loved the premise of this book so much that for weeks I've been dreaming about buying this book, however in my dreams I always managed to lose the book before reading it, so you can imagine how excited I was to have this book in my hands and opening the front cover and finally reading it.

I really enjoyed this story. It's quite different from the fantasy books I've been reading lately and the characters were very special. I loved reading about Kell and Lila, but my favourite character ended up being Rhy. Not even sure why, I just really like him.

Learning about the four different Londons was so cool and I wish I could travel to Red London! I want to live there forever and ever!

Challenge: Read a book written by someone under 30

4.5

Victoria Schwab is my second favourite author so I can't help being biased when it comes to her books.

I read the first pages last year and I fell in love completely with the world she created. I think Victoria's strongest point is her world building. Each of the different Londons was described in such a way that there was no fear of mistaken them.

This is a very much plot driven novel but I still felt her characters were well devoloped. Kell and Rhy were my favourites but I really loved how creepy the twins were, even though I was expecting more of the villains. Holland, on the other hand, was perfect: ruthless, cunning, evil. I loved hating him.

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed with Lila, specially towards the climax of the story. It might have been a bit unrealistic but I was hoping that she was the one to defeat Astrid. She had the advantage of being more magical than Lila but there could have been a weak spot and having Lila discover it and finally defeating Astrid would have been better in my opinion. I just think it would have been better if she took down one of the baddies herself.
But I'm hoping to see her being a badass more than people telling me she's a badass in the next novel.


Another thing I enjoyed a lot was the magic system. I found every aspect interesting to read, from the basic training to the Antari showdown.

Lastly, very much as it happened with the world building, I was blown away by all the descriptions in particular with the wardrobe descriptions. The different coats that were mentioned sounded absolutely marvelous. Kell's magic coat never ceased to impress me and Lila's final outfit was perfect head to toe.

I had to force myself to stop reading because I literally couldn't put it down I almost missed my bus stop twice. Very fast paced and entertaining. Thankfully with no horrible cliffhanger but I still cannot wait to read the next instalment in the series.

Yeah, no. This one really didn't do it for me. I do not understand the hype...I forced myself to finish this, and at times it was in fact rather painful. So boring.

4.25 stars.

Review to come.

3.5!!!!!

Parallel worlds, as a concept, are pretty interesting, and have long been fascinating, to readers of all stripes, and therefore, to writers as well. Science has suggested???and the math has indicated???that there are parallel universes lying right next to our own, universes that might, superficially, be similar to ours, except for one small detail that alters that universe entirely and makes it completely different. However, neither fantasy nor sci-fi have needed accurate science and mathematics as an excuse to play around with parallel universes, so there???s plenty of writing out there that takes the concept and runs away with it, the only important factor being how cleverly a writer can use the idea in their story.

In the case of V.E. Schwab???s A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book in a series of the same title, parallel worlds form the basis for a story that???s about getting away: to find and grab power; to find a space in which to belong; and to find a path to freedom.

A Darker Shade of Magic begins with the protagonist, Kell, stepping through from one world, and into another, while thinking about his coat. It???s a most unusual coat, and it???s one of Kell???s most prized possessions, not least because of how useful it is to him in the course of his job. For Kell is a Traveler, an Antari, capable of traversing the gates that separate the worlds, and his job involves taking messages between the rulers of the different Londons, cities that exist in the same place across the worlds, but which are very different in every iteration. There are three: Red London, which is his home, ruled by the Maresh Dynasty; Grey London, which is wreathed in smoke and smog and ruled by Mad King George; and White London, which is starving and half-dead and dangerous, ruled by the Dane twins. Once, there was a Black London, but it is long gone, and no one speaks of it, and so Kell does not go there.

However, Kell uses his job in pursuit of his own illicit hobby: collecting and smuggling items between the Londons. He???s very careful, though, and doesn???t take items that are truly dangerous, so he thinks he has everything under control. But when his hobby causes him to fall into a trap in White London, he seeks temporary refuge in Grey London. There, he is saved by a young woman named Lila Bard, who dreams of a life of adventure on the high seas, and wants nothing more than to escape the dreary existence she currently leads. From that point onwards, the two of them are forced to work together in order to survive???as well as ensure that the three remaining Londons don???t go the way of Black London.

One of the things I like most about this novel is the world-building. The concept of the four Londons, and of travel and contact between them, isn???t all that bad, as is the characterisation of each. Cities have their own character, after all, and Schwab is careful to ensure that each London has its own unique feel, and even layout. What might be an open square in Grey London, for instance, might be a wall in Red London, or a buried basement in White London. Because the geography is rarely the same from one London to the next, and might change at any given moment, a Traveler has to keep the distinct geography of each London in mind, to ensure that they don???t wind up someplace they can???t get out. It???s that sort of complication???to say nothing of being able to navigate the specific culture and society of each London???that makes the world as Schwab envisions is interesting.

It would be nice, however, to see each London developed more fully. Red London, in particular, looks like an interesting place, but the reader only sees one particular facet of it, even though more are implied: for instance, Kell hints at rebellion seething amongst the less privileged of the Red Londoners, and I think it would be an excellent main plot or side-plot to see that angle explored more fully. And then there is Grey London, and how magic???or the lack thereof???fits into the rest of the world as its built, especially since an absence of magic has led to the development of technology. Could Grey London technology be used in other Londons, for good or for evil? I think that???s another angle that could be explored in later novels, and I hope that???s something that happens.

The magic system is also interesting, at least from what the reader learns through Kell. However, I feel that it could have been developed a bit further, since it???s implied that in Red London, at least, anyone with the talent for it can use magic, depending on their specific elemental inclination, but aside from certain important characters and a handful of performers marching in a parade in the book???s latter third, no one else is shown actively using magic. In fact, it would be nice to see how the system works, especially since, throughout the book, Kell and other characters say that magic once linked all the worlds together. There is also something about the elemental system that reminds me of the Avatar TV series, sans the martial arts; I doubt that???s what Schwab intended. Hopefully that sense of similarity will be corrected in later books.

As for the characters, the true standout would have to be Lila. She???s very definitely headstrong, and hopeful in a way that I wish I myself could be most times. More importantly, she is unafraid to do what needs to be done, as long as it???s what she chooses to do. Reading about her makes me both happy and envious, because while I enjoy reading about her, I also rather envy her ability to just keep on going, never once losing sight of her goal. True, the means of accomplishing that goal might change, but the goal itself does not. I also rather like her matter-of-fact approach to death, and her equally matter-of-fact approach to killing, stealing, and crime in general. She accepts who she is, doesn???t see any point in being anyone other than herself, and the rest of the world will just have to learn to accept that. However, it would be nice to see some other facet of her personality besides the headstrong, devil-may-care thief with piratical aspirations???or at least, longer than the brief glimpses the reader gets at certain points in the novel. I think it would be interesting to see a colder, deadlier Lila, especially since she tends to treat killing in an offhand, practical manner.Kell, on the other hand, is something else. He functions well enough as a protagonist, but functioning isn???t quite the same as being. Whereas Lila stands out on the page, Kell has a bit of a tendency to fade into the background. Were it not for his status as an Antari, and the fact that the reader learns about the rest of the worlds through his eyes, I don???t think he???d be particularly interesting. In fact, his brother, Rhy, sounds more interesting than him, and the reader only encounters Rhy briefly in the course of the novel.As for the dynamic between Kell and Lila, I think it???s pretty enjoyable because of what Lila does to Kell, but I???m a bit leery about where their relationship will go. While I???m not entirely opposed to romantic subplots, I do think they can be overused, and have to be handled with extreme care if employed. I think this is especially true for Lila and Kell. I can see them as partners, as friends, but I can???t really find it in myself to see them as romantically involved with each other. I am aware that there are points throughout the novel that indicate the possibility of a romantic relationship, but I truly think they???d just destroy each other in the long run, if that were to happen???not least because of hints towards the very end of the novel that Rhy might be romantically interested in Lila, himself. I???m very tired of love triangles in fiction, so I really, truly hope that???s not where this is going, but I can only wait and see. I do have my fingers crossed, though.

The plot, in its turn, isn???t half-bad, though it does start out a bit slow as Schwab builds the worlds up enough for the reader to be able to make at least a bit of sense about them, before turning up the speed just before the novel???s midway point and letting things run from there. Without giving too much away, I do think the plot as a whole is quite fun: certain people die, certain other people live, and most of this happens in a way that isn???t entirely expected. In fact, it???s the plot that mostly makes up for Kell being rather uninteresting, since there???s a sense of things happening to him, as opposed to because of him, after one gets past a certain point in the novel. Lila is mostly immune to this, but she does fall into it from time to time. I also wish there was a somewhat more complicated subplot, something that could lead into the next novel, but that???s not the case here.

Overall, A Darker Shade of Magic is, in a word, fun. It has its problems???certain characters could have been better built; the world could have been explored a bit more; the plot could have been tweaked somewhat???but for the most part, it???s a fun read. It???s easy to get sucked into it, once things start to pick up, and it???s easy to get attached to the characters (or Lila, at least). It made me happy and excited while I was reading it, and it makes me hopeful that, in later books, the issues encountered in this one will be more or less resolved???and that certain