Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Book: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V. E. Schwab

Publication date: 2015

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The plot of this book contains all clichés one can find in fantasy: a boy, who is one of the last of his kind, capable of great magic and, also, of great destruction; a mysterious plot that can endanger the lives of the entire world (or worlds in this case); a girl who looks forward to greater things and a life of freedom; a showdown between two or more components of the list of characters; and a bad guy who will stop at nothing to get what they want. All these elements can be found in this book. Did they make it less enjoyable? Absolutely not; I liked this book and its characters and story quite a lot.

Kell is one of the last Antari, blood magicians who can travel between worlds. There is Red London, thriving with magic and life; Grey London, a dull world that has forgotten about magic and how to use it; White London, a dying world that hungers for magic and wants to control it at any costs; and Black London, forever forgotten, the cause to the separation of the worlds. Kell is bound to Red London’s Royal family and travels between the worlds to deliver messages between regents. However, Kell likes to bring tokens from the different Londons, music boxes, chess pieces, etc, which is illegal and dangerous. When one of Kell’s visits to White London goes awry, he has to find a way to stop a dangerous chain of events he himself helped put into motion. His final destination: Black London. He will not be alone in quest: he will be helped by Delilah Bard, a thief and aspiring pirate who wants to live an adventure. Together, they will set off to help save the Londons from a terrible fate.

Kell is a very interesting character, full of possibility. As many characters in fantasy, he has lots of power, which can lead him to save the world or destroy it. Lila is amazing and completely fascinating. I loved seeing how she views the world and reacts to the different events. Both of they are morally gray and ambiguous, not being totally good or bad. Most of the times they fight for themselves and their ideals, wherever this might lead them. However, I was a little disappointed with the antagonistic side of the story. I was hoping for a little… more. I thought the bad side was quite evident and so were the reasons behind their actions.

There were some interesting plot twists and the book doesn’t stop for one minute. We are always jumping from situation to situation, trying to understand who to trust and where the story is leading us and what might happen in the end.

The side characters were also interesting, even though some of them could have been more well-developed. I hope to get to know more about Holland and Rhy. I already like Rhy a lot, but it would be nice to get him to be more participative in the events of the story. The same goes to Holland, the only other living Antari. His back story and motivations were not that explored and he would certainly be an incredibly nice character to get to know about. His complexity already shows and I think Shwab can do wonders with him.

SPOILER I refuse to believe he is dead. He wasn’t when Kell sent him to Black London and, as they both say, it is very difficult to kill an Antari. Black London is there to be explored. I demand more from both Holland and this other shady London END OF SPOILER.

I’m looking forward to knowing what will happen next, even though some of the possibilities are quite evident, and a little cliché as well.

SPOILER Of course Lila is Antari. She has magic inside her, she can travel between worlds and she has a glass eye END OF SPOILER.

Over all, a great read, full of magic, action, and morally ambiguous characters that will travel with you through several different and fantastic worlds. I strongly recommend this book.