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A review by peterkeep
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
4.0
I saw a decent amount of hype for this book before I read it, so I was expecting it to be pretty cool. And it really is. I normally don't love "portal fantasy," and this is kind of that, but it's got a really original twist on how the portals to different worlds (or different Londons) works.
I really liked the idea of "layered Londons," where the different worlds were generally aware of each other and there was an order of passage. The main character, a messenger between the different Londons, fulfilled a pretty neat role: he was a kind of ambassador, but also a smuggler. There was the respect and high class from having an important purpose and affiliation with the royalty, but the kind of underdog respect that makes me cheer for liars and thieves if they're likeable enough. And Kell is really likeable. He's capable, he's smart, and he's our gateway to magic (as one of the primary magic-users) in the story. The other main character, Lila, is an equally interesting and likeable character, although she's built on a lot more intrigue and mystery than Kell.
The conflict itself seemed to take a while to get going, but again it seemed like a really sophisticated take on a kind of trite cliche. To dumb it down, it's a pretty typical "magic artifact" story, where the thieves have to steal it and do __________ with it, and the conflict comes from other people trying to get it before our heros do whatever they are planning on doing with it. But again, it's executed at a really high level. The conflict takes a while to get going because the author shows us exactly why this artifact is so important. Without noticing it, Schwab sets the stage and conveys enough backstory/setting/tone for us to realize immediately upon discovering the thing that not only is it bad news, but that this has to be where the story goes. And it doesn't just pop into the plot...it slowly slides its way in until it's there without us even noticing. To go into much more detail would get a bit spoilery, so I'll leave it vague. But it's really well done.
I totally get the hype. There are a lot of interesting and unique things going on, and even more masterful recreation of common tropes. It still all feels new, though, and instead of pulling me out of the story by recognizing these commonly used elements, it added to the depth of the story by anchoring it in some familiar territory.
I really liked the idea of "layered Londons," where the different worlds were generally aware of each other and there was an order of passage. The main character, a messenger between the different Londons, fulfilled a pretty neat role: he was a kind of ambassador, but also a smuggler. There was the respect and high class from having an important purpose and affiliation with the royalty, but the kind of underdog respect that makes me cheer for liars and thieves if they're likeable enough. And Kell is really likeable. He's capable, he's smart, and he's our gateway to magic (as one of the primary magic-users) in the story. The other main character, Lila, is an equally interesting and likeable character, although she's built on a lot more intrigue and mystery than Kell.
The conflict itself seemed to take a while to get going, but again it seemed like a really sophisticated take on a kind of trite cliche. To dumb it down, it's a pretty typical "magic artifact" story, where the thieves have to steal it and do __________ with it, and the conflict comes from other people trying to get it before our heros do whatever they are planning on doing with it. But again, it's executed at a really high level. The conflict takes a while to get going because the author shows us exactly why this artifact is so important. Without noticing it, Schwab sets the stage and conveys enough backstory/setting/tone for us to realize immediately upon discovering the thing that not only is it bad news, but that this has to be where the story goes. And it doesn't just pop into the plot...it slowly slides its way in until it's there without us even noticing. To go into much more detail would get a bit spoilery, so I'll leave it vague. But it's really well done.
I totally get the hype. There are a lot of interesting and unique things going on, and even more masterful recreation of common tropes. It still all feels new, though, and instead of pulling me out of the story by recognizing these commonly used elements, it added to the depth of the story by anchoring it in some familiar territory.