This book came highly recommended from some participants in a fantasy discussion board I moderate, and I was looking for something to read on my Kindle recently, so I picked it up. It was a lot of fun, and when I finished, I immediately started the second book in the series. (That is an enthusiastic recommendation for me. There are some books where I'm like "I'll get around to the sequel eventually" but fewer series where I pick up all the available volumes in a row.)
Just a bit of brief plot summary for context. There are four Londons in this novel, and a select few individuals can magically travel among them. These are referred to as Grey London, Red London, White London, and Black London, and they are different in how magic affects each world, in how (and by whom) it can be used in each world (the equivalent of *our* world is Gray London). The action takes place in the first three; no one has visited Black London in quite a long time. Only London is the same in each world; in other worlds, there is no France, for example, and not even a proper "England" in Red London.
The parallel worlds thing has been done quite a lot in fantasy, but I am fine with that. I like the twist here, that one of our two main characters (Kell, more on him in a bit) is not from our world, but is from Red London, where magic is ubiquitous. (Often, in such stories, including those by Guy Gavriel Kay in the Fionavar Tapestry, in Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books, in Charles Stross's more sci-fi-based Merchant Princes series, etc., it is people from our world traveling elsewhere. So it is nice to see a different perspective.) I also like that this is not set in the present day, but instead in the past. So even though theme is familiar, there are some alterations that manage to make it unique.
We have two main characters, Kell and Lila. Kell is from Red London, as previously mentioned, while Lila is from Grey London. Both have mysterious pasts; Kell remembers basically nothing before he was taken in by the royal family of Arnes (the country containing Red London) due to his magical abilities. (He is an Antari, marked by having one normal eye and one that is completely black. There are very few Antari, and they are the only ones able to travel among the worlds. They also have nearly unparalleled magical abilities, in general.) Lila is alone on the streets, making a living (such that it is) as a pickpocket and dreaming of being a pirate with her own ship.
The two of them encounter one another maybe 1/3 of the way through the story and they travel and work together through much of the rest of the book. I wouldn't say their first encounter seems contrived, because there are some uncanny parallels between their two worlds, such as a particular inn/tavern that seems to be co-situated in all three of the Londons Kell has visited, the existence of London and the Thames, etc. Since they both live in London and visit the inn (different Londons and different inns, but eerily the same, as well), it seems they are fated to meet. And their abilities complement one another. Sometimes the secrecy and stealth of a thief is needed, sometimes reputation and magical fighting ability are better suited to the situation. I think they are a good team. There is no romance between them in this book, though it is possible something like that could be set up for the future. Kell's reputation and duties are such that he doesn't seem to be looking for love or to have the time for it (or the trust to share with someone else), while Lila masquerades as a man and doesn't have what would be considered traditional aspirations for a young woman in the society from which she hails. I find the lack of romance refreshing, especially in a mixed-gender pair like this.
The other thing I like about the characters is that they have nice depth. Both have secrets (including a tantalizing one about Lila revealed about halfway through; I can't wait to see where that goes in future books), both have killed (not just in self-defense), both have flaws, both have their own moral codes that might not be exactly the same as yours or mine. And yet, you are still cheering for them, and not just because other characters are worse. Both are quite sympathetic.
Moving on, there is a lot of action in this book and I think it is well-written. It can be difficult to describe magical battles such that the reader can envision everything that happens, but I felt that was not an issue here. (There were also physical battles, weapons like guns/knives, etc.) I felt there were adequate dangerous situations for both Kell and Lila (and some of their associates); although not everything turned out as I expected, neither just skated through. They ran into difficulties, they had to be resourceful. The sense of danger and the well-written fights made me feel like the plot was always moving forward, and at a nice pace, at that.
Speaking of the plot, I felt that it was basically self-contained in this book. There were endings for Lila and Kell. But, there were also some interesting possibilities laid out for future books. I am not yet sure where the overall series arc will take us (presumably we will learn the secrets of Lila's and Kell's pasts in future volumes -- I am not yet enough into volume two to see if that is true); however, there are some interesting possibilities for where things could go in the future.
I also liked the writing. As mentioned earlier, it was especially good during action sequences. But I also thought it was good at setting the scene for each of the different Londons. If you opened the book to a random part and didn't know which London you were in, I think you'd be able to guess based on the setting. And, when you were inside the protagonists' heads, their thoughts were different. They had different personalities, different aspirations, different goals. They were not just two aspects of the author projected onto the page. So that was also done well.
If I had one criticism, it would be that there were a few too many instances of characters being saved from very dire situations or being able to fight when they ought to have been incapacitated. It made for dramatic action, but it was perhaps not quite as believable within the context of the story as the author would have wanted. This is a common issue in fantasy novels, and considering that some degree of magical healing is accounted for here (as well as some consequences), it is not an unforgivable writing sin.
Anyway, on balance, I enjoyed this quite a bit. It was a nice break from the epic fantasy I've been reading lately and I'm glad I picked it up!
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Popular Highlights in this book
He could smell Grey London (smoke) and White London (blood), but to him, Red London simply smelled like home.Highlighted by 3,245 Kindle readers- Grey for the magic-less city. Red, for the healthy empire. White, for the starving world.Highlighted by 2,712 Kindle readers
- “I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”Highlighted by 2,477 Kindle readers
StepIntoABookWorld on Wordpress: One of the Best Book I have read to date! World-Building blew my mind!
A Darker Shade of Magic is centered heavy on time-traveling in-between alternate London's. The three alternate London's are known as: Grey London: Magic-Less City (People have long forgotten magic) Red London: Healthy strong empire; full of magic White London: Starving world full of violence and deceit. "There's Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London.".."See I am a fast learner The only one capable of traveling between these world's is an Antari which is basically an extremely powerful magician who can control all the elements. They are extremely rare and the only ones who can open doors between the alternate London's. The Antari are marked by having one completely black eye and one with normal color. Kell is walking a dangerous line when he decided to be a smuggler between the worlds. A crime some would consider worst than any other. Kell's life is in serious danger when one unknown lady gives him a parcel as payment and asked him to take a letter to an alternate London. A Darker Shade of Magic has a very detailed world-building that is truly a work of art. I have never experienced such detail and real life feel in a book in a very long time. The world-building foundation was laid very carefully and spread out with expert thought to where everything was to be place so that the story stays at a steady pace without the feel of cramming information at me all at one. The magic aspect that was featured in this wasn't exactly unique but it was refreshing. Personally, I noticed elements from other books, but the detail put into the explanation of this world of magic was described in a way that drew me in taking away any comparison to the others. It stands apart from all of the other's in a way that made this my favorite thing about the book. A Darker Shade of Magic is center around a young Antiari named Kell. Kell is one of two whom can travel between the 3 alternate London's. I adored Kell and after his snarky, caring, and loyal personality became abundantly clear in every page I fell in love with him hard. Delilah Bard known mostly by Lila Bard is a young and extremely talented thief in Grey London. She craves adventure from her boring life only to have it crashing into her life in the form of Kell. "I am not going to die," she said. "Not till I have seen it." "Seen what?" "Everything" — Lila Bard Lila Bard is my favorite character in this book by far! This girl has more sass in her pinky finger than any other character I have ever read about. When you mix Lila's love for adventure and life with Kell's uptight seriousness it equals pure gold. "Kell managed an echo of her smile, and she gasped. "What's that on your face?" The smile vanished "What?" "Never mind," she said laughing. " It's gone" "And if you don't survive?" challenged Kell. "Then you can raid my corpse." She said dryly. " I doubt I will care." The last character I am going to meant is Prince Rhy. I loved Rhy and I want more of Rhy. He is charming, funny, loyal and a huge flirt. Rhy is from Kell's London (Red London) and the two are extremely close. He is not as gifted with magic as most are from Red London. " Your problem Rhy," chided Kell "is that you don't want to learn magic to learn magic. You only want to learn it because you think it will help you lure people into your bed." Rhy's lips twitched "I don't see how that's a problem, and it would." Who needs magic when you have Kell in your corner? " Forget the lesson. I'm in no mood for learning. Let's go out." "Why?" asked Kell. "So you can use my magic to lure people into your bed?" "A fine idea," said Rhy " But no."
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2016
- Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2017
Top reviews from other countries
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- TheBookAddictedGirlReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2017
Few Fantasies Can Compare To The Pure Brilliance Of A Darker Shade Of Magic
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JohannaReviewed in Sweden on October 23, 2023
Bra bok men kanske inte så mycket som hypen
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