Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
A Darker Shade of Magic
A Darker Shade of Magic, from #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.
"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...This is a book to treasure."—Deborah Harkeness, New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls trilogy
Shades of Magic series
1. A Darker Shade of Magic
2. A Gathering of Shadows
3. A Conjuring of Light
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
More Books from V. E. Schwab
Reviews
Vivid writing from the start, you can imagine the places, characters, emotions immediately. Fun story without a lot of gore, but enough intrigue and mystery to keep you fully engaged.
By Cyradford
Definitely had me hooked! Read on my kindle as I am awaiting apple to make a ereader for night time reading.
By NOLA2VEGAS
It was such a good book. The magic system and world building were a 10/10. Characters were so likable. Overall such a fun read!
By kkgirl19
The book’s world building is very interesting but unfortunately the pacing of the story seems rushed to me, action scene melting into action scene. Also the magic system seemed to have potential but in the end I was disappointed by the way the story concluded
By svc bearcat
This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier. Synopsis: Kell lives as one of the last two Antari. Antari are magicians able to travel between specific points in parallel worlds. This point is London, of which there are three: Red, Grey, and White. Once there was a Black London which no one speaks of now, save in whispers. Kell’s home is in Red London, called Arnes by the locals of this world. Kell serves as ambassador between the Londons, traveling to White London with constant bloody regime changes and Grey London which exists without magic. Kell also smuggles little trinkets between the worlds. When an exchange goes wrong, Kell escapes to Grey London and gets robbed by Delilah Bard, who then saves him from a deadly enemy. Kell takes her to Red London where dangerous magic and treachery lurk at every turn. Review: I usually don’t pick up alternative world stories as they tend to be confusing. I almost didn’t pick it up the second time I saw it on the Bookery’s shelves. I’m glad I did. The worlds were different enough that I could keep track of which was which. V. E. Schwab uses elemental-based magic, a good grounding point for magical systems. The interplay between the characters proved to be fun. Kell is a magician who can walk between worlds with the dangerous and highly illegal hobby of smuggling. When he unwittingly smuggles a magical object from Black London, events are set in motion that leads him to Delilah Bard, a Grey London pickpocket who wants a proper adventure. What followed kept me turning the pages. I already picked up the two sequels in the series.
By ferret_bard