A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1) in Overdue Podcast

Jul 20, 2016 David rated it really liked it

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Early on I was expecting this to be a five-star book for me. The initial setup of the novel, where the brilliantly original setting is introduced, where Kell's past and daily life is dolled out in small bits and pieces, was excellent. Beyond excellent, even. Schwab's prose is punchy, economical, and vivid throughout. I fell hard for her words and her setting, but then the actual plot kicks in, and a lot of the magic fades. Ironic for a book that spends so much time talking about magic. Not that Early on I was expecting this to be a five-star book for me. The initial setup of the novel, where the brilliantly original setting is introduced, where Kell's past and daily life is dolled out in small bits and pieces, was excellent. Beyond excellent, even. Schwab's prose is punchy, economical, and vivid throughout. I fell hard for her words and her setting, but then the actual plot kicks in, and a lot of the magic fades. Ironic for a book that spends so much time talking about magic. Not that it's a terrible plot and I never really stopped enjoying the book, but it was just a bit simplistic, familiar, and predictable to wow me, and a book that doesn't wow me isn't a five-star book. I was ready for something more complex, and certainly ready for something more original to go with the wildly original setting, and I didn't get it. I've heard people who don't read fantasy much deride it as being nothing but macguffin stories, which isn't really true, but with books like this getting popular you can see how someone might get that impression. The trope is certainly common enough to give someone the wrong idea.

One thing I really liked is that Kell and Lilah don't really have any romantic tension. They're just friends on an adventure together. How refreshing! But other than that, our two main characters don't really go anywhere. They don't have much of an arc and, while enjoyable to read, they are fairly underdeveloped if you examine them too closely. Lilah more than Kell, since we at least get a couple of deeper glimpses into Kell's past as the novel progresses. His complicated relationship with the royal family, the things he's done in his youth to protect his step-brother, prince Rhy, etc. Unfortunately they always made me wish I was reading a whole book about that instead. Something more personal, slower paced, with much lower stakes, with more personality and cultural and political flavor to really immerse you in this world and these characters. A magical macguffin/world in peril story is fine for a bit of fun, but I can't help but feel like Schwab wasted her setting on a fairly trite plot that wasn't worthy of it.

Overall a very enjoyable book that didn't quite live up to its potential on the plot and character front, but also a great incentive to get my hands on all of Schwab's other books in the hopes that one of them really knocks it out of the park. Many of the ingredients for a truly top-tier, world-class fantasy novelist are on show here and she's firmly on my radar now. ...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Nicole rated it it was amazing

I put this book off for a long time. I don’t know why though, the premise was interesting enough. Cool smuggling magician who can travel between alternate realities? Check. An ambitious female thief with a penchant for witty banter and every pretty knife she can get her hands on? Check. Adventure? Unique magic systems? A complex and fascinating villain? The best world-building I’ve seen since I last read a Sanderson novel? Che- you know what? I honestly don’t know why I didn’t read this book soo I put this book off for a long time. I don’t know why though, the premise was interesting enough. Cool smuggling magician who can travel between alternate realities? Check. An ambitious female thief with a penchant for witty banter and every pretty knife she can get her hands on? Check. Adventure? Unique magic systems? A complex and fascinating villain? The best world-building I’ve seen since I last read a Sanderson novel? Che- you know what? I honestly don’t know why I didn’t read this book sooner. It was absolutely fantastic!

The characters were likeable and 3 dimensional. The suspense and tension was heart pounding. Every little detail seemed immensely important and not to mention the absolutely fantastic way she portrayed each London. It was almost as if you could smell and hear the bustle and sweet scents of red London. And see the dull, almost muted elegance of grey London. White London was my favourite because you got such a clear sense of how dangerous it was, how bad off the people were, and how desperate they were for magic and power. It was an absolutely enjoyable read.

Now I’m stressing on the word “read” here. I decided to buy the audiobook version of this story first because it was on sale and I love hearing books through the mouth of a skilled narrator. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong narrator for this book. Steven Crossley sounded like he hated some of the characters. In particular, Delila Bard. His voice for her sounded almost like he was mocking her in how obnoxious he sounded. I know she is supposed to be somewhat of a sarcastic character who doesn’t take crap from anybody but I could not listen to her voice when he spoke her words. Even during her more vulnerable moments, he made her sound like all her troubles were happening to someone else, and she was making fun of them. Some of the other characters also came across as unapologetically sardonic, even when the context leaned to a more serious attitude than obnoxious sarcasm. I hated it.

So if you plan to read this, I completely suggest going for this book, but don’t bother with the audiobook. This is an absolute treasure of a book, and I highly recommend it! (just not the audio for the love of God). ...more

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Sep 23, 2019 Molly rated it really liked it

Love the world building and the characters, they are both larger than life. I'm very happy with the end, not sure if I want to read the rest of the series or leave it as is. ...more

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