From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)

V.E. Schwab,

Victoria Schwab

Start date: April 1, 2016

Finish date: April 30, 2016

Why we're reading this: It tied in the March Madness poll, and has been deemed the "Main pick" by Veronica.…more
[close] It tied in the March Madness poll, and has been deemed the "Main pick" by Veronica.

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Mar 02, 2016 Silvana rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fyeahfantasy, series-i-abandoned, female-nonbinary-authors

Grey London: The Shire
Red London: Rivendell
White London: Gondor
Black London: Mordor
The stone: The One Ring

No, don't get me wrong, I am not judging V.E. Schwab for copying LoTR, I just wanted to point out the similarities in my eyes. It stopped there. (Even if she was copying LoTR, that Terry Pratchett quote got me thinking.)

Anyway, it is a quick read. I left it a week in the middle due to other books I need to finish, but was meaning to come back. Yes, the fact that we can see from miles away th Grey London: The Shire
Red London: Rivendell
White London: Gondor
Black London: Mordor
The stone: The One Ring

No, don't get me wrong, I am not judging V.E. Schwab for copying LoTR, I just wanted to point out the similarities in my eyes. It stopped there. (Even if she was copying LoTR, that Terry Pratchett quote got me thinking.)

Anyway, it is a quick read. I left it a week in the middle due to other books I need to finish, but was meaning to come back. Yes, the fact that we can see from miles away that the two lead characters are going to be entangled in a romantic plot, the writing is good enough to make this an easy read.

However, I did recognize a number of familiar situations or phrases, sentences people make in movies when the hero is cornered/near death then somebody comes to save him/her or when the hero is about to do something then the enemy suddenly appeared out of thin air (in this case, sometimes literally). So yeah, there are a few moments of me thinking, wait, I've seen this somewhere.

But let's not dwell into that. So... four Londons! I haven't been into one *sigh* but it got me excited. Here, there was no annoying or superlengthy info dump - show, don't tell - in terms of worldbuilding. Can't wait to visit that London in the next book. The magic system is also pretty good. Maybe when the TV series comes out and becomes popular, as travars will be the new alohomora.

Characters....the main ones were not as interesting as Kell's magical coat (the most interesting magical item in the entire book, not the macguffin). Lila is so tropey (a pretty, feisty girl wearing man's clothing, has a dark past, great particular skills and this weird yearning for pirating - why exactly, not sure) and so did Kell in a way (yes, he's handsome, somewhat angsty, and had fantastical eye color and Lila is totally crushing on him). Holland is actually the interesting one; if this is a grimdark book, he'll be the main POV.

I gotta admit I was hesitant in reading in this book - considering my allergy to YA - and it sometimes felt like one, especially when the two main characters interacted. I could live without the kissing, for sure. After some thinking, I am not sure whether I will continue the series especially NOW that I know there will be more kissing in the second book. ...more

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Dec 31, 2016 Stephanie Griffin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A Darker Shade of Magic is an exciting fantasy adventure which takes place in four versions of London: Black, White, Red, and Gray. The first volume of the Shades of Magic series, it was written by V.E. Schwab and published by Tor Books.
Kell, who lives in Red London, is one of only two people who can travel between the dimensions. When he comes into possession of an evil magical object from Black London, he knows he must return it before it effects the other Londons and destroys them. Other peop ...more

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Nov 03, 2015 Heather rated it really liked it

Enjoyable. I loved the strong, flawed characters of Kell and Lila and was really drawn to the vivid Londons that Schwab created. I'm not thrilled about stumbling into yet another ongoing trilogy where I have to wait years and years for its completion, but the story wraps up enough to feel satisfying. I'll certainly keep up with the series. ...more

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Mar 30, 2017 Jeffrey Hoover rated it it was amazing

Fun stuff and the second book is even better

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Aug 02, 2018 Charlotte rated it really liked it

This book was great fun, perhaps in largely because of the four-London setting. The world was creative and well thought-out and described. Schwab also has a tremendous knack for building tension. It was hard for me to put the book down, but the danger never felt forced or contrived. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next two. ...more

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Nov 06, 2015 Ryan Mac rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Good first book in the trilogy. The London world(s) were set up nicely even though the magic system was a little vaguely described. I liked the characters of Kell and Lila and look forward to additional adventures with them although this book could very easily be a stand alone book since the main story wrapped up nicely. The audiobook reader sounded like he could be from London so good job there.

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