The latest book by rising star V E Schwab is one that begins with a wonderful concept. In a universe of multiverses, we have Antari – Travellers – who can, with the aid of magic (and a little blood), travel between them. For some reason, for our characters this seems to be based around a London, which exists in parallel in all of the different universes – “different houses on the same foundation”, they are once described.
Grey London, for example, is the one nearest to our own, having almost no magic and seems to be rather Georgian in origin, as its King is George III (aka ‘Mad King George’). Humanity is strong and by comparison magic is relatively weak. Generally it is seen as colourless, dirty and boring.
By contrast, Red London is the polar opposite. Rich in magic, and with a glowing River Thames, this London is a happy and flourishing Empire presided over by the Maresh Dynasty.
Different again, White London is poor in magic, where the ruler murders their way to the throne. Currently the White throne is taken by twin brother and sister Athos and Astrid, who are cruel and terrifying. The people there, such as Holland, believe that you are either magic’s master or its slave. They strive to control the magic (and each other) as much as they can, and the magic fights back, for Magic in its form here is alive.
Lastly, there is Black London – the most mysterious of them all, a dead place with its people killed, destroyed by magic and so only spoken of (if at all) as a ghost story or a fairy tale in revered and fearful tones.
To these worlds we get to know Kell, one of the Travellers. Personal Ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, his duties seem to mainly involve transferring correspondences by hand between Red London and the other worlds. It also happens that Kell smuggles things between the worlds on the side, a rather dangerous profession. It is this that leads him into trouble, as he is attacked and set up for accidental treason. Wounded, he escapes to Grey London where he encounters Delilah/Lila Bard, a young pickpocket with aspirations of making a way in the world for herself.
Their pairing means that they end up having to travel together to avoid a dangerous enemy that seems to be intent on tracking them down. A black stone, the source of pure magical power, seems to be what is being searched for, and not for good intent. If caught, Lila and Kell’s lives would be at stake, and if they lose the chase, then one, or even all, of the Londons are at stake. The rest of the novel is then spent in attempting to stop evil by obtaining various artifacts and avoiding the rather nasty black magic that seems to have escaped and is now intent on destroying all they know.
With such a summary it may not be a surprise to you that the first part of this book seems to be all about running. Kell and then Lila seem to spend most of it doing so – to another world, up and down stairs, across streets, out of windows, through walls, away from the baddies and so on. That’s not altogether bad, in that it creates a very fluid plot. But there were times when it seemed (needlessly) breathless.
What such scenes often do is use speed to cover up plot holes or a lack of depth in a story. It is to Ms Schwab’s credit that here we actually do get an idea of the variety and diversity between the different worlds.
The main strength of this novel is the characterisation. Schwab creates a number of fairly engaging and memorable characters and their motives are all understandable – even surprisingly complex, at times, even when the plot is rather predictable. Kell is a likeable, if rather young and naive, hero, whilst Lila is an equally young street-smart thief, educated from the school of hard knocks. Together they complement each other nicely.
Having Lila as a Companion to Kell – a Clara to her Doctor Who, as it were – means that the often necessary expositions as part of the plot are logical, straightforward and easy to follow, even when we dash across and between worlds. Whilst the plot may not be particularly new – Lord of the Rings’ precious Ring, Moorcock’s multiverses with their ideas of Chaos and Order and the blood-thirsty sword Stormbringer, and even Gaiman’s London Underground of Neverwhere spring to mind as further examples of similar ideas – there’s enough here to enjoy without thinking too deeply about the whence and wherefores. The ending is appropriately exciting and kept the pages turning.
The book’s main strength is the way that it emphasises the relationships between characters. The only downside to this is that by emphasising the emotional interactions in the novel we have less of the actual physical environment that the author has taken such pains to create. Once the setting has been created in the first part of the novel, I felt that there’s actually little done with it, and that as a result I sometimes felt as if I was not actually there. I would’ve personally preferred to have felt a little bit more sense of place of the environs that the author has created, to create a foundation within which all this dashing around occurs. There are times when a lack of detail created a rather vague or bland location that could’ve been anywhere.
Nevertheless, I can see why people will like this book. With its imaginative world-building, sparky dialogue and likeable characters, A Darker Shade of Magic is the first in a series I would like to read more of. I’m sure there will be more.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Published by Titan Books, February 2015 (Review copy received)
ISBN: 978 1783 295 401
388 pages
Review by Mark Yon, March 2015
