Length 384 pages
Format paperback
Published 2015
Series Shades of Magic #1
My Copy provided by the publisher
A Darker Shade of Magic is an inter-dimensional traveler story that, to an extent, captures the essence of China Mieville's The City and The City and is written in a style not dissimilar to Brent Weeks' the Night Angel Trilogy; fast paced and easily consumable.
The core fantastical element is the use of multiple London's which can be accessed by a scant few who have the ability to travel between these alternate cities, each with varying degrees of magic - Grey London for instance has very little to no magic whilst Black London, on the other end of the spectrum, is all but consumed by magic. The few who are able to travel to and fro are known as Antari, a dying breed of magicians. In A Darker Shade of Magic we're introduced to Kell, the protagonist and Holland, the antagonist (of sorts), each from different London's (Kell - Red, Hollan - White) and each equally powerful in the dying arts. The two make for an interesting dynamic and have a ying and yang presence throughout the book.
The evil magic of black London is an omnipresent threat that, with the help of a couple of ruthless power-hungry royals from White London looks to break the pattern of peace and establish a new world order across the color spectrum.
Reading the book for a second time I was surprised at how violent some passages were, however, the shocking brutality of Antari on Antari and White London rulers on peasants wasn't without warrant and did convey the intentions and personas of the wielders of violence well and within context of the broader plot.
The characters (Holland, Kell, Lila) are as multidimensional as the London's they traverse with each London having as a unique feel to it that separates them from their namesake be it the language, inhabitants mannerisms or easy / rare use of magic.
The atmospheric London's are a place the author makes the reader want to visit over and over again. Where danger lurks so do interesting and limitless surreal stories. A Darker Shade of Magic provides a mere glimpse into the potential of these interesting places and I, for one, can't wait to get lost in that magic once more.
My rating: 5/5 - I enjoyed this book the first time reading it but found it even better the second time round. The characters are well developed and the fictional landscape atmospheric and interesting. I'm particularly interested in White London which looks to be a great mixture of danger and the unknown given it's history, relationship with Red London and proximity to Black London.
As per my earlier blog post this month, I plan on reading book 2, A Gathering of Shadows soon which looks great.
Link: What I'm Reading This Month
No comments:
Post a Comment