Back in the 1980s when I began to read fantasy novels in
earnest, I liked the idea of multiple volumes –usually three, but longer ones
were fine- those tales, however, were usually compact in size; no thousand page
tomes per book, another words. I liked that format a lot, but over the decades,
trilogies have expanded into ongoing series of seven to twelve (or more) books,
each carrying anywhere from 800 pages to nearly a thousand. And I’ve found that longer does not necessarily
mean better. They may be richer in depth and world building, but I’ve found that writers
have become so obsessed with the detail, that they’ve forgotten to move their
story along.
One thing that I like about V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of
Magic is the book moves swiftly. She is able to do her world building in an efficient
and understandable way, without getting caught in the ennui, the detail of details
that have stopped me from reading Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, and
Diana Gabaldon. Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of people think this is
impressive, and it is, but I don’t have the time or the inclination anymore to
read books that need flow charts to keep tabs on characters and their
adventures.
The unique premise has four London’s living parallel to each
other. There is grey London, one under the rule of George III, white London,
red London, and they mysterious and destroyed, black London. Kell is an Antari,
one of the magicians who can travel between these worlds. Now grey London (our
world) does not have much magic and most people have forgotten magic even
existed. Red London, the world in which Kell is bound to, is a place full of
magic, where people exist in balance with it. White London is where magic is
dying, and where those who live there and wield it, are willing to do anything
to get control of more magic, even trying to open the doorway to black London.
But Kell knows this will destroy everything if that doorway is re-opened.
As one of the last of his kind, Kell tries to keep all three
remaining London’s in balance (with great power comes great responsibilities
danced through my mind a lot reading this book) and implies that King George
III (the mad king) knows of the existence of the other London’s and this could
be the reason he was a bit off his rocker. Kell is also willing to smuggle
items between worlds, which is how he eventually bumps into Delilah Bard, a
women with lofty aspirations. Lila is what they once called back then, a
highway man. Or in this case a highway woman, essentially a thief and a
pickpocket. And when these two people meet, our heroine picks the pocket of
Kell, stealing one half of a magical stone, an artifact from black London
(shades of the One Ring here). And that begins an adventure that leads to being
chased by all means of magic and those bent on obtaining the stone that can
give them unlimited power.
While a lot goes on over 400 pages, the Schwab does not go
much into the background of either Kell or Lila, though she drops enough
information to make me want to know more. As characters, Lila is much more interesting
than Kell, and there were at times where I wished the book was more about her. And
Kell comes off a bit naïve; he has lived in luxury with the royal family of red
London (so much so, he’s seen as the son and brother of the royals) and lacks
the ability to see that others have to struggle to make ends meet. He also,
strangely, seems oblivious to politics of power that exists between these three
remaining London’s and lacks any diplomatic skills.
Perhaps, because of the influence of George R.R. Martin’s
Song of Ice and Fire series, we also get a glimpse of the ruthless rulers of
white London, run by the twins Astrid and Athos Dane. Both crave power and are
willing to destroy everything, kill everything in their way to do it. They are
stereotypes, paper tiger villains that are pretty dumb. I mean there is no
style to them, no grey area so to speak of; they’re one dimensional and, in the
end, weak, so their threat to balance of magic is never really believable.
Again, Lila is a fun character and may be the only reason I
continue reading the series. But it moves swiftly, and that is also a key
reason to follow up with the sequel. I just hope that Lila figures out a way to
dump Kell.
No comments:
Post a Comment