Kell and Delilah’s worlds cross when returns from a journey to the devious leaders of White London, a place where the inhabitants fight and struggle with magic. Her London, unlike Kell’s Red London, has lost most of its magic and is a dull, mundane place. It’s a practice that is illegal, but like a kleptomaniac, he seems unable to hold himself back, even despite warnings against the practice.ĭelilah is a thief in Grey London, living a secret life as a vigilante protector of the downtrodden, of which there are many in this version of London, a world very much resembling ours during the reign of mad King George.

While passing messages back and forth between the ruling heads of these alternate cities, Kell is also smuggling between them the little curiosities he finds during his trips. In this world, a fluke of magic has created multiple versions of the great city, each with different languages and cultures, but accessible by only a very few sorcerer-like individuals. In an alternate London, Kell is the ambassador of the Red London throne to other Londons that lie a dimension away.

Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind may be more beautiful, Vyleta’s Smokemore mysterious, and Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass more adventuresome, but Schwab took me completely by surprise with an even mixture of all of these elements to create a fantasy that is a gripping ride from start to finish. Quite possibly, A Darker Shade of Magic is one of the most surprisingly entertaining fantasy novels I’ve read in a while.

A darker shade of magic book 3