Sulzer- A Darker Shade of Magic

I hadn't been able to make it to the Sulzer SFF club in a while, but last week I was able to re-read and join them for a discussion of V.E. Schwabb's A Darker Shade of Magic (2015).

The first in a trilogy, the novel's main pull is its central conceit, which it sets up very quickly and adroitly: there are four worlds, which used to be connected by magical gates, and all of which have an important nexus: London. Following a kind of magical plague/invasion in one of the worlds, the gates are severed, and the Londons (and, presumably, worlds), develop into four different versions: Grey London, which seems to be our own (with the novel starting c.1820); rich & vibrant Red London, where magic is plentiful; White London, looking kind of post-apocalyptic and starved for magic; and finally Black London, an unknown and presumably uninhabited realm where magic destroyed everything.

The story follows Kell, a Red London "Antari" who can move between world, doing business for their royalty, and who is caught up in a White London plot to expand (using the power of a Black London artifact). Along the way, he meets our other protagonist, Grey London thief and adventurer Lila Bard.

This is a fast, enjoyable read, and we all dug it. Plenty of criticisms, too, but above all this is a fun read. Notes and possible spoilers below:

Chicago Nerds: A Darker Shade of Magic

V.E. Schwab's recently-released novel "A Darker Shade of Magic" (2015) had been getting some pretty good hype, and this past Monday the Chicago Nerds book club met to discuss!

In "A Darker Shade", there are four versions of the world, all of which were once connected by magical gates and doorways--and all through their versions of London. Magic works differently in each, and eventually the worlds are split apart from each other when Black London is overrun with destructive, infectious magic. White London is a dog-eat-dog, power-hungry, seemingly dying world. Red London is in a world rich both materially and magically, while Grey London seems to be our own mundane and relatively magic-less world (somewhere approximately in the mid-1800s). One of our protagonists, Kell, is a Red Londoner with an extremely rare gift for magic, particularly the magic of passing between worlds. Along with Lila--an ambitious thief from Grey London--Kell is caught up in a White London plot for worlds-dominion (that's a fun phrase) which has the side-effect of setting free a sinister force from Black London.

By the way, really dig this cover. Refreshing to see some bold, original design for a fantasy work--designed by Will Staehle (Tor interview about the design here).

We had a VERY high percentage of the group that really liked the book, myself included. Despite this, it's popcorniness and cliches drew our fire pretty good. We really liked it! But many quibbles, and possibly spoilers, below: