Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)

This is a sequel, so although we keep spoilers super light around here, if you’re concerned about such things be sure to check out A Darker Shade of Magic first.

Have you ever read a fantasy adventure of the quest-to-save-the-world variety, and marveled at the incredible coincidences which keep the protagonists on track with the world-shaking events? Some series work this into the plot as fate or divine intervention. Most ignore it, trusting the reader to accept that without these strokes of kismet, the plot won’t happen. In A Gathering of Shadows, V.E. Schwab utterly rejects this trope. While darkness gathers and villains plot, the characters blisfully traipse through the Fantasy Magic Olympics and try to untangle their messy love-pentagram (slight exaggeration).

Let’s talk about it.

The Basics:

Title: A Gathering of Shardows (Shades of Magic #2)
Author: V.E. Schwab.
Genre: High Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance
Published: MacMillan, 2016

Spoiler-Free Summary:

In the aftermath of the battle between Red and White London, Delilah Bard (of Gray London -our London – circa ~ 1800s) remains in her new strange magic-infused world. Meanwhile, court mage Kell and his adopted brother crown prince Rhy share a single soul. They feel one another’s pain, and if Kell dies, Rhy goes with him.

Delilah cons her way onto a privateer ship, captained by a rake with a mysterious past named Alucard. She busies herself learning the local language, life at sea, and, shockingly, magic. How a citizen of a world where magic died before recorded history can learn the art so well and so quickly remains a yet-unanswerd mystery throuthout. Delilah’s magic is one of many intriguing threads indicating that either something is wrong with the magic, or, Red Londoners do not understand it as thoroughly as they would like to believe.

In the city, Kell and Rhy prepare for the Element Games, an international competition between the greatest mages from rival empires. The event should promote unity and understanding, but tensions run high whenever jealous power-brokers gather. Since the events of the first book, the king has kept Kell on a short leash, and Rhy has worked to take his kingdom responsibilities more seriously. Pacing the length of his metaphorical cage, Kell is anxious and lost. Surely, his anxiety has nothing to do with a certain tomboy interdimensional hitchhiker? Kell believes the Games will exorcise his demons in all their forms.

In White London, where magic is rare and life itself ebbs from the very air, a long-imprisoned force works to consume not one world, but all.

Why You Will Love This Book:

First, although the prose is not so front-and-center as it was in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Schwab is one of the best line-level writers I’ve ever read. Her lyrical style shines throughout this light fantasy action/drama, adding just enough color and flavor to keep things beautiful.

This series does an exellent job of presenting realistic, messy characters sympathetically. They make dumb, terrible choices sometimes, but living in their head, we see that they are consistent choices, even understandable ones. Even the villain has understandable goals and motives. That is a difficult tightrope to walk, and I respect the heck out of this character-building done correctly.

Praise for craft aside, A Gathering of Shadows is a fast-paced, character-driven adventure featuring pirates, romance, and a torrent of mage-on-mage fantasy action. I would readily recommend this to any of my reader friends, not just heavy fantasy readers.

Where Can You Find More?

I’ve linked my other reviews by the same author in the text above. If those entice you, be sure to check out the rest of her catalog at her web site.

Happy reading, folks.