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A Darker Shade of Magic

Shades of Magic, Book 1

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A Darker Shade of Magic

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

A Darker Shade of Magic is the incredible first installment of the Shades of Magic series, from number one New York Times best-selling author V.E. Schwab.

Most people only know one London; but what if there were several? Kell is one of the last Travelers - magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel Londons. There’s Grey London, dirty and crowded and without magic, home to the mad king George III. There’s Red London, where life and magic are revered. Then, White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. But once upon a time, there was Black London....

©2015 V. E. Schwab (P)2015 Tantor Fantasy Mystery Supernatural Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

"A Darker Shade of Magic has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy. Schwab has given us a gem of a tale...." (Deborah Harkeness)
All stars
Most relevant
did not enjoy the narrator. Liked the story, even though it felt more like s setup for the other books.

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I loved this book. My wife recommended it too me and I did not regret taking her up on it. Delilah Bard is one of my favorite literary characters ever.

Fantastic

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Story was great fun but the narration was obvious - making the characters seem simplistic tropes.

Great fun

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I’m so glad the narrator switches for the remaining books. Steven Crossley seems good for some kinds of story, but his accents and voices for the bad guys was very cringey and he also made spell casting sound far too creepy.

Good story, jarring narration

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In order to expand my confined little world, I've embarked on a quest of discovering contemporary writers who excel both in writing and storytelling, as well as talented performers, who can bring their story to life in full color. After listening to A Darker Shade of Magic, I added both a writer and a narrator to my list, that should speak for itself :) . V. E. Schwab has accomplished something truly amazing in this book, the pacing was perfect, no one had a black and white persona and all of them were flawed enough to feel real. The story also felt fresh and atmospheric, and the ending also felt just right. Steven Crossley's performance was superb! His tone and personification of the characters brought both the pro- and antagonists to life, it never felt forced nor out of place, I'm truly glad that had to know him through such an awesome performance. I can only recommend this book and this particular performance. Exceptional work, thank you.

Awesome

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