… an entertaining delight …

schwab shadows

A Gathering of Shadows is the second in VE Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series following the adventures of the impetuous and very determined Delilah Bard, a brilliant protagonist who is an entertaining delight to spend time with – the opening sequence was worth the price of the paperback. Truly.

Victoria skilfully manoeuvres Lilah via a spot of piracy back to Red London to compete in the Element Games, a magical tournament, where she will face Kell, adopted brother of Prince Rhy and one of the few Antari, who can travel between other worlds.  The book had some great set pieces, new intriguing characters and a wonderful sense of place though I thought, on occasion, the story could have been pacier and every so often there was a slight sense of the architecture behind the story showing through … nonetheless very enjoyable.

Recommended.

Cover design moment: Congratulations to Julia Lloyd, Senior Fiction Designer at Titan Books for another stunning cover design. A wonderful silhouette of Delilah Bard with distinct red and black colour scheme perfectly conjuring up the feel of the book. Interestingly, the US cover by Will Staehle is also gorgeous: stylish and distinctive – and unusually for different countries’ cover both designs can be seen as a riff on each other, using the same color scheme – which is pertinent to the book’s setting.  It is really is a very close call, if I had to choose between between the two, after a long pause, I would have to say I prefer Julia’s. Will’s woodcut element is slightly less complementary to the novel; it’s more fairy tale-like and less adventure story. Whichever you prefer, both UK and US  designs for the series are some of THE best covers around at the moment.

A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab was published by Titan Books in the Uk and Tor Books in the USA in February 2016. It is the second in the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy.