A Gathering of Shadows by V.E.Schwab is the second in the “Shades of Magic” series and the sequel to the first installment A Darker Shade of Magic.
It’s been four months since the stone from Black London fell into Kell’s hands – four months since a Grey-Londoner, Delilah Bard, joined him on his journey, since the fall of the Dane twins, since Rhy’s fatal injuries and since Kell bound his life to him.
Delilah has found herself part of the crew about the Black Spire, sailing the ocean and exploring with Captain Alucard Emery, and Kell has been at the palace of Red London – resented and confined by his King and Queen, he lives like he’s made of glass to keep his brother safe.
However, the events of the Element Games – an international magic tournament- promises to bring all of them together. And meanwhile, another London is slowly beginning to flourish again. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one London to rise, another must fall.
A Gathering of Shadows is such an incredible sequel and I am so impressed by V. E. Schwab and her absolutely magical hold of fantasy writing.
First of all, the world building is utterly phenomenal. I could cry with how in love I am with this beautiful series of worlds that are so vivid in description and so fantastically put together. The differences between the London’s are so striking and so alive – there is no other word for it. These places don’t just feel like locations on maps – they feel so alive, I am genuinely inclined to believe they exist and Schwab is just keeping a Delilah Bard-esq secret from us about her origins.
What I also utterly adore is alongside this beautiful world building, is how incredible the Magic is. It’s wielded unlike any other fantasy novel I’ve read before – it’s treated like a living creature, that cannot be told what to do, and that can be deadly if you allow it to have control. It’s treated like an entity you have to communicate with, and I’ve honestly never seen magic treated like this. It’s so fluid and beautiful and I just adore it.
In terms of characters. Schwab not only has a astounding grasp on world building and fantasy writing, but human emotions are also part of her talent. Every reaction to what’s happened feels so real – Rhy and his terror and guilt that he’s become a burden to his brother, which pushes him to try and be more of a responsible ruler and to try his best and free his brother. And Kell, oh dear sweet Kell, you broke my damn heart in this book – his constant trying to make it up to his family, to the King and Queen he once considered parents who are now so cold and distrusting to him. I nearly burst into tears when Kell ended up breaking down to the King and the line “I can’t keep atoning” – it was so wonderful. And then his thrill at the Games, his love for the Elements and for his magic, it’s just so perfect.
And here is a paragraph just for Delilah Bard. That wonderful, beautiful character that she is. I love everything about her; her attitude, her fighting style, her ability to find trouble wherever she goes. She’s everything I wanted to be as a little child, and she’s so damn great with such an impressive thirst for adventure. I love that she’s so willing to risk everything to find out who she is, and that she’s damn willing to risk everything for Kell.
In terms of how the story holds up? A Gathering of Shadows follows on very, very well. The consequences and main focuses of the first book are kept in line and remembered, and meanwhile, the characters grow, and the new story comes to light. You learn all about the Element Games, how they’re so involved in the politics in Kell’s world, and the fight scenes involved in those scenes are kick. Ass. They’re so wonderfully written, I can pretty much see these fights when I read them and I love them so so much. I also really love how the old characters interact, and the introduction of some new ones – including Rhy’s ex-boyfriend-ish pirate, Alucard Emery.
The other part of the story also ties in beautifully – with the return of an old character, and the introduction of two new and terrifying ones, it flourishes alongside Kell and Delilah’s story despite literally being an entire world apart. It fits so beautifully in with everything else, and it’s unbearably tense and terrifying to know this is happening while Kell and Rhy and Delilah hatch plans to sneak themselves into the Games and play.
A Gathering of Shadows is a more than perfect sequel. It carries the story on, continuing to build on this incredible world V.E. Schwab has written, developing the characters without entirely changing who they are unrealistically. It’s an incredible second installment to this series, that leaves on an ending that has you begging for more because no way did it just end there.
The third installment of the Shades of Magic series hasn’t had a title or a release date announced at this time.