This is my nth time writing this because it pains me to no end to criticize my favorite books. Mind that I gave this book a rating of a full 5 out of 5 stars. It has made it to my Greatness shelf in Goodreads along with Terry Pratchett and Jonathan Stroud.
Start with my non-spoilery review here.
For research, I went around youtube and found this review from ChapterSelect. It is also devoid of spoilers.
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SPOILER ALERT
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Rensa tav. Moving on.
Here are some of my humble comments on A Darker Shade of Magic:
1) THE WORLD AND ITS MAGIC
As much as I love this book, it's not the most original world and plot. There are four known dimensions in this world. In the past, magic was able to travel between these worlds through "doors". They aren't physical. Instead, they are magical connections between the worlds than an Antari can manipulate. The rules for travel is unique but this concept is not. Someone had already dabbled with this concept:
HIS DARK MATERIALS
by Philip Pullman
His Dark Materials is a young-adult trilogy set in a world also governed by magic. In this world, instead of Antaris, travel between worlds is done through The Subtle Knife discussed in the second book. But the concept is the same. Travel to other dimensions was a major player in both books.
What's more compelling is that, in both books, magic flows through all worlds. In fact, magic flowing through worlds is a major element in His Dark Materials. In A Darker Shade of Magic, this is also discussed. Kell even explains this when he gets unwarranted attention from Ned. He says that even non-magical creatures may wield magic if s/he has 1) token from a magic-filled world, and 2) invoke magic to flow through the worlds. Alas, the closed doors between worlds are closed.
So, magic doesn't flow through. I smell a plot-twist in the succeeding books.
2) THE STORY ARCS
The characters are also a little on the caricature side. Nonetheless, the best bit about this book is that it reads like an anime. When I read books, it always play out as movie in my head. This one is different. It feels just like a good anime, akin to C.L.A.M.P.'s Magic Knight Rayearth and, even, Masashi Ikeda's Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. For kicks, here's the opening song of the former:
Mind that I'm only talking about the "feeling" of the mentioned anime, instead of the actual plot. Here's the opening song of the other anime.
But that's not too bad! Well, not really. Anime and manga are illustrated. It works on your visual senses making it okay for them to have the kind of plot that they have. Notice how most of these plots are quite flat and straight forward. There are very few anime that has WHAM over WHAM on top of WHAM. In recent memories, one of my favorite anime that had WHAM-WHAM-WHAM in the last few episodes is Princess Tutu.
Don't be fooled by the cute tutu and the resolving conflict through dance. If you haven't watched this, you're in for a shocker. It follows a two-story arc, which I think is what A Darker Shade of Magic is going for. These arcs are some of the hardest to pursue. In the first bit of Princess Tutu, we are introduced to the main character and lots of really fun dancing. The second bit gets very dark, very quickly. In the end, it pulls your brain out of your cranium through your gouged out eyes (that you gouged out yourself) and crushes it on the floor with its ballet shoes. This is not a children's story.
In this light, I personally believe V.E. Schwab can only hold on to being "nice" ala the first arc of Princess Tutu in the first book. A Darker Shade of Magic plot is just incredibly 2-D, dry and really predictable. At least, it is the case for me. It's not to say that I didn't enjoy it but I knew exactly what was going to happen to Holland (which also doesn't mean I can't make Holland make sweet pointless hot love to Rhy in my fanfiction, since I only really need one scene from the book to make it plausible. V.E. Schwab was nice enough to provide that.).
This only means one thing, fans listen up, the second book can blow your mind. V.E. Schwab is going to take this DARK. How dark? As dark as it can go within the bounds of Y.A. She's already pulled a stunt with the self-mutilation (Holland) and the hint of possible rape (Lila to all men). You think it's a real sweet tale of magic now. Wait until Schwab takes up her pen to write book 2. Be very careful. This first book is already triggering as it is. I cannot wait to see how dark she will take this, because I am all for it.
3) CHARACTER PAIRINGS
Schwab leaves a lot to the imagination, which is okay. As I've said, I see this as an anime. Thus, I see it in my own little way. Here are my favorite pairings:
RHY x HOLLAND
I need to pair them because they are asking for it. They are both manipulative in nature and have a good sense of themselves. When I say that, I mean they both know what they are and there was little to no need for them to doubt themselves. They express it in different ways. Rhy understands his role as a future ruler while Holland know what it takes to win against the Dane twins. Does it help that I see them as Final Fantasy VII characters of Cloud (Rhy) and Sephiroth (Holland). More than anyone, Rhy and Holland would willingly try out some hot sexy love. It's easy for them because I think this wouldn't be their first time. Why had Rhy been easy to manipulate? How is it that he trusts Holland that much? Isn't Holland a glorified postman? So, did they spend time together? What could have they done that brought Holland within Rhy's most-trusted-persons list? Yes, they had hot sexy love before the story even started.
Come on, Holland is so Final Fantasy in his fight scenes (only with magic). Everything about Holland is Sephiroth. Oh I am so full of feels right now.
RHY x KELL
Oh but they are brothers. Yes. Yes, they are. And so is one of the biggest fandom in the world: Supernatural. Those two are blood brothers, but that did little to stop fans shipping them. These two would make even hotter sweet love than RhyxHolland. You see, I suspect that primal feelings like anger and desire are felt by both individuals through their soul pact. Kell had mentioned that he could feel a shadow of Rhy's wounds. That's pain and it is primal. What else is primal? Hot sweet love. So, Rhy goes to his lover/s and does the deed. I think our boy Kell could feel the same desire too. This reads that if Rhy gets a boner, Kell would get one too if he's really into it. At least, Kell would be able to feel Rhy getting off. Oh hell, yes. Do you see where I'm going here?
Holland's soul pact is different. It's for servitude and he retains little control over his own decisions. If he hadn't fought it and had been smart about it, he wouldn't have had been able to assist Kell.
Did Lila and Kell come to mind? Nope, not mine. Lila is so full of self-doubt that she had to hide behind adventure to find herself. She's in no position to tangle herself up with Kell, who has issues of his own. She's smart enough to know this too.
HOLLAND x KELL
While I am a hardcore shipper of RhysxHolland, I cannot ignore the appeal of some Antari love. They share something no other people in the worlds have (there's another one, but I won't say more). Plus, at some point, Kell looked up to Holland. He also has a bit of pity for Holland because, as he said, it could have been him in White London. Kell might also have a very slight feeling that he owes Holland something. At the end of the book, he so owes Holland the world - literally.I've no doubt in my mind that Holland would return. Imagine how Holland would feel. He might come back more powerful than before. The only person he could really listen to is Kell. So, Kell goes over to Holland and we have bondage fanfic. Oh the feels! I can't even...
4) THE NEXT BOOK PREDICTIONS
Like any good fan, I have some plot points that I'd like to see or expect to see in the next book.
+ Kell's life will never be the same. And, that's not because he's sleeping with Rhy. It's because the King and Queen of Arnes have already started to show indifference towards him, especially the Queen. It's going to be like Cinderella. If done well, this could be nice. If done badly, this is a horrible train wreck.
+ Holland comes back. In fact, it's very important that Holland comes back. If he doesn't, it only means one thing. It's a filler novel. The good thing is that there'd be a third one. The bad bit is that it's a filler novel. I imagine this three-story arc to read like Jonathan Stroud's epic Bartimeus Trilogy. The second book was a filler but it served to introduce a new character, Kitty. But A Darker Shade of Magic doesn't need a new character. The only thing that would make sense is to develop an old character. So, we have...
+ Lila come back, of course. I hope with all my heart that she becomes a Pirate Queen. That's always what she had wanted and I like her enough to give it to her. She comes back not to Kell/London but to Onase Aven. But there must be a need to develop her "character" in that sense.
+ The only reason I can think of is that Holland goes ultra-evil and manages to lure Kell to White London. No doubt that Holland would choose to go back to the London of his birth. In fact, he is so evil that he thinks it is his right to claim White London. Kell goes out to stop him, etc. And, Kell is imprisoned by Holland, similar to what Holland experienced with the Danes. I hope he can't completely enslave Kell because Kell is already linked to Rhy. In that, magic wouldn't allow a network of pacts. But that's just me.
+ Of course, Rhy is crowned. He loses his
+ We also learn more about Kell and the fate of other Antari. He could find out the horrible things that happened to his kin giving Holland the excuse to make Kell stay in White London. Holland is on a rampage. What a naughty boy Holland will make
+ Lila saves the day. For sure! Lila appeals to the reader more than any other character. It's like Harry Potter.
+ RhyxLila. As much as it pains me, I feel this happening. If V.E. Schwab is as courageous a writer as I think she is, she will do the one thing that would make me love her forever. This one thing would make me recommend her book to every person I know who can read English, even remotely. This is the same thing that I do for Terry Pratchett right now, because he never fails to be courageous. Why should she write this one thing? That character brought it upon himself.
Mind that there's only one author who has done this well. No, it's not Veronica Roth. That's a needless event and it was done so clumsily that I cringed at the no-feels. I'm talking about Jonathan Stroud. If you've read the Bartimeus trilogy, you know what I'm talking about. This one thing would be the best ending in the world.
+ BTW, Lila will procreate. There's no sense not to, given her... special characteristics. If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about.
Rensa tav for reading.
NOTE: I realized that it's Rhy not Rhys. I do not know why I keep thinking it's Rhys. Maybe because, in my mind, I thought it was better. Apologies!
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