Review of V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic

With a brief discussion on the differences between YA fantasy and adult fantasy, this video reviews V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic, the first book of the Shades of Magic series.

[TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

I really enjoy your reviews. I also really liked the commentary on categorization at the beginning!

[soominkim]

I just read this book. I feel the same way about it as you do. Honestly it was kind of meh. I thought the concept of the different Londons and the whole magic system was great and had huge potential, but I didn't really get enough world building to fully enjoy it. I felt like the characters were all fairly surface level, with the minor exception of Kell and Lila. I actually really didn't like Lila at all. To me, her character felt sort of 'not-like-other-girls' and I found her personality was constantly changing. She also came across as rash and fairly selfish. She is 19 in the story, and I myself am also a 19 year old girl. Despite that, I did not feel any kind of connection to her character. This is one of my best friends favorite series, so I'll probably end up reading the whole trilogy, but if it weren't for that I'm not sure I would continue with it. Great video!

[Danny_Matson]

I have no comment on this book or series, but your commentary on YA vs Adult fantasy was interesting. It reminded me of Le Guin, being a female author, also having Earthsea pinned as YA, whereas I feel it's more like "Ageless fantasy": compelling for young readers, but very deep and rewarding for adults. What YA fiction do you recommend?

[kyrilson]

YA books tend to have less complexity, flat characterization, too many of the same tired tropes, and a lack of originality. Not for me. But if they get teens to read, I'm happy they're out there! As always, good review, Mr. Chase. Keep flipping those pages, sir.

[Shawnee]

Hi there! 🤗
While I can see what you mean when you say that the Dane twins are underdeveloped and can seem a bit "flat" I'd like to encourage you to pick up the next book in the series. The characters gain more personality in my opinion while we learn more about their motivations and backstories and for my taste the setting is getting more engaging with each book.

I read mostly adult fantasy and I agree with you that ADSOM would be better described as a more mature YA.

Just discovered you through Elliot Brooks and really like your channel! Have a great day!

[staceybeasley]

You hit the nail on the head with your review. I heard great things about this book and wanted to give it a go. Perhaps its the series that was good, but seriously it only got good in the last two hours of reading. I'll give it 3 of 5 stars and I will not be reading any more of this series...

[navisahota]

I’ve had this book sitting on my Kindle for a few years now but kept putting it off for some reason. Thank you for your great review! Sorry for spamming your earlier videos - just trying to catch up on your backlist! :)

[SJ-GodofGnomes]

Loved the Elven! Once again good review! May I suggest you read and review Traitor's Blade the first in the Greatcoats series written by Sebastian De Castel. Would be very interesting to hear your thoughts on this Alexandre Dumas inspired Novel/ series.

[gregorylaperche]

I agree with you that A Darker Shade of Magic feels more YA for a lot of it. Particularly the villains as you said. I found this book to be a bunch of fun. I will probably continue on with the series.

[JohanDjurholm]

Great review and intro once again .
I used to read a lot of YA when I was in my teens, but now that I am an adult I rarely read any YA(and is a big reason why I won't pick up a book). The real world is raw, brutal and complex and YA books seldom contain these elements which is the main reason why I do not enjoy YA books as much. However, YA books are the reason why I am a constant reader today so there is definitely nothing wrong with these types of books. I just don't enjoy them that much but I am always open for suggestions.

[JZETH_]

I’ve always enjoyed the premise of this book but I haven’t gotten into it just yet.

I’m a big fan of V.E Schwab’s Vicious series. I’d say it is YA because it isn’t the most complex of stories but it’s on the side of older YA due to the amount of violence.

I glad you spoke on the differences between YA and Adult fantasy but didn’t necessarily say one is worse or better than the other. I think a lot of times people miss out on great stories because they feel the book won’t be sophisticated or detailed enough for them.

[ericadler]

I agree with you that the difference between YA and adult fiction lies primarily in its complexity and not so much in its subject matter. There are books about children and teenagers written for adults, which doesn't make these children's fiction or YA, mainly because of the psychological details. A lot of classic fantasy I would classify as YA, including Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Moorcock's Elric stories, Wagner's Kane stories, David Gemmell (Legend), Terry Goodkind (Wizard's First Rule) and also Trudi Canavan (The Magician's Guild), although I guess she's not "classic fantasy" since her first fantasy novel was published in 2001. And I suspect The Wheel of Time and Mistborn are YA, although I haven't read them yet. But I also have the impression that most fantasy published today is YA, there is a lot of contemporary/urban teen fantasy out there, with incredible sales. It's great that you're discussing so much mature stuff, we need more of that. Thanks again.

[janhavi]

I agree this book is definitely YA, and honestly I would not recommend the second or the third books. I thought the first book was just average but because of the positive reviews I decided to try the second book as well. And it's mainly just filler. A lot of mysteries that were set up in the first book are not explained in any of the books, and if you want a complex story this series is not really the best option. This was the first video of yours I've seen, and it was very good! Also love your shirt :)

[PhantasusRex]

I'm so looking forward to the origins of fantasy video! Great review as always. :)

[tylerblack]

This is a series that’s high on my list. I want to start alternating between female & male authors. So I’ve already picked this series up and it’s just waiting for me to get done with some other series.

[theserpent]

Haven’t read the series but it sounds interesting. Format wise, I think this is your best review. You’re getting a lot more comfortable in front of the camera!

[craigmoir]

I so agree
I have not nor wish to finish the book

Would you say it is worth watching as a base for the other books in the series would you say?

[chenkeith]

Enjoy your reviews. Hope you will do a video on YA fantasy books and which one to start off with for those going into YA fantasy. 😁

[grhn]

I liked seeing your Thangkas in the background :)

[hellogautam]

Love your reviews. Great content as always. I wanted to pick this series but what to do there are so many books to read. I did finish the The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi (Shiva Trilogy). It is an amazing book you should read that one. I will begin the second book soon I wanted to take a break from it and read a standalone novel.