A Darker Shade of Magic cover art

A Darker Shade of Magic

Shades of Magic, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Darker Shade of Magic

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

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 Paranormal Fiction England Magic Users

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Six of Crows cover art
The Fragile Threads of Power cover art
Warm Up cover art
Pathfinder Tales: Bloodbound cover art
Scythe cover art
Rotherweird cover art
Traitor's Blade cover art
Sora's Quest cover art
Reign of the Fallen cover art
New Spring cover art
Storm Front cover art
Elantris (1 of 3) [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
The Shadow of What Was Lost cover art
The Pale Dreamer cover art
The Cycle of Arawn cover art
The Assassin's Blade cover art

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  
I thought this book was interesting. I found all the characters very intriguing apart from the main character, which is a shame.
The reader in my opinion did not suit the tone of this book.

interesting characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I haven’t listened to a fantasy novel in ages, but this one had me searching for book 2 early on!
The complicated scenario of 3 Londons fascinated me.
The narrator made the book for me. His reading lead me into the story very quickly…so pleasing on the ear.
Sadly books 2 and 3 are by other narrators…but I will give book 2 a try…the acid test in story making…the voice or the narrative?
Well worth a listen!

The many faceted London…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved it- narrator's voices were strange at times but overall amazing story and character building

feels like a mix of his dark materials and lotr

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Held my interest, but sometimes found the narration a bit annoying. Are attempts at accents and gender differences wholly necessary I wonder? It does sometimes spoil your listening experience. A good story and a different perspective.

Different!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent storytelling with enjoyable hero and heroine agsinst evil villainy. Unfolds like a magician revealing a favourite card trick. Marvellous Schwab narrative.

Magical Londons!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator didn't make very good choices when it came to doing voices of the main characters. Kall is a young man with a very old person!

narrator let me down

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It really is a very good book, however the narrator should stick to narrating books for small children. I'm genuinely glad that he doesn't narrate the next two in this superb trilogy.

Shame about the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story is packed full of magic and adventure. Reminding me a little of the long earth series by Pratchett, and also of The Northern Lights books by Pullman, this sees our magic powered protagonists sliding between versions of London in a tale which is gripping and well paced.
The world is well crafted, with carefully thought out plot points explaining why things are the way they are, one example is that when magic spells are cast they come with a price, a price of blood.

This book is well suited for a more mature 11 year old and above, the occasional swear words and swashbuckling approach to life and death make it more for a more mature youngster.

Beautifully written magical adventure

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great story but hand was held throughout. would have liked a few more different voices too. all very similar. worth a read ☺️

great story but hand was held throughout

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved it. very gripping. could totally see it as a Hollywood movie. love the mix of Londons and the characters are relatable 👌

fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews