Plot descriptions of nonfantasy novels usually start with the protagonist. Then you add the milieu. Then layer on the character's inner struggle, and you're off and running.
In works of fantasy and science fiction, the physical and/or social setting often takes center stage, becoming as much a character as the hero(ine).
In V.E. Schwab's "A Gathering of Shadows," there's not just one world-the action spans at least three.
The setting is an intriguing one: Four worlds, linked by magic, coexist. Each world has a city called London that's geographically the same. Only a few people can travel between the worlds.
Reading the first book in this series, "A Darker Shade of Magic," is not absolutely essential to understanding the second, but your enjoyment of it will be much deeper.
The message here is that the key to magic is balance (like Spider-Man's "With great power comes great responsibility").
One world (Black London's) ignored that rule. Its citizens used magic with abandon until it devoured them and threatened the other worlds.
Red London is home to our hero Kell. It's a world rich in (but respectful of) magic. Grey London, which is set in the Regency period of our London, has mostly forgotten its magic. And White London, abandoned by the Red and used as a shield against Black London, is, as a result, clinging to life by whatever means possible.
Schwab's portrayal of Red London's leaders could not be a clearer mirror of spoiled America. While Grey London trudges along with only the memory of magic that used to be theirs, and White Londoners fight for the remaining caches of magic, Red's biggest threat is that they might be inconvenienced. Or uncomfortable.
"Gathering"'s action picks up a few months after the conclusion of "Darker." Kell may be the only natural-born magician, or Antari, left in all the worlds after an epic showdown in that first book.
Lila Bard, the wily pickpocket he brought home with him from Grey London (in "Darker"), has run away and joined a band of pirates. While at sea, Lila trains in magic with the pirate chief, Alucard. She learns more about her new home and Kell's place in it.
A magical Olympics reunites Lila and Kell in Red London. Power, desire and vengeance connect in a cliffhanger ending.
Schwab has created not one but multiple worlds across which to weave an engaging story of power and accountability. Her characters are complex, but it's still pretty easy to tell the good guys from the baddies.
Her signing of these books as V.E. instead of Victoria seems to signal that they're geared toward adults, as opposed to the young-adult audience she has written for in the past. Maybe it's the youth of most of the main characters, or the gotta-save-the-world(s) imperative, but this book seems like a fine fit for fans of the "Hunger Games" series.
And Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel's G-Base Productions last month announced that it has acquired rights to "A Darker Shade of Magic" for series development, with Schwab writing the pilot. The project is being eyed as a limited series.
Just tell me when to set the DVR.