Librarian note: An older cover for this edition can be found here: 27-Feb-2015.Kell is one of the last travellers–magicians with a rare ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city.There’s Grey London, without magic and ruled by the mad King George III. Red London–where magic is revered, and where Kell was raised alongside the heir to the empire. White London–where people fight to control the remaining magic and magic fights back.And once there was Black London…
The Face of Magic Series
This series explores the profound connection between reality and parallel dimensions, where magic is a potent force shaping destinies. Dive into adventures where characters strive to find their place in a world governed by dangerous enchantments and mysterious powers. The narratives are filled with suspense, unexpected twists, and examine the limits of human will when confronted by the supernatural.





Recommended Reading Order
- 1
- 2
A Gathering of Shadows
- 528 pages
- 19 hours of reading
Kell is plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, he is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. As Red London prepares for the Element Games - an extravagant international competition of magic - a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning. Black London has risen again - and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall.
- 3
A conjuring of light
- 642 pages
- 23 hours of reading
The precarious equilibrium among the four Londonc has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic ; darkness casts a sshadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise. Kell - once assumed to he the last surviving Antari - begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalities. Lila Bard, once a commonplace - but never common - thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery and the Night Spire crew are attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible, as an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown and a fallen hero is desperate to save a decaying world...
Kell is one of the last Antarimagicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once, Black. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences. A Darker Shade of Magic Kell serves the Maresh EmpireRed London, as he calls itas an official ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons. After one such visit goes awry, Kell escapes his home for Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive. A Gathering of Shadows While Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Element Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. A Conjuring of Light As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons has reached its breaking point.
The complete Shades of Magic trilogy by New-York-Times-bestselling author, V. E. Schwab.