In 2016, Gerard Butler’s production company G-BASE acquired the rights to adapt V.E. Schwab’s fantasy novel “A Darker Shade of Magic” as a limited TV series. However, in 2017, it was reported that a movie would be produced instead, with Sony Pictures winning the movie rights. The series is centered around London and features four parallel universes, each with a different version of London.
The adaptation of A Darker Shade of Magic will be produced by the studio that gave us Spider-Man and written by the man who gave us John Wick. Derek Kolstad, the scribe behind the “John Wick” series, has found his next big project: adapting another writer’s magical multiverse. Leon Film’s “A Darker Shade of Magic” is an enchanting fan film-like trailer based on V.E. Schwab’s best-selling fantasy series.
A Darker Shade of Magic is an adult fantasy novel by American author V.E. Schwab published by Tor Books in 2015. It is the first installment of the Shades of Magic trilogy. The adaptation was optioned (as a film adaptation) around the time the third novel in the trilogy was released in 2017.
The Fragile Threads of Power, set nearly a decade after the events of her last “Shades of Magic” novel, 2017’s “A Conjuring of Light”, is set in the same universe. Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel’s G-Base productions have acquired rights to V.E. Schwab’s fantasy novel A Darker Shade of Magic for series development.
📹 A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC 🔸⚫⬜- REVIEW
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📹 A Darker Shade Of Magic Adaptation, Naruto Fashion Line, NO DISNEY! – FANTASY NEWS
P.O. Box 1016 Dublin, Ohio 43017 with the backup of: 715 Shawan falls Dr. Dublin, Ohio 43017 News: Martin #GameOfThrones …
I think I’m the only person I know who doesn’t like Delilah Bard at all. She seemed so tell-not-show for me. She keeps SAYING she’s “one of a damn kind” but I don’t see that. The mistakes she makes (without spoilers) are really childish ones to me. Her background is good, but she’s really unlikable in my opinion, and everyone in the book treats her like she’s special, just because later in the series she’s gonna need to do cool stuff. Can’t get behind her :/
I have the same problem with most of her books… Her concepts are so amazing, but when I actually get to read them it just feels flat. And most people will say it gets better in the next books, but I just don’t see it. Sure book 2 was a bit better (still not anything mind-blowing) but I swear book 3 was the worst. Her villains series is the only one I really enjoyed.
I will say one thing: The cover art for this series, especially the hard cover, is some of the most beautiful work I’ve seen in many years. It’s a shame the story didn’t justify it. That, and the general concept behind the world(s), is what got me to buy it. The first book had such potential, but was just okay in the end. The second in the series was horrible and made me despite Delilah Bard deeply. She’s basically a psychopath and we’re guided by the narrative voice to admire her. It reminds me a bit of Richard Rahl, just as a female.
I personally loved ADSoM, and while I agree with wanting a little more exploration of these worlds, I loved the idea of using a magician who can transverse these worlds to basically hold political relationships. But I also felt the story told in book 1 sort of tied everything up and for me personally books 2 and 3 felt forced, with book 3 being very disjointed and, sadly, disappointing.
It is probably onw my favourite fantasy series of all time. I had began reading them the year it started to be published and, it just blew me away. No one recommend it to me. I found the first book at my local library and picked it up on a whim. After the first chapter, I was hooked. Im Sorry to hear it didn’t hit as hard for you. Hopefully you can give the second book a chance sometime. The events of the first book really do shape the consequences as to how the other two play out. I thought it was brilliant. I think Schwab will definitely be exploring so much more with the sequel trilogy coming out soon. I think it’s called The Threads of Power? So excited Happy reading
I didn’t like the book, the plot is so straightforward I thought at least one plot twist or something will happen at the end but nope, it was pretty much we go from point A to point C, we cross point B in the meantime and that was it. Also, the first book feels like the author had no intention of writing more of the series and just ended it. Don’t get me started on the boring magic system – so we have no idea for a magic system let’s add elemental magic oooh, kids these days love elemental magic. It’s so underdeveloped and they do some pretty weird things with it that have no explanation.
This is my top-bias-favourite series and I admit the first book’s not that strong. I’d say it gets much better as the series progresses, especially towards the end of the book 2. The first one seems more like a free trial for the rest of the series to me~ It reads best as a one 1500 pages book Also, the second part of the series (books 4 – 6) are coming down the way in the next couple of years
I’ve seen many a People praise A Darker Shade of Magic highly. The concept seemed interesting and I respect V.E. Schwab as an author. So I went into this series with pretty High Expectations and I was really let down. My first complain is Lila Bard, I don’t like her character. And I expected Waaay more action in the Kel vs Holland show-down which was also a disappointment for me. A lot of people say that it gets better from here but I didn’t continue the series. And considering I’m currently reading Lord Of Chaos, book 6 of Wheel of Time, and I WILL finish it before starting anything else, I don’t think I’ll be able to get through Shades of Magic
agreed… and then she did the magical tournament in book three ( or was it in the second one???)… very disappointed… and the main twist of the whole series was as predictable as it can get… when it was introduced as the twist, I was shocked… that at that point the author thought it was a revelation…
Daniel, if you felt underwhelmed by this first book, you’re probably gonna dislike the second book. I think the best way to describe a gathering of shadows is 2/3 of unnecessary and uninteresting fluff with only about two hundred pages of actual plot progressing content. The fluff wouldn’t even be that bad if it weren’t for the characters you follow.
I really like the story, but I also very much agree with your critic. I don’t have the fantasy baggage as you have, so I don’t really mind how predictable the story, but I get your point considering other stories/tropes. I don’t agree much about not being able to dive in, I just immersed in the story so fast that I was basically drowning, not only that, but I love how she describes each London, so I can imagine each character very well. Like, I really love how she describes smells with Kell or Holland’s appearance being constantly pale and washed-out. But nonetheless, I get and agree with your opinion about it.
I completely agree with you… I love V E Schwab and her writing style… I just finished the second book of this series…. I’d say it was better than the first one …. the scenes are very vivid and cenamatic but not to discourage anyone the magic system is very similar to a well known series…looking forward to read the third book and hope it has the uniqueness of Schwab
Yeah, the multiple London’s thing is cool. The political relationships between them and the ability to go between them is well handled. But, why are there only four? I don’t recall that being answered and it’s a legit question. Because, when talking dimensions then you are typically talking one or infinite. Or, you switch it to something like planes and tie them to elements, something like that, to give a determined number. You don’t just say there are four and then cya. That’s weird. – A few years since I read these though, my recollection is that the female lead was just unreasonably powerful. She was very Mary Sue -esque. Kel, the male lead, is also very powerful but it’s always possible that he might fail; heck, iirc he does fail multiple times, both in plan and combat. I never once got the impression that Del could fail.
Wow, I agree so much with this! Absolutely loved the premise and the first 100 pages but then, like you said, it became incredibly predictable and not very deep into the world! I’m excited to see what you think of the rest of the series if you read it, that way I can know if I should continue, since we had similar thoughts.
I relate SO much to this review! I felt exactly that way while reading the first book. I loved the concept and couldn’t wait to get to explore the different Londons. Unfortunately, as I read on, I did not feel like book 2 and 3 provided what I personally wanted in terms of exploring the worlds and the different Londons. It felt like the concept that I had fallen in love with was put aside and almost forgotten in the the sequels. It was well written so I still enjoyed the series, but I can’t help but feel like I’m lacking something, because I didn’t get to explore the worlds as much as I wanted.
I’m about 200 books into the fantasy genre, and almost 24 books read this year. My first fantasy books were the Hobbit, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. There, that’s my credit here 🙂 I absolutely loved this series, and the plot did not bother me at all. I loved the pacing and the characters, and how Schwab describes her worlds. That’s what hooked me in. I think the story is a bit predictable, I mean, it’s a trilogy which follows the three act structure almost to the letter. We know the villain will get defeated in book one, the characters will deal with the fallout in book two, and then the bigger fish will come along in book three. But I think this is the best execution of that pattern I’ve ever read. Good job V.E. Schwab, you earned an impulse buy from someone whose bookshelf is full of books other people gave him.
I was just thinking these days that I would love an opinion from you about A darker shade of magic. Funny enough, I got what I wanted. I haven’t red the books yet so I don’t have an opinion myself, but now I know what to expect if I ever want to start the series. Thank you. (English is not my native language so sorry in advance for any mistake)
i liked the first book. the second book…disappointing. i was really bored by the tournament plot and struggled to finish it. and then the third book MADE ME SO MAD. the main reason i didn’t like it was because of LILA….i didn’t like her in the beginning but she just got more and more infuriating as the books continued. the only character i was intrigued by was holland and his arc was sooo disappointing. don’t bother reading the rest, the first book is the only good one.
Hey, Daniel, I just started reading The Wheel of Time with, obviously, The Eye of the World. I’m not very far into it, but when you boil it down to the main parts of the chapters, it’s surprisingly fast-paced. At least, the first book is from what I’ve read so far. I’m liking it. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you have any recommendations for lesser-known or obscure high/epic fantasy series, similar to how A Song of Ice and Fire was before Game of Thrones came on HBO. Let me know if any come to your mind. Thanks!
I’m with you on that one Myself, I started Schwab with Monsters of Verity (which is YA) & loved it so much. Then went into ADSoM seeing how much love it gets and it felt mediocre to the point of me being afraid I grew out of liking Schwab (as I’ve read Shades more than a year after MoV) But then I picked up Vicious. And let me tell you, it felt good to love a Schwab book again
For a more modern take on magic and it’s rituals check out a film called “A Dark Song”. It’s not fantasy. It’s more horror, but it’s an odd strand of horror. I would suggest though that the way the magic rituals are carried out is more realistic than any you have seen before. Not that I believe in magic. If I was going to cast a spell I would imagine doing it this way.
The ideas of V E Schwab are always the coolest thing, but the execution… Well, great, but not even close enough to the premise. She is an amazing writer, but still have to work in her endings: ALL of them (for me) are so disaponting (I’ve read: Vicious, Shades of Magic, Monsters of Verity). But I had hopes that she will come up someday with something cool that BEGINs and ENDs propperly (again, this is just my taste).
I looked at my notes for this book when I saw you put up this review and god I forgot how much I fucking hate Lila. She’s the absolute worst. Haven’t read the other two books because she’s…in them but I’m pretty sure I would have liked them better if they were about Kell and Rhy going on an adventure.
0:52 “I burned through the first third of it, I was very interested, and then unfortunately around there hit a wall with this series.” This This perfectly describes every single experience I’ve had whenever I decide to give an acclaimed YA fantasy book a shot. I just think to myself “I could be reading anything else right now, why am I wasting my time with something I can’t bring myself to enjoy.” So from now on I just avoid YA like the plague no matter how much people say it’s “more mature than other YA”.
Hmmm, long books. I have read fantasy and science fiction for a long time, fifty years at least. I am not sold on the new trend of authors to write huge volumes but cannot really say this is better than the classic writers of the past that wrote shorter books very well. Sometimes more pages is just filler.
I was pretty disappointed in this book. The concept was so good and I was so excited, plus it is my friend’s favorite book. I was expecting… more? I just didn’t get enough world building and I didn’t really feel a connection to the characters backstories. This being said, I also really didn’t like Lila. She felt very ‘not like other girls’ and her personality seemed to shift between chapters. I couldn’t get any kind of connection to her because right as I was starting to like her she would go and do something rash and selfish or say something rude and unfounded. However, I really liked the character of Kell and I think there is huge potential for him in the later books which I may or may not read. 3.5/5 stars.
I think the biggest reason I loved the book was it wasn’t drowned in romance. There was no longing stares, fast beating hearts, gushy romantic dialog. I hate when fantasy authors push a romance in the first book so much that the actual story gets lost. I also don’t like books that make me feel like I’m doing research for a college paper on a imaginary fictional world or magic system with a massive amount of work building and magic descriptions in a first book. Basic and to the point goes better for me (although I do love Brandon Sanderson’s approach). Lila Bard was a great character to me, because although I’m sure for some she falls into the “Not like other girls” trope, for me it was more of she’s a nonbinary figure that actually doesn’t fit into a female mold. She also doesn’t turn into a useless whimpering twit whenever a man is around, which is a nice change.
Honestly I was pretty disappointed by the time I reached the end of the trilogy. I ended up giving the series as a whole 4 stars from an objective standpoint, but I think now I would recant that and give it 3 or 3.5. Perhaps it was my own expectations that let me down, but the story just didn’t go the way I was hoping it might, and the characters really frustrated me all the way through (save for that first 1/3 of the first book, I’m with you there on how well they’re set up). That being said, Schwab really does have excellent ideas and writes very well—I’m disappointed that I haven’t enjoyed her more so far, but I’ve only read this trilogy and hope to maybe try out some of her other works someday.
i really liked the first book. But starting the second and the third, Delilah bard becomes one of the biggest mary sues on fantasy, you see kell struggling his whole life to get to a certain point and the girl wakes up one day and she is the most bad ass person in the world. Not even the ta’veren boys get that good that fast
I didn’t even get to the part they meet because I just couldn’t with Layla or Lila (sorry, not trying to be mean). I thought the same: her ideas are soooo fascinating but the depth stays puddle deep :/. I believe that the timing was with on her side. When these came out there wasn’t much of this fantasy or at least not a lot of it was being marketing so much like this one. Maybe if I read back then…
I’m about halfway through the first book, it is so close to being good it hurts. As it stands now, I keep putting the book down and wondering if I bought a YA novel by mistake. I can see why people like it, but I wish the world was pushed a bit more… and that Lila was less of a “I’m not like other girls, I wear pants because I’m cool and girls are dumb” kinda character.
I kind of hate how hypocritical some book reviews are posted being like “HOLY SHIT, I LOVED THIS CONCEPT SO MUCH!!!, but…” and then a mediocre’ish 6/10 comes out. It seems like most reviewers somehow augment the negative to overshadow the positive, where in this case, at the beginning at least, it looked to have been the other way around. Anyways…
IGNORE the people saying the second book is better. The second book is hot garbage and one of the worst, most pointless things I’ve ever read. You can skip EVERYTHING Kell, Lilah, Rhy and Alucard do in it, and just follow Holland’s story…which amounts to MAYBE twenty pages. It’s nothing but filler trash, and just set up for the third book, which is mostly a miss. The villain was cool, at least.
I’ve read this after the Shadow and Bone trilogy and compared to S and B, ADSOM was interesting and I actually rooted for Kell (the MC). I liked Lila on the first book (yes she was childish and arrogant but I liked her) the second and third? Not so much. Anyway, I think I’ll give Vicious a chance. Note Thank goodness I’ve read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom first otherwise I would’ve given up on the author (Leigh Bardugo). First books do give an impression and I think ADSOM by V.E. Schwab passed as a past time for me. Not actually a favorite but enough for killing time. It’s actually liked it better on audiobooks (just saying).
I am really new to fantasy and I thought this might be a good step but now I’m nervous cuz I’m so bored so I really hope other similar stories are more exciting??? I’m a little over halfway way and I went looking for reviews to see what in the world all the hype is and maybe for someone to convince me not to DNF this. It’s a fabulous concept, but that’s all it is, concept. So far it is completely falling on its face with absolutely no plot or direction. And I am generally a more character driven reader than plot so that’s saying something if I’m begging for plot. At the moment I plan to continue, but I’m so confused on the hype
A darker shade of magic is my favourite book, but thats just cause i havnt read many books. It didnt grip me like other books did, and the first chapter is very boring. It was also hard to know when a death was pernantent and real and it also had parts that felt super predictable. Spoiler warning: When holland goes to grey, and attacks lila and kell in the first book. Kell tells lila to run, and we all knew she was going to come back. And other stuff like that. I wish that when holland killed barron we saw it so we knew it was real. Unless it wasnt, then dont spoil it yall. But yeah
When I started the series I actually wasn’t sold at the premise of 4 Londons, I found it boring. I started the series nonetheless, and I really agree that the plot of the first one was very standard, nothing new (plus, spoiler! wasn’t the mcguffin a bit too similar to the one ring?). That said, I enjoyed it enough to continue, and boy, I’m happy I did. I loved the third book so much more than I expected! It’s true, it doesn’t focus that much into worldbuilding (which, as I said, didn’t interest me from the beginning), but in my opinion it complensates with really good character work (mostly in the 3rd book)
For me, what brought this book from a 3.5 to a 5, was the absolute tension I felt when the mcguffin started doing The Bad. I was so invested in the world that was built and the concept of the status quo being unquoed filled that inciting incident with so much tension that I haven’t been able to stop reading since
DNF this book in Chapter 1. I was knocked out of immersion by such a glaring stupidity that it stunned me, for a minute and totally diverted me from any interest in this story. In chapter one, it is clearly stated that, ‘In order to pass between these worlds, you must go through a door made with a symbol drawn in your own blood. The exact same symbol needs be on both sides of this door and both sides are essentially the exact same location in two parallel worlds.’ So, in oder to go to World B from World A you have to already have been to world B and set up a door mark. ?!?!? So, HOW did this ever start??? How did anyone ever travel if you need to have been there in order to go there? >FACEPALM< If the author meant to say that the 'Best' way or the Easiest Way or the Preferred way... she didn't So my confidence in this author whom I had no prior experience with drops to Zero. If you are the kind of person who doesn't notice such things or prefers to overlook them, enjoy! I just cant spend my time on such things.
I loved the Shades of Magic trilogy but I didn’t think it was really great until like the third book. The third book is where the real goods are at😂 I think A Conjuring of Light is the only book in the trilogy I gave a 5 star rating, the others were more like 3-4 stars. And I honestly really agree with the first book being very predictable and a lot of things throughout the trilogy are very predictable. But I will say we get to explore the worlds more and more with each book and we get added layers of depth with each book and the books get darker and darker. I enjoyed the first book but it was as you said, very predictable and it didn’t go in a direction I didn’t already expect. The second book is where the plot in my opinion is weakest, it is centered around the Essen Tasch and we get the awesome magical competition but we barely get any significant plot development until the last 10 or so pages which for me was very frustrating. I still gave it 4 stars purely because of my enjoyment, everything was great except the plot. The third book is arguably the best in the trilogy and a great conclusion. Certain things went in a direction I didn’t expect and there were a few surprises. And it was overall very great. I hope the Threads of Power(the next series set in the same world) really pushes the boundaries.
I recently started reading the first book, and I had to pause and question my life when the author wrote “he fondled it” in regards to the weird king touching a letter?? And my brain just??? Like I literally put the book down and questioned my life. Why do people feel the need to phrase things like this? I would’ve quit altogether if my parents hadn’t gotten it for me as a gift.
I remember reading Vicious because I loved the idea of superheroes not being super heroic, but I had a lot of problems with plot holes, predictability and plot armor. Her idea was great, but the way it was executed was pretty mediocre. I was planning on giving her another chance with A Darker Shade of Magic, if I had money I could burn, but this article convinced me that VE Schwab just has a problem with execution in general. (I like her writing style though so I’d like to like a book of her’s.)
i gave adsom a two stars,,, it started off so strong but quickly became a very drawn out overly descriptive book with, as u said, very minute risks. the fight scenes werent as high stakes so i wasnt as engaged with them. a lot of amusing dialogue and writing which served me well but as a first book in a trilogy it wasnt as gripping as i thought itd be. maaaan i have the whole trilogy but i dont feel like ill visit the 2nd or 3rd books with any excitement which is gutting because its such a cool concept
I agree with you on this book. It’s not bad, the idea is really intriguing, it introduced the characters and all wonderfully. But I didn’t like how the series continued. The first one was entertaining and all, but the others were not my cup of tea. I had some issues with the multiple perspectives. There was one instance in this book and a few in the others, were I felt like the use of multiple perspectives explained to much. But I’m a bit particular when it comes both to explaining to much in general and what I want to gain from the use of multiple perspectives.
I’ve tried to read the first book in the series a couple of times but never made it past the first 40/50 pages as it didn’t grip me. In terms of the concept, it reminds me a fair bit of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, so perhaps that’s why I wasn’t as interested; even the concept itself didn’t seem all that new to me. With Neverwhere, I gripped me straight from page 1 and I personally feel the writing is brilliant, so I didn’t see the point of continuing with something that to me felt subpar. I may well give it another chance one day though. I’d definitely be interested to hear what you think of Neverwhere and if the concept is as similar as it seems to be from the little I read of shades of magic.
I really liked this series. I agree with your points on predictability, but it didn’t bother me. Though that may be because I read it at a time I was getting back into reading/fantasy after a long hiatus. I do think book 3 was a little disappointing in that it dragged on too long and focused on things/people I wasn’t that interested in, but still a solid 4/5 star series for me.
I really liked this first book. Yeah the plot was a bit generic, but it felt like a first book that was more trying to establish the world-building and characters. And the writing is really solid. When she tries to take more risk with book 2, I think her execution/ the quality of writing took a huge hit without a substantial improvement over the generic-ness of the first one. The first book was the best in the series for me because by the end of the second book I didn’t care, and the third book didn’t do enough to redeem the series.
I agree with your review. I enjoyed the second book a lot more, and it made the series for me. But it kind of continues the predictability theme in a few areas. My main issue with the series was it had a lot of “because magic” to get the protagonists out of situations or to move the plot. The second and third books are narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer which is fantastic.
The direction of the series isn’t that complex or unpredictable and I agree that the first 2 books in the trilogy were enjoyable but they didn’t blow me away. But the last book is great. The main thing that is great is the development of the relationships between the characters and thats done best in the last one. This book is a great entry point into fantasy
Definitely agree that the first book is the weakest and the series only gets better from there. I also agree that this series is a great introduction to the fantasy genre. That’s what it did for me, and getting an easier, somewhat predictable first book is a good introduction fo people who may not have much experience with the genre yet. The second and third take the ‘introduction’ and really vamp things up
I adored this series but I can see how someone with a larger background in reading fantasy might not care for it. Tbh it’s not great for extensive worldbuilding or politics as it goes on either. It’s a great entryway into older fantasy but it probably doesn’t live up to its potential. I love it as a fun action adventure story tho so what do I know.
Daniel is bang on with the assessment that the idea and concept are strong. I also agree that the potential of that idea falls flat. I don’t agree that the writing is great, it is serviceable. The series really flops in the second book with the switch to a pirate adventure with a triwizard tournament. I skimmed the last half and didn’t read the third. I really don’t get the hype with this series.
I agree with you. I read the trilogy. I liked the plot, the concept and the characters. I liked the first book as an intro, I liked the competition in the second book. but I am already forgetting what happened in the third book, and that means a lot considering that I just read it like two months ago. The thing is that, I liked the books, but I didn’t find them that awesome to make me feel I want to re read them again in the future. I agree that the concept of the different worlds could have been developed more in a deeper way.
The Shades of Magic series is one of my favourites of all time. I thought the plot was interesting and the world (or worlds i guess) was such a cool idea but it was mainly the characters that made me love it so much. I get what you’re saying about the plot being done before though. This was the first fantasy I ever read after Harry Potter, and have since noticed similar plots in many other fantasies.
I realy liked the series, not as much for the story but rather for exploring the world and magic setup. If i were to grade it it would be a C or a 7/10. It is definitly a series i could reread but i will likely not do it untill i have nothing better to do. This type of series is what i call a “waiting series” it is what i read while i wait on the next book in other series i realy like.
The thumbnail screams Homestuck It has a some dude with white hair, red clothing & darker pants, so basically Dave Strider in his God tier outfit On the right there is a clock, & Daves title is “Knight of TIME” The clock has some Zodiac lookin’ symbols around it, which are a big part of Homestuck & on the right we have a picture of just some celebrity, also quite Homestuck
Nope, no way! Nah uh 😤 I broke the RAID addiction after so long. Not getting sucked back into it again so fast. It really is pretty great though. Excited for His Dark Materials. I loved James and Daphne too. Both excellent actors. Anything horror is always welcome so looking forward to those stuff too. Honestly, lots of great TV content have already come out that I’ve yet to catch up on. Having an abundance of riches, so can’t exactly complain.
I certainly didn’t expect Daniel to talk about Naruto. He doesn’t watch much anime and I certainly wouldn’t recommend that show to him. Well, at the start it might actually be up Daniel’s alley. It does have some of that hard magic system stuff going on. But I know for a fact he’d loathe the show by the end. The series goes completely off the rails in all the bad ways.
I highly recommend reading Leigh Bardugo’s works before the show comes out!!!!!! You can either start with the Shadow and Bone trilogy or the Six of Crows duology, it’s totally up to you!!!!!! After finishing both series you can start with King of Scars (to avoid spoilers)!!!!!!!!! Please read it as soon as you can it is totally worth your reading time!!!!!!!
I just discovered your website a few weeks ago (thanks Google/YouTube algorithms!) I’d be curious to get your reactions to Michael Morcoock’s Elric Of Melnibone series. He wrote them as an anti-Tolkien fantasy series in the early 70’s. It’s about a drug-addled albino emperor of a dying empire (Elric of Melnibone himself) with a powerful, sentient sword, Stormbringer that feeds on blood. It was Grimdark before there was a term for it.
Speaking of Micheal B Jordon his production company just put out a sf/fantasy series(which he also appears in) last Friday called “Raising Dion” …Its kinda strangely formatted(to me)and very much in the style of the first “Amblin” films but its easy to watch and has some great SFXs and is VERY diversified though not in a beat you over the head way,it did feel a little lightweight but like there could be a bigger/better story coming out of it..
Duuuuude. Go read Gideon Falls. Explaining too much gives away some of the mystery but it’s mainly about this reclusive guy who thinks there’s a conspiracy going on in the city’s trash, Along with a priest arriving in a small town after his predecessor disappears and is presumed dead. They both end up trying to learn about this “Black Barn” that seems to move around in both the city and the small town and makes people disappear. It’s an interesting little mystery/ horror book, and the art and panel layouts are really unique and trippy. I can’t recommend it enough.
I wrote to you on Instagram but I guess you don’t check that or thought I was a murderer. Just wanted to say keep up the good work, you’ve inspired me to read many series I wouldn’t have known about. I jumped into your website a year ago after stumbling onto mistborn, now with the cosmere all finished I’m 9/13 through WoT. Hopefully your algorithm gets fixed cause you have great info and content. Thanks again!
Daniel you must read Gideon´s fall. Im not into scary/terror comics at all, but this one it is masterfully narrated and have a interesting turn in the story along its development. I don´t know how the adaptation is going to be, becuse the way the story it shows in the comics i think it cant be translated to other medias. So i think you should read the comic first, before the serie goes out.
I know that books and fantasy are your thing and you get hundreds of recommendations a day, but I want to throw some towards you that you might not be familiar with that expanded my reading scope across different mediums as we have very similar taste in content. American Comics: Tokyo Ghost (an absolute masterpiece of a series and changed my life forever after just one read. This one is sci-fi, but has a riveting story that sucks you in for all 11 issues and will leave you contemplating about it for years. This is the best comic of all time and I’m too biased to give you a valid assessment without getting your expectations too high, so this one I want you to go into blind. I’m too tempt to talk on about it). Manga: Made in Abyss (This manga has some of the most whimsical worlds, and it slowly grows dark and twisted as a little girl searching for her lost mom and a robot boy journey into a pit of despair. Very emotional and tense journey. Not as abysmal and beautiful as something like Oyasumi PunPun, but the world building makes up for everything as the world crafted in this series is probably the best in manga. For manga, people will suggest Berserk or JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but those aren’t great manga to get into when you’re new since one goes on super long hiatuses and the other has very strong tropes that takes a lot of experience in the medium to get through). Book: Devil in the White City (Look, this is a nonfiction book and the only one that doesn’t have a lot of pictures in that I was able to get through.
Naruto is one of the biggest Japanese fantasy series. What this designer does not get is that anime fans have no money. You go to conventions and they basically save all year for the trip, hotel room and food. That’s it. Good luck making that work. Coach by the way sells $1000 purses on 5th avenue New York so yes very high end.