Lang hat es gedauert, aber endlich (oder vielleicht eher leider) bin ich erneut fertig mit dem ersten Band der Weltenwanderer Trilogie. Ich liebe die Welt, Lila, Kell, die fantastischen Dialoge und die Atmosphäre. Ich hab das Buch bereits 2015 geliebt und lieb es noch heute. Jetzt muss ich nur endlich mit Band 2 beginnen.

"My name is Kell, and I come from another London, and I got into your room using magic." I liked a "Darker Shade of Magic", I really did. But I can't help but feel guilty saying that. Because the main reason I liked it, is because it felt soo much like Doctor Who. Like Matt's Eleventh Doctor, and David's Tenth, and Amy and Donna. And since they are all gone, and I do miss them, I needed this in my life. "Before she could ask, he looked straight at her [] and said a single word. Run." It's the little things, really. Because it is also very different from Doctor Who. Victoria Schwab herself describes it as "a strange little fantasy, [with] pirates, thieves, sadist kings, and violent magic-y stuff". There were no pirates in this one, not yet. But there was magic, wonderful magic, and blood magic. There actually is a lot of blood and bloody scenes in this one, so do keep that in mind if you are feeling odd about blood in books. But the blood magic is a magic system I really enjoyed. I'm fairly new to wizards and witches and magic, but I think "A Darker Shade of Magic" is especially fantastic for people who want to venture into the fantasy genre for the first time. It's not too difficult or mind bending, but still complex enough to keep you interested and guessing until the end. "As Athera. To grow. As Pyrata. To burn. As Illumae. To light. As Travars. To travel. As Orense. To open. As Anasae. To dispel. As Hasari. To heal." What I also loved is the setting. With four Londons, I could not resist this book. And all cities are done and describe really well, they are distinctive enough so you will always know where you are without getting confused, but they are also really beautiful, each in their own way. (I don't mean literally beautiful, a city built on bones is just plain creepy, I just miss London too much, it's been too long…) “I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it." "Seen what?" Her smile widened. "Everything.” The characters however, are the biggest problem for me in this book. Don't get me wrong, Victoria Schwab is amazing at creating characters, and all of the bad guys send a chill down my spine just thinking about them, but the good guys… maybe it's just me though. It's kind of like with Doctor Who too. Kell, the main character, is like the Doctor. He is lovable and charming, but does a lot of stupid things simply because he cares too much about other people. But you just have to love him, even if you don't understand him. And then there is his companion, Lila in this book. I liked her alright, her big mouth and how brave and careless she was, when she put Kell into place, and saved him despite her better judgement. But I just really don't understand her, or can relate to her at all. “But the things about people, Kell had discovered, is that they didn't really want to know. They thought they did, but knowing only made them miserable.” If the next book in the series focuses only on her, and the pirate ship she sails off with, then I might not continue this series, it's that bad and confusing. But I liked this book for all the reasons I love Doctor Who, an awesome main character who cares, the four Londons and how every single one of them still felt like London, the companion only as long as she is with the Doctor/Kell, the bad guys that give you nightmares, the settings you can only dream about. If the second book will be about pirates, I'm out. "A Darker Shade of Magic" is still a good stand-alone read, there are no questions left unanswered. 3.5, 4 Stars on a good day...

Wow the first book ended in a (for me) surprisingly nice way! I really rooted for the protagonists. Lila is a badass! Her interactions with Kell were amazing and I'm very fond of his habit to collect stuff (from other London's). The concept with 4 Londons is pretty intriguing and I wonder if we'll ever see Black London.