by Damla
Magical Londons layered on top of each other?
Morally ambiguous characters flirting with danger?
Destructive egos and God complexes?
Life changing deals with the devil?
The Schwab-verse has it all.
I first came across one of V.E. Schwab’s books on an audiobook streaming service promotion, and decided to give it a very half-hearted chance. Until then, my reading mostly focused on the literary fiction and classics sphere, with only Tolkien and a few works of magical realism to veer my imagination into the fantastic. Long story short, what started as a hesitative dip of my toes into the fantasy pool ended up being a head-first deep dive as I found myself completely immersed in this fascinating new world. Before long, I had devoured the whole series followed closely by her other published books and many other works of fantasy and sci-fi.
In a feeling that might be familiar to many a bookworm out there, I had found myself a doorway into magical worlds, each one just as gripping and immersive as the last.
Since then (“then” being 10 years ago), I have read and reread her Shades of Magic series more times than I would like to admit, and it still holds that magical glow for me. And when a series stands the test of time so successfully, you know you have something special there.
After she was already on my radar, and once I had already fallen in love with her books, I came across a speech she made as a guest lecturer for The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Pembroke College, Oxford. In it, she stressed that there was more than one way into the grand realm of fantasy literature. She, having never actually read Tolkien, had found another door, her own door, into this alternative world. Ironically, she had been mine.
All things considered, Victoria Schwab is one of the more prolific authors out there at the moment, having written a current total of 25 published works in the last 13 years. She writes with staggering speed, always imbuing each one of her works with detail-oriented lush writing, immaculate vibes, immersive atmosphere, and a delicious darkness in the mysteries she crafts.
“My favorite stories are the ones laid like gossamer over our own world. The ones that make magic feel close at hand, that promise us there is a door, even if we haven’t found it yet. The ones that make us doubt our senses. The way a paranormal experience, or a near-death experience, or a spiritual experience, makes a cynic doubt their own established and accepted truths.”
– V.E. Schwab at The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Pembroke College, Oxford
Schwab’s books are all about bringing a bit of magic to real life, making you doubt your reality just a little bit, instead of reaching out to a magical world. Whole other worlds hidden just beneath the surface of what we know, the shadows in the corner clinging just a little bit too dark, the stranger on the street just a little bit blurry at the edges, that shiver down your spine just a little bit foreboding.
The fact that she can completely transport you into that new reality? That’s just her style.
“I see everything before I write it down, I block and choreograph every beat, roll through the seconds of mental film, cut to different cameras in my head, different angles. Every scene comes with its own color palette. Every moment comes with an underlying soundtrack.”
– V.E. Schwab at The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Pembroke College, Oxford
Be it a standalone fantasy geared towards younger audiences, a siren-like dark urban fantasy for YA, an epic fantasy series of multiple volumes, or fast-paced graphic novels, the one thread that always connects her works is power: the hunger for it, the cost of it, and how it can change you. It is the cost of this freeing power that shapes the unique worlds she creates in each one of her books.
From middle grade to adult, curious fantastical worlds await, crackling with magic.
So, where to begin?
FOR AN EPIC INTRO TO SCHWAB’S FANTASY
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic Series)
“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
Kell is one of the last Antari–magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Officially, Kell serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
(Consists of 3 books, with additional graphic novel prequels and a new sequel-like series set in the same world, called Threads of Power, currently on the way)
FOR LOVERS OF SLOW-BURNING, DARK STORIES
“No matter how desperate or dire, never pray to the gods that answer after dark.”
When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she is convinced she’s found a loophole-immortality in exchange for her soul. But the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal.
Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him. Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her.
FOR LOVERS OF THE GOTHIC
“Last night I went beyond the wall. And I met Death.”
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal — which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home — to Gallant. Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant — but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all.
Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
FOR SCI-FI FANS
Vicious (Villains series)
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
Victor and Eli, due to a research project gone wrong, become ExtraOrdinaries with supernatural powers. Ten years later Victor escapes from prison, determined to get his revenge on the man who put him there, while Eli has spent the years hunting down and killing other EOs.
(Currently duology, with the final installment expected to be published in Fall 2026, and an additional graphic novel named Extraordinary)
FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR TOXIC LESBIAN VAMPIRES (as you do)
“Bury my bones in the midnight soil, plant them shallow and water them deep, and in my place will grow a feral rose, soft red petals hiding sharp white teeth.”
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.
London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
See more titles by V.E Schwab
