I've read a lot of fantasy over the years, from the time that I was a little girl devouring the works of Diana Wynne Jones to my current complicated relationship with “A Song of Ice and Fire” (1996 - present) from George R. R. Martin (yes, I'm still waiting for “The Winds of Winter”). As a result, I can be a little jaded. Mysterious older wizard who likes to offer unsolicited life advice? Same old story. Dragon ravaging the land? Been there, done that. Farm boy with a mysterious destiny who's surprisingly good with a sword? Yesterday's news. (Of course, I still will happily consume any and all of these tropes when they're offered to me.) But the novels of V. E. Schwab all offer something completely different.
“Vicious" (2013), Schwab's take on the superhero genre, flashes back and forth in time to tell the story of two ambitious college roommates. In their senior year, Eli and Victor's research in adrenaline, near-death experiences and people with powers leads them from the theoretical into the real and the dangerous. Ten years later, Victor has broken out of prison, and there's only one thing he wants: revenge on Eli. Superheroes are often the province of comics and movies, but “Vicious” makes a compelling case for the superhero novel. Schwab's writing delivers clever plot twists and striking images without ever sacrificing the forward momentum of the plot or the delicious moral ambiguity of the characters. This book takes established ideas about heroes and villains and flips them all on their heads. There's experiments gone wrong, and menacing sidekicks and dramatic final confrontations, but somehow they're nothing like all the ones you've seen before. “Vicious” is original, daring, and will inevitably leave you hoping for a sequel.
“A Darker Shade of Magic” (2015) is equally, if not more so, creative and is quite possibly one of the best books I read all last year. It takes place throughout three iterations of London: Grey London, which is without magic and ruled by a mad King George; Red London, where magic thrives and the royal dynasty presides over a vibrant city; and White London, where magic and power belong to whoever's cruel enough to take them. There's also Black London, but traveling there is forbidden, and the city's name is never spoken. Kell is one of those with the rare power to travel between all three worlds, officially a royal messenger and unofficially a smuggler. When he runs into Delilah Bard, a cross-dressing thief with ambitions of piracy, in Grey London, she robs him and convinces him to take her on an adventure. Kell and Lila are both downright delightful main characters, particularly if you have a weakness for thieves and rogues. The world is endlessly creative and packed with thoughtful details that had me yearning to see even more of each and every London and spend hundreds more pages with this world and these characters. Although the first third or so is a little slower, the plot builds and builds until it's impossible to put down and the conclusion both satisfies the reader and leaves hints for the next book. The novel's a must-read for all fantasy fans.
V. E. Schwab
