Kell is one of the last magicians with the ability to travel between parallel universes, linked by the magical city of London. It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into his possession and he met Delilah Bard. Four months since the Dane twins of White London fell, and the stone was cast with Holland's dying body back into Black London.Now Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. And as Red London prepares for the Element Games-an international competition of magic-a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must fall...
I enjoyed the first book but thought it was a little flat. This sequel adds so much more depth to the world and the characters, and the writing feels less stiff and more sure of itself. I have the final book in the trilogy sitting on my library pile and it's a gigantic doorstop - and I can't wait to dive into it.
Edit 4/13/19: As I'm working on finishing a different trilogy, I wanted to come back to this review and comment on how well this book avoids the "middle book syndrome" - it tells an engaging and exciting self-contained story while moving the entire series forward. Most trilogies don't improve from book 1 to book 2, and book 2 often feels like treading water between books 1 and 3, but A Gathering of Shadows defies those trends.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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8 March, 2019:
Finished reading
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8 March, 2019:
Reviewed