The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, 1)

Schwab is one of my favorite fantasy authors and this book reaffirms why. I first read the darker shades of magic series several years ago and was so glad to re-immersed into the world of Lila Bard once again. While you don’t need to read the first three books before picking us this one, I recommend that you do. Simply because they are amazing.

VE Schwab takes you back to red London and all its new issues, while white London is having a resurgence. I am very excited for the next chapter in this series.

V.E. Schwab has brought us back to the fantastic world she created in Shades of Magic . To really enjoy this new spin-off series I highly recommend immersing yourself in the original trilogy. It has been seven years since the events of the original trilogy and the main characters from that are still very present, with some new players to the game.

Kell and Lila have been sailing around the world having adventures and learning to live with the consequences Kell faced at the end of Shades of Magic. They have built a life together but Lila has not lost that stubborn streak to try and remain wholly independent and not need anyone.

“Why didn’t you stay on the ship?” he asked again, because now and then, it was not enough to dance around the truth. He wanted to hear her say it. Even if she did not wear the ring. He wanted to know that she chose to be here, with him. Lila held his gaze so long he could have counted the shards of light in her good eye. And then, at last, almost grudgingly, she said, “Because the bed would feel empty. Without you in it.”

Rys is stuck so to speak in London ruling with Alucard, who is known as the Kings Heart. He has a new Queen and daughter to bring into the mix. The structure of the relationships between all three are very interesting to say the least. Both Alucard and the Queen are determined to save Rys, not only from himself but from the new plot by a group called the Hand, who wants to remove him from power by any means necessary.

In White London there is a new Queen. In Holland's absence Kosika is taken over is in charge of that London. She is doing everything possible to revive the lands there. underestimated because she is a young child coming into her power at the age of 8, she is now 15 and proving to be a very adept ruler. However the walls might be thinning between here London and Black London. What are the risks and can they be held at bay. She has a strange advisor, but I haven't decided if he is helping or subtly subverting our little Kosika.

Tes, well she was one of the most interesting stories in the book. After running away from her family she has set up a shop to fix broken things. Her magic is really special, she can see the threads of magic. She can hold them in her hands and fix or change magical items to be even better. She has mostly tried to stay under the radar hiding from her family but when something appears in her shop to be fixed, she fixes it better than it was supposed to be creating something that can open a door between worlds. She is now embroiled in this magical war and the machinations of The Hand. She needs to find one of the Antari to help her. But as we know Lila isn't exactly warm and welcoming and there will be people in the palace that want to use her for their own gains.

“As far as she was concerned, family had nothing to do with proximity or blood. Family was a chosen thing. A label earned.”

I really enjoyed so much of this story. It was great to see all the characters that I loved in the original series and see what they were up to and how their lives were going. Lila is infuriating sometimes but she and Kell really fit together and I love their love story.

“To Lila, Kell had always been a pane of glass tilted toward her just so, so that where others saw only colors and streaks, she saw the truth of it. Of him.”

The new Queen was an interesting and morally ambiguous character. She chose to marry Rys for her own reasons, those of power and autonomy but sometimes she seems to be the most dangerous of all of the characters in the book. She is absolutely brilliant but also the creations she makes in the wrong hands could be beyond deadly.

This story had so many great facets. Told in both past and future we learn what the characters have been up to in the seven years since the events to drive out the black taint. We also get to see some glimpses for the bad guys PoV, even if not all of the names of those characters are revealed. There are multiple plots afoot to kill Rys, which as we know if impossible, well unless you kill Kell I suppose but that isn't common knowledge and I think Lila would have something to say to anyone who tried.

I'm really excited to see what happens when Kosika possible starts to interact with the characters in Kell's London and how the thinning of the doors will affect all of the magic in the worlds. Maybe Lila's home will finally get a little magic on that side as we see there is some hope for it when we visit there.

Overall, I couldn't put this book down I was so invested in the characters, the story, the political intrigue and character development. I found everything so interesting but if you weren't invested in the first series I think it could seem a little long and some of the concepts of the story might be a little confusing. Still if you read the first series this is like coming home after being away for a few years and catching up with all your old friends.

Narration:

I believe it was so smart to do multiple narrators on this. If you have read anything in the epic fantasy realm then you should already be familiar with Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. They are really fantastic at narrating and I always know they will deliver a solid performance. No matter how big the cast they have been able to accommodate large sets of characters into their Narrations. Marisa Calin isn't a novice narrator with over 100 titles under her belt, but I've only listened to one other book she has narrated. I think the biggest compliment I can give her is that I didn't notice differences between the caliber or her chapters or those of Kate Reading and Michael Cramer. She held her own with two powerhouses of narration and that is a huge compliment.

I listened to the story at my usual 1.5x speed.

I love this world. I love these characters, who are all flawed and lovely in their own ways. I found myself loving (or at least invested in) the new characters that were introduced in Threads. I love Schwab’s lyrical and precise prose (although there were a few typos in the Kindle edition). I found myself stalling in the final pages, not wanting it to be over. And now it is and I’m sad I have to wait for the next installment.

I truly enjoy a complex world full of deep characters with competing motivations, and this is that. Wonderful, patient storytelling, and some excellent writerly moments too. Now I need to go back and refresh w the other three previous books while I await this Book 2 (something that would have helped beforehand but wasn't a real obstacle once the action got underway).