Serena’s Review: “The Fragile Threads of Power”

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Book: “The Fragile Threads of Power” by V.E. Schwab

Publishing Info: Tor, September 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all.

Review: I can fairly confidently say that this was my most anticipated read of 2023. Not only have I enjoyed every V.E. Schwab book I’ve read, but my favorites by were were the three books that made up her “Shades of Magic” trilogy. And its been years and years and years since those books came out! I wasn’t even expecting a return to this world as the original trilogy ended quite neatly. But not only are we returning to the world, but we’re returning to the same main characters (plus a few extras) several years later! The best of the best.

And yes, there was a lot to like about this book! First and foremost, for fans of the original trilogy, I’m happy to report that our main characters are just as awesome as you remember them, perhaps even more so as they tackle the ever more complex relationships between one another. I was a bit concerned going in that Lila, Kel, Rys and Luc would be relegated to background characters who just flitted in and out of the main storyline. But rest assured, they play vital, central roles to everything that is happening. Per my experience with the first trilogy, Lila is still far and away my favorite character of the four. As the book plays out, the story jumps backwards in time at several points to show how are characters have lived over the last eight or so years. Through these flashbacks, we get to see Lila as a captain, Lila as a reluctant leader, and, best of all, Lila as a support system for Kel as he deals with the loss of his magic. Of course, her “support” comes in the very hard-nosed style that we all would expect from her.

For his part, Kel’s story was heart-breaking as he traverses the various stages of grief over the loss of the central portion of his identity. Schwab doesn’t shy away from the very dark places that this kind of loss can inflict on people. Rys probably gets the least page time, but for this book, at least, his story is the most straight-forward: learning how to become a king at a very young age. Alucard was the one who surprised me the most, however. In the original trilogy, he felt like the least of the four characters (not necessarily in preference, just in page time and the amount of story given to him). But here he is probably the most central character of the four to the main arch and mystery that makes up the plot of this book. I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with this character, and I’m very intrigued to see where he goes from there.

Now, to the new characters. Yes, of course, they are very good as well, especially Tes, the young girl with the extraordinary ability to see and manipulate magic itself. Her history was interesting, with a complicated and, at times, frightening family. And her abilities open a lot of pathways forward (perhaps too many? She definitely has the potential to run the story into the “Superman problem” where a character is so over-powered that essentially any conflict going forward could be solved by that one person simply intervening). I also liked the Antari queen that we meet in White London. There’s an interesting mystery building there, but I have to admit that she was my least favorite of the group. Not because she was a bad character in her own right, but because she had some stiff competition and there were a few mysteries that I feel are leading in a very obvious, dark direction which makes me struggle to truly connect ot her.

So, that’s a lot about characters, and there’s a reason why: Yes, I mostly read for characters, so that’s common of my reviews. But in this case, the characters were truly the heart of the story. As much as I enjoyed this read, and I really, really did, it definitely suffers as being the first book in a trilogy. Almost 90% of the story is devoted to understanding how our familiar characters ended up where they did and introducing the new characters and their history. Beyond that, there’s a rather short, simple mystery that is resolved at the end. But it’s also clear that Schwab is placing much larger pieces on this chessboard, and much of this book is spent properly positioning everything. That alone is why I had to knock this one down from a 10 star rating. But on pure enjoyment, pure joy at seeing beloved characters back on the page again, this is definitely a top tier book!

Rating 9: It’s a rare feat to return to a beloved fantasy trilogy, pick up fan favorite characters and manage to not break anything in the process, but Schwab makes it look easy! A triumphant return that’s nothing less than masterful!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Fragile Threads of Power” is on this Goodreads list: [ATY 2024] Touch of Magic.