Listen free for 30 days

  • A Darker Shade of Magic

  • A Darker Shade of Magic, Book 1
  • Written by: V. E. Schwab
  • Narrated by: Steven Crossley
  • Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (484 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Darker Shade of Magic cover art

A Darker Shade of Magic

Written by: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.26

Buy Now for $22.26

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Kell is one of the last Travelers - magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes. As such, he can choose where he lands. There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there's Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. There's White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.

Officially Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see - a dangerous hobby and one that has set him up for accidental treason.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cutpurse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

©2015 Victoria Schwab (P)2015 Tantor

What the critics say

"There is much more to explore in this amazing world from the acclaimed author of Vicious." (Library Journal)

What listeners say about A Darker Shade of Magic

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    251
  • 4 Stars
    163
  • 3 Stars
    59
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    224
  • 4 Stars
    118
  • 3 Stars
    43
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    220
  • 4 Stars
    141
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this author’s worlds

Just read my second V Schwab novel and I wasn’t disappointed. Beautiful writing, good story and entrancing characters. My only point of contention is the narrator, who, having a rich lush voice makes the female main character sound a bit like a cross dresser... like those Monty Python skits with John Cleese and the gang doing their best female impersonations. Other than that, excellent!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Book is good, performance made me almost not like it

I like VE Schwab and her writing. This book has a good storyline with good characters. However, the narrator read things in a tone that almost made me not like the characters - he made them sound whiny, and removed any romantic / sexual tension.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator issues

Found the narrator difficult to listen to, a bit goofy - but the story was great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, wrong narrator!!

I'm halfway through the book and I'm having so much trouble finishing it. The story is interesting enough that I want to keep listening, but the narrator is not the right one for this book. My problem is not the accent, but the dialogues don't match to his inflections and speech rate. I don't know how to explain it but it just sounds wrong and rushed. It's unfortunate because I love audiobooks and was looking forward to enjoying this one. Overall, I don't recomed this audiobook, instead get the physical book if you are looking into this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing read

Narrator was really good and portrayed the story well, but was gutteral at times. Story was well written and entertaining throughout, with cliff hangers and strong story elements. Overall was amazing to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic female protagonist.

Characters Written like real complex people. So refreshing and delightful. I wish I had a female character like this to read about as a kid.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Magical Adventure

The story had me hooked from the start. I loved the unique spin on the world. The narration was great too. Can't wait to see what the next book in the series has in store.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love love love

Great story great characters great everything. I think you should for sure listen to this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So good!

I tried to start this book a few years ago but for some reason, I couldn't get into it. Then I heard the second book was really good so I decided to try it again and I'm so glad I did. Now I have two more books in the trilogy to enjoy and that's a gift. The first chapter is MEH but trust me... After that it's great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great read. great narrator.

great read. great narrator. looking forward to book 2. glad my wife recommended it to me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful