It has been literal years since I last picked up a work by V. E. Schwab. She used to be one of my all-time favourite writers—and I’m only saying “used to” because it’s been a while, and I don’t know how much her writing or my taste in books has changed.
Shades of Magic, Vol. 1: The Steel Prince is a compilation of four individual comic issues. It follows the story of Maxim Maresh, the crown prince of Red London, who has been sent by his father, King Nokil, to the Blood Coast to learn a lesson.
There, Prince Maxim learns that life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. It’s a cutthroat society—kill or be killed. Heck, they’re not even governed by law anymore. At least, not the kind of law the prince expects.
Of course, the story is quite contained. The world isn’t fully fleshed out, but having some background knowledge of the main novel series gives the imagination enough to work with. However, considering that this story takes place in the past, I’m eager to learn more as the series progresses.
There wasn’t much room to explore the characters’ backgrounds. It’s understandable, considering the length of the individual issues, but I was definitely expecting more.
I love Schwab’s writing style, so I’m curious to see how her storytelling continues to translate into the comic format.
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