A review by trintrin
Shades of Magic Vol. 1: The Steel Prince by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Maxim gets his own prequel huh. Wonder if this could redeem him.

The art is kinda confusing especially during fight sequences, but seeing the magic come to life makes up for it. The parallels between King Nokil and Prince Maxim in the past, and King Maxim and Kell in the future is very cool.
Like "closing the doors between the worlds is a decision, not an act of selfishness", "you fight like a royal" etc (iirc. It’s been a hot minute since I read the book)
While the story cannot certainly stand on its own, it seems like a cool addition to the Shades of Magic universe and I'm excited to see where this goes cuz I love revisiting this world :D

I don't know if this is a plot-hole or a gap in my memory but (light spoilers)
Maxim seems to speak in English, or rather, High Royal the entire time. To the soldiers, pirates, the king, his advisors, everyone alike. But how do the regular Arnesians understand him if he's not speaking in Arnesian? Wasn't he too arrogant to address the crowd in the common tongue or something in ADSOM? (again, I don’t have the book on me rn but I definitely something like this happening)
 
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