And in classically individualistic fashion, the Tor Books staff has not chosen just one, but four different Londons to call home. The question was prompted by this week’s release of A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab’s newest novel, in which being a magician in London means having access to different types of London.
There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George and inhabited by the Tor folks in the back middle of the picture. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, where the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire, and where Tor.com’s Creative Director and Associate Publisher Irene Gallo hails from. (She’s the hooded being on the far left.)
An ominous handful of Tor Books staff live in White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones.
And once upon a time, there was Black London…but no one speaks of that now.
Why all the assembly and declaration? Magical Londons just bring that out in us as genre readers.
You can read a free excerpt from A Darker Shade of Magic here on Tor.com.
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