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The Fragile Threads of Power

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The Fragile Threads of Power

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Kate Reading, Marisa Calin, Michael Kramer
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About this listen

Veteran narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading return to this fantastical world, along with a new POV portrayed by Marisa Calin.

"As the threads converge, all three narrators strive to remain as consistent as possible to each other's stylistic choices, creating a nearly flawless whole."- AudioFile

V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.

Prepare for tangled schemes and perilous adventures with friends old and new in The Fragile Threads of Power.

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 it 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.

These two royals from very different empires now face very similar struggles: how to keep their crowns—and their own heads.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Action & Adventure Fantasy Historical Sword & Sorcery Fiction England Royalty Magic

Critic Reviews

Praise for the Shades of Magic series
“Schwab has given us a gem of a tale that is original in its premise and compelling in its execution. This is a book to treasure.” —Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author, on A Darker Shade of Magic

"Feels like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books." —io9 on A Darker Shade of Magic

“Compulsively readable...her characters make the book.” —NPR on A Darker Shade of Magic

"This is how fantasy should be done.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review, on A Gathering of Shadows

Praise for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
“Schwab’s page-turner is an achingly poignant romantic fantasy about the desperate desire to make one’s mark on the world.” —Oprah.com, Best LGBT Books of 2020

“One of the most propulsive, compulsive and captivating novels in recent memory.” —Washington Post

All stars
Most relevant
I adored every minute of this audiobook. I can’t wait for more. That ending was so good!

Incredible

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I listened to the first book in this series and loved it. I was very disappointed with books 2 and 3 that the narrator had changed and for books based in London the American accents were jarring. Despite this, it worked somewhat well having two narrators in those books giving voice to the viewpoints of Lila and Kelly, although the voices of a multitude of characters come across differently depending who is narrating that chapter, but with this book they have added yet another voice. The two Americans are assigned seemingly randomly and the English narrator who has been added to narrate from Tess's viewpoint speaks so weirdly. I had it on in the car and my daughter said "why are you listening to this sped up?" Such a pity that the narration was so grating, I will probably read the next installment rather than listen when it comes out.

I enjoyed the new characters and look forward to the White and Red London plots coming together, also I am hoping for a bit more of Grey next time too.

Good story, narration is poor

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A good story, new and interesting characters as well as the old ones that keep you wanting to return to the Londons. The use of different narrators for different characters is really good.

Great characters, Excellent narrators.

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Her books are always fire, I’m so glad there are more books in this series now :,)

Fire

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I found the 3 narrators, with the unusual style, very difficult to listen to initially. I also felt they added unnecessary complexity to an already complex story. initially I thought the different narrators were for the different worlds, but no, then specific characters, and that was only a maybe. the story felt incomplete, with many threads unfinished, so I'm thinking there's a part 2, but it was a bit unsatisfactory.

interesting story, off putting narration

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