Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince: 1

Rhis book is truly gorgeous. Not only is Schwab's writing and wordlbuilding precious, but the art is just "blow 'em out of the water" incredible. If you loved the ADSOM trilogy you'll love this prequel where you get to see deeper into the world and some known characters, as well as being able to flood your senses with this amazing world and how it's portrayed both in word and image!And if tou don't know what ADSOM is, read this and you'll definitely want to find out!

I'm not very familiar with the Shades of Magic books, but I liked the previews and the art was attractive.It's not a perfect story, and I'll admit that it started a bit slowly, but it was a fun read, and I am looking forward to the next part.The characters grew on me, and I liked the setting. I'm not sure if this is the same in the books, but I'll probably pick them up if they're as fun as this.

After finishing The Shades of Magic trilogy I wanted more and naturally, the graphic novels series beckoned. I was eager to learn more about Maxim Maresh before he became King and father to Rhys and adoptive father to Kel. In the trilogy, he seemed to be someone who was always so in control, always knew what to do and the idea of him being sent somewhere to “cut his military teeth” in The Steel Prince (let’s be honest that’s just royal talk for he’s done something he shouldn’t and his dad is pissed) just doesn’t jive with him as an adult. The events of these graphic novels are alluded to in the books, and I love that V. E. Schwab decided to explore Maxim and Isra’s past. It’s the perfect way to explore the history of Red London and add a different dynamic to the world she’s created.I found that this first volume was the weakest out of the three graphic novels though as it focuses more on Maxim arriving in the Blood Coast of Verose and finding his place among the soldiers. Compared to the next two volumes it just feels quite lacklustre.

Great. Doesn’t disappoint!

It was really interesting to see Maxim as a young Prince in this comic, as opposed to the King we see him as in ADSOM. Any comic set in this universe was always going to be a must-have for me, and I'm excited to continue seeing Maxim's evolution in this series. Plus, the artwork was snazzy!

As much as I enjoyed this and I really liked the artwork, this leans very heavily on the reader having read ADSOM and there's no fluidity to the plot. And the magic used isn't explained at all.

I decided to borrow the first volume using prime. Seems like an interesting story and read. However for some reason the double page spread that has the little 'world setting intro' is unreadable. Like they have litrally made it so you can't zoom in and read the pages as far as I can tell. Full screen on a PC and I still can not read the text. Basically unless this is an issue with the way Kindle reads the files or some zoom feature I can't find for that page, you are better off getting the physical book because at least then you should be able to read the dang pages.

Boring, next to no decent worldbuilding and the action scenes are so vague most of the time I had no idea what magic was supposed to be doing what. I imagine that fans of her novels may get a kick out of it but for someone new to her stuff it leaves a lot to be desired.Some of it is well drawn but the colour palette washes everything out, nothing stands out; neither pictures, story or dialogue.

É muito bom ler HQs de uma história que você ama! As ilustrações estão surreaisde boas, totalmente incríveis, amei!

LOVED IT! I couldn't ask for a better graphic novel! I cannot tell you how much I loved it. It arrived in a day and it was in perfect shape. I love the artists and the story that is more of a prequel of the Shades of magic Trilogy.GOODREADS REVIEW:4.5/5I finally got the first volume of The Steel Prince. This is a graphic novel that happens in the same world of Shades of Magic trilogy, but it’s more of a prequel, since the main character is Maxim Maresh in his early 20s, before he was a King of Red London.Now I must say I am absolutely pleased with this! I do tend to read manga, so I love when a bunch of artist join together to make a comic, manga or graphic novel to complement a book series. Sometimes the interpretation of the artist is exactly what we have in our minds and since this is a graphic novel, the colors in every page make it even better!I absolutely LOVE the Shades of Magic trilogy and this was everything I needed in my life. Not only we can see their beautiful clothes and the faces of some characters, we also get the display of their abilities and the different uses for magic.For example, Maxim Maresh is a magician who controls metals (although he is best at bending steel), and his guard, Isra, who we only get a glimpse on A Conjuring of Light, can manipulate air. Also, the villain in this first volume can control bones! I was shocked about that, because it can only be done by an antari. Or so I thought…If I may add a side note: we can see that Maxim, even as a young prince, was smart enough to think that someday the boundaries between all Londons would break. I’m thinking that’s probably how they met Kell, since he was searching for more antari.Anyway, I don’t rate this with 5/5 because it’s really short. There are only 4 chapters in this first volume, but I promise you that you will be drawn from the very beginning.The art is SUPERB! It has beautiful covers in every single chapter that were made by different artist (most of them women, so I’m glad about that). And the design of the characters, the details of the countries, and even the royal clothes are breath-taking. The design of the chalice and the sun looks stunning!I am a sucker for this kind of details and honestly I can’t wait for the second volume! I totally recommend this

Great fast-paced story with beautiful (and easy to follow) visuals to really bring the world of "A Darker Shade of Magic" to life! I can't wait to go back and re-read the series now that I have different visuals for how the author herself envisioned it to be.The only "complaint" I have is that graphic novels can be read quickly and I'm dying to read the rest of the series! Victoria Schwab had quickly become my favorite author with this and her Villans series, and each bit of her work she puts out (especially the Shades of Magic series) is top notch in story telling - and now visual content. I really hope she and her publishing company consider continuing graphic novels beyond this mini backstory series of Maxim.

InhaltZweihundert Jahre sind vergangen, seit die Welten auf magische Weise voneinander getrennt wurden. Das rote London wird von König Nokil Maresh regiert, dessen Sohn, Maxim Maresh, zu seiner Unzufriedenheit geradezu besessen von den anderen Londons ist. Um ihn auf andere Gedanken zu bringen, schickt er Maxim auf eine militärische Exkursion. Das Ziel: Verose, besser bekannt als die Blutküste, eine gefährliche Hafenstadt, berüchtigt für ihre Probleme mit den Kriminellen der Welt. Bereits kurz nach seiner Ankunft sieht sich Maxim Kriminellen und Dieben und Betrügern gegenüber. Schlimmer noch, die berüchtigte Piratenkönigin Arisa, die von Gesetzlosen und Soldaten gleichermassen gefürchtet wird, ist gerade im Hafen angekommen!Meine MeinungDa ich dem Fandom Shades of magic komplett erlegen bin - ich habe die Trilogie geliebt und fangirle immer noch davon - war es für mich klar, dass ich zu The steel prince greifen würde. Auch wenn sich meine Erfahrung mit Comics auf meine Kindheit beschränkt, und ich schon längere Zeit nichts mehr in englischer Sprache gelesen habe.The steel prince respektive die Shades of magic-Comics widmen sich Maxim Maresh. Dem Mann, den wir als König aus der Weltenwanderer-Trilogie um Kell und Lila kennen. Hier wird seine Geschichte erzählt, wie er zu dem König wurde, der er heute ist.Die Zeichnungen in The steel prince sind düster, hart und doch wunderschön. Die ganze Aufmachung ist wirklich ein Traum! Zwischen den "Kapiteln" finden sich jeweils noch seitengrosse alternative Cover zum Comic, vorne und hinten im Buch weitere Ausführungen zu den Charakteren.Da ich wirklich schon lange keine Comics mehr gelesen habe, hatte ich jedoch teilweise Mühe, der Geschichte zu folgen. So gibt es vor allem Rückblenden, die nicht als solche gekennzeichnet sind, die mich besonders aus dem Lesefluss gerissen haben. Ich weiss nicht, ob das gängige Stilmittel in der Comicwelt sind, oder ob das hier einfach so ist, aber mich hat es teilweise etwas aus der Fassung gebracht, weil ich es nicht verstanden habe.Ansonsten ist die Geschichte spannend, aber kurz gehalten. Ich hätte mir ein bisschen mehr gewünscht, alles ist wirklich nur kurz angebunden. Ich denke sogar, als Buch wäre die Geschichte mega spannend! So ist es eine nette Ergänzung zu der Welt, die V. E. Schwab geschaffen hat, die mich aber nicht 100 % überzeugt hat.FazitEine tolle Ergänzung zu der Shades of Magic-Welt, die die Geschichte um König Maxim erzählt. Tolle, düstere Zeichnungen erzählen eine etwas zu kurze Story. Ich freue mich dennoch schon auf den nächsten Teil.3.5 Sterne

This unique portrayal of the world from the Shades of Magic trilogy, heightens both author and readers imagining of this world in a fascinating and enthralling way. Discovering the back story of King Maxim along with further reaches of the world outside Red London, coupled with vivd and deftly skilled illustrations brings a new life and excitement into this fantastical world. A great medium to explore further, can't wait for the next intallment!