| “ | I was about halfway through Conjuring of Light when I realized I wasn't ready to let go. There was so much of the world unexplored, so many stories left to tell, and I knew I hadn't seen the last of this motley crew. | ” |
—V. E. Schwab on continuing Shades of Magic[1] | ||
Threads of Power, also known as the Red Magic Arc,[2] is the sequel trilogy to Shades of Magic.[3][4] The trilogy is set seven years after A Conjuring of Light.[5][6][7]
The first book, The Fragile Threads of Power, was released in September 2023.[8]
Books[]
- The Fragile Threads of Power (2023)
- Untitled #2
- Untitled #3
Known upcoming information[]
- All three installments will be interconnected and each will feature a different protagonist:
- Tes Ranek: A tinkerer who can pull and manipulate the threads of magic.[3][9] Her ability is the "main ingredient" of the trilogy.[7]
- "a noble who has her birthright stolen"[3]
- Nero: A con artist, rogue, and thief who pretends to have no magic despite being a skilled bone magician. He has a "lucky streak," and though he is not a good person, he tries to be one and means well.[3][9][7]
- Kosika, the "fanatic child queen," is another important lead character.[9]
- The novels will seem to be standalones rather than part of a trilogy at first. With each installment, their deep interconnection will become clear. They are "threaded" books.[7]
- The series explores the question "what does the afterlife look like in a society of magic?"[10]
- The five royal houses of Arnes—Maresh, Emery, Loreni, Rosec, and Casin—are heavily featured.[11]
- The House of Rosec will play a central role in the trilogy's second installment which will be a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.[12] Two Rosec children will be the focus of this installment.[7]
- More LGBTQ+ characters will be introduced.[13] There will be significantly more queer content compared to Shades of Magic.[7]
Trivia[]
- V. E. Schwab started working on Threads of Power halfway through A Conjuring of Light.[1][3][14]
- Schwab has already settled on the titles of all three books.[7]
- The series was initially said to take place five to ten years after A Conjuring of Light[15] before it was settled on seven years afterward.[5]
- Schwab promised to reveal secrets regarding Threads of Power when she reached 200,000 followers on Instagram.[16] After she reached this milestone, she fulfilled her promise on May 9, 2021.[7]
- The first shared release dates for the first two installments were Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 respectively. However, the Tweet was later deleted, and Schwab stated that she will not know when the first book will be released until she has finished writing it.[17][18] In October 2019, she stated that the series' first installment was planned to be published in 2021.[19] In May 2021, Schwab stated that, due to other commitments, Threads of Power may start the earliest in late 2022. This is not set in stone though.[7] The series ultimately started in September 2023.[8]
- Schwab is currently planning to release the second book after her upcoming standalone adult novel (nicknamed "Bones") and the third book after Victorious, the final installment of the Villains series. The publication order will, thus, be as follows: "Bones", ToP#2, Victorious, ToP#3.[20]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Victoria Schwab Reveals Why She's Returning To The World Of 'Shades Of Magic'" — Bustle
- ↑ "The original Black Magic arc in the Shades of Magic series is only 3 books. But I might be planning a Red Magic one ;)"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Old Friends, New Beginnings" — V. E. Schwab on Tumblr, 2017
- ↑ "V. E. Schwab signs $1M deal with Tor Books" — EW
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Yep, it's a sequel series, set 7 years later."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter, 2020) - ↑ "Victoria's Instagram AMA" — fourlondons on Tumblr, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 "Secrets, Secrets, are no fun" — V. E. Schwab on Instagram
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "That's right, Threads is now coming out September 26th, not October 3rd!"
(V. E. Schwab on Instagram) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 File:IG ToP characters.png, 2021
- ↑ 250k celebration Q+A — V. E. Schwab on Instagram
- ↑ "One of the nerdiest things I get to do for THREADS OF POWER is introduce all FIVE royal houses, each with their own sigil. I can't wait to design house stickers."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ "In THREADS, you'll also meet the LORENI (the inventors of the Inheritor), the ROSEC (stars of book #2, which is a Count of Monte Cristo retelling), and the CASIN (they are kind of just assholes)."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ File:IG ToP LGBTQ+.png
- ↑ "Since about halfway through A CONJURING OF LIGHT."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ "THREADS is set 5-10 years after CONJURING OF LIGHT."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter, 2017) - ↑ Threads of Magic secret — whitelondon on tumblr
- ↑ "SCHWAB INSTASTORY Q&A (SOM-SPECIFIC)" — fourlondons
- ↑ "Not for a couple years, still writing it!"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ "Also Threads of Power starts 2021."
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter) - ↑ V. E. Schwab during the tour for The Fragile Threads of Power
