Victoria Schwab
Author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
About the Author
Series
Works by Victoria Schwab
Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince Vol. 2: Night of Knives (Graphic Novel) (2019) 145 copies, 6 reviews
The Returned 62 copies
Untitled (Threads of Power, #2) 26 copies
Untitled (Threads of Power, #3) 24 copies
Black Tabs 23 copies
Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince #3.1: The Rebel Army (Shades of Magic - The Steel Prince) (2019) 12 copies
Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince #3.3: The Rebel Army (3 of 4) (Shades of Magic - The Steel Prince) (2019) 9 copies
Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince #2.4: Night of Knives (Shades of Magic - The Steel Prince) (2019) 7 copies
A Royal Affair 5 copies
V. E. Schwab 7 Books Collection Set (A Darker Shade of Magic Series,Villains Series,Monsters of Verity Series) (2019) 3 copies
First Kill {short story} 3 copies
A Gathering of Shadows {sample} 2 copies
Gallant (Signed Edition) 2 copies
vingança 1 copy
Victorius 1 copy
Villains 2: Vengeful 1 copy
Villains 1: Vicious 1 copy
Hingede sild 1 copy
Azat 1 copy
The Steel Prince #1 1 copy
The Unbound {sample} 1 copy
Box Os tons de magia 1 copy
Associated Works
(Don't) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health (2018) — Contributor — 317 copies, 1 review
A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology (2020) — Contributor — 269 copies, 5 reviews
Fearless Women Fall Sampler: Excerpts of Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels by Fearless Women (2018) — Contributor — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Schwab, Victoria Elizabeth
- Other names
- Schwab, V.E.
- Birthdate
- 1987-07-07
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Washington University
- Agent
- Holly Root (Waxman Literary)
- Short biography
- Victoria (V. E.) Schwab (born July 7, 1987) is an American fantasy author best known for her 2013 novel Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and for her children's and young adult fiction published under the name Victoria Schwab.
The Guardian called Vicious "a brilliant exploration of the superhero mythos and a riveting revenge thriller". It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which also named the novel one of its best books of 2013 for SF/Fantasy/Horror. The American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association likewise awarded it the top fantasy book in their 2014 Reading List. In late 2013 the rights for a film adaptation of Vicious were bought jointly by Story Mining & Supply Co and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions.
In 2014 Schwab signed a two-book deal with Tor Books. Her next novel, A Darker Shade of Magic, was published in February 2015 and also received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. "Vicious" and the Shades of Magic series are published by Tor Books. In 2017, she signed another book deal with Tor for the sequel to Vicious, Vengeful; a new trilogy set called “Threads of Power” in the same world as the Shades of Magic series; and a Blade-Runner inspired book called "Black Tabs."
In May 2018, Schwab gave the sixth annual Tolkien Lecture at Pembroke College, Oxford. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- California, USA
- Places of residence
- Tennessee, USA
- Map Location
- Scotland, UK
Members
Reviews
This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily...her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of show more forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow...but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character, one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life...how it ends, and how it starts.
The story follows three women across three different timelines. In 1530 Spain, María rebels at her family’s control over her life. She’s a 14th century, "wild child". María doesn’t want to get married or have children, and this is expected of women of this era, but she figures if she must, it should be far away from her small-minded family. Maria arranges her own marriage to a rich viscount in a hope for freedom but finds herself only further bound by his extremely domineering nature. She’s eventually shipped off to her new in-laws, where she is held until her husband decides he is ready for her to have his children. Her only escape is a visit to a mysterious, ageless widow who runs an apothecary. “I want to be free,” María says.... “by any means necessary.” as she is seduced into vampirism
Almost 300 years later in the English countryside, Charlotte lives an idyllic life enjoying nature and literature and the company of her childhood friend Jocelyn, whom she is in love with. When her brother catches the two young women kissing, he arranges for Charlotte to be sent to London to become a "proper lady" and of course, find a husband. Though she is bound in corsets and trapped in the manor to wait for men to "fill her dance card", she eventually finds excitement in a glamorous widow who takes the impressionable Charlotte under her wing, seduces her and changes her in more ways than one.
Last, we come to 2019, and Alice who has chosen her own means of exile. She has left her small town in Scotland to attend Harvard University. Growing up, Alice was a mere shadow to her wilder sister, Catty, and now away at college, she wants to form her own separate identity. Alice seems to have gotten her wish when she meets a beautiful, magical girl at a party. After a dreamy one-night stand, Alice finds herself transformed in ways she hadn’t ever imagined possible...and what's more...she had never agreed to. Alice, confused and tortured by the "hunger" she doesn't understand but can't deny, goes in search of answers, and finds herself drawn into a centuries-old drama.
The story lines do eventually blend together, though not until well to the end of this very long book...but it was well worth the wait, because of the beautiful and raw descriptions of the places and the times, as well as the slow-burn melodramas between each of the women...Maria, Charlotte and Alice.
Like many vampire novels, Bury Our Bones delves over and offers portrayals of the age old controversary of "what makes us human". Is it our relationship to death...or our friendships and family ties...The place where we were born and raised? These are all events and connections that should enrich our lives, but in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, family, friends and home are the sources of each of the woman's pain. They come loaded with common expectations and constraints, but they, as a whole, only serve to bind María, Charlotte and Alice though centuries apart.
I thought this view offered by a literary critic, though I may not totally agree with all of it, still sums it up fairly well..."Here in the world of fiction, vampirism is offered as a reprieve from oppression...but the immortality of each woman, only introduced an entire set of new problems. As vampires, they will always face the threat of their hunger and yearnings turning into something as dangerous as the forces they wanted to escape to start with. It’s an apt story for our current culture... the decades of improved, but often still not equal conditions for women. In the United States we have seen the end of Roe vs. Wade...a backlash against D.E.I. initiatives and a dystopian focus on women having the choice to have, or not have, children. At the same time, 45% of American women voted for an administration that has, and continues to pursue these very limitations. The "mommy versus child-free war" continues and it appears that we are still eating ourselves alive.
Bury Our Bones is a tale that is told on a razor-sharp edge. It was way, way too long, and at times it almost lost me, but there was something in each woman's story that the reader feels an almost compulsion to understand. show less
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily...her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of show more forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow...but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character, one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life...how it ends, and how it starts.
The story follows three women across three different timelines. In 1530 Spain, María rebels at her family’s control over her life. She’s a 14th century, "wild child". María doesn’t want to get married or have children, and this is expected of women of this era, but she figures if she must, it should be far away from her small-minded family. Maria arranges her own marriage to a rich viscount in a hope for freedom but finds herself only further bound by his extremely domineering nature. She’s eventually shipped off to her new in-laws, where she is held until her husband decides he is ready for her to have his children. Her only escape is a visit to a mysterious, ageless widow who runs an apothecary. “I want to be free,” María says.... “by any means necessary.” as she is seduced into vampirism
Almost 300 years later in the English countryside, Charlotte lives an idyllic life enjoying nature and literature and the company of her childhood friend Jocelyn, whom she is in love with. When her brother catches the two young women kissing, he arranges for Charlotte to be sent to London to become a "proper lady" and of course, find a husband. Though she is bound in corsets and trapped in the manor to wait for men to "fill her dance card", she eventually finds excitement in a glamorous widow who takes the impressionable Charlotte under her wing, seduces her and changes her in more ways than one.
Last, we come to 2019, and Alice who has chosen her own means of exile. She has left her small town in Scotland to attend Harvard University. Growing up, Alice was a mere shadow to her wilder sister, Catty, and now away at college, she wants to form her own separate identity. Alice seems to have gotten her wish when she meets a beautiful, magical girl at a party. After a dreamy one-night stand, Alice finds herself transformed in ways she hadn’t ever imagined possible...and what's more...she had never agreed to. Alice, confused and tortured by the "hunger" she doesn't understand but can't deny, goes in search of answers, and finds herself drawn into a centuries-old drama.
The story lines do eventually blend together, though not until well to the end of this very long book...but it was well worth the wait, because of the beautiful and raw descriptions of the places and the times, as well as the slow-burn melodramas between each of the women...Maria, Charlotte and Alice.
Like many vampire novels, Bury Our Bones delves over and offers portrayals of the age old controversary of "what makes us human". Is it our relationship to death...or our friendships and family ties...The place where we were born and raised? These are all events and connections that should enrich our lives, but in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, family, friends and home are the sources of each of the woman's pain. They come loaded with common expectations and constraints, but they, as a whole, only serve to bind María, Charlotte and Alice though centuries apart.
I thought this view offered by a literary critic, though I may not totally agree with all of it, still sums it up fairly well..."Here in the world of fiction, vampirism is offered as a reprieve from oppression...but the immortality of each woman, only introduced an entire set of new problems. As vampires, they will always face the threat of their hunger and yearnings turning into something as dangerous as the forces they wanted to escape to start with. It’s an apt story for our current culture... the decades of improved, but often still not equal conditions for women. In the United States we have seen the end of Roe vs. Wade...a backlash against D.E.I. initiatives and a dystopian focus on women having the choice to have, or not have, children. At the same time, 45% of American women voted for an administration that has, and continues to pursue these very limitations. The "mommy versus child-free war" continues and it appears that we are still eating ourselves alive.
Bury Our Bones is a tale that is told on a razor-sharp edge. It was way, way too long, and at times it almost lost me, but there was something in each woman's story that the reader feels an almost compulsion to understand. show less
The Fragile Threads of Power is V. E. Schwab's return to the world she created in the Shades of Magic trilogy. While other readers are lauding this new trilogy and its characters, I confess their enthusiasm baffles me. I did not enjoy my time with Kell, Lila, Tes, and Kosika. Even worse, I had to force myself to finish the book, each time hoping something would click and I would find it impossible to put down.
I suspect part of my issues with The Fragile Threads of Power is that I never show more finished the original series. In theory, you don't need to read the Shades of Magic books before starting this new series. Ms. Schwab encourages new readers to jump right into The Fragile Threads of Power without worrying about what happened. Unfortunately, much of the story refers to events or people from those first three books. There is an entire untold story behind Lila's and Kell's every interaction. It isn't just between Lila and Kell. There are entire unspoken conversations between almost every character who you were supposed to first meet in the previous trilogy. Without that knowledge, you are missing a key component of this new story.
Plus, Ms. Schwab often refers to events in the Shades of Magic trilogy, the big battle, the enemy they fought, and the consequences. Unfortunately, she refers only; she provides no details for new readers. You can only infer what you can from these references without grasping the full picture. There is no world-building because Ms. Schwab already did it. She might be encouraging new readers that The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a stand-alone trilogy, but I do not believe it is. She relies too much on the events from the first trilogy and the world-building she already did for that series.
To make matters worse, The Fragile Threads of Power is slow. Most of the book is one long introduction to each of the characters, with particular attention to the new ones. For Tes and Kosika, we get their complete backstory and everything they experienced that brought them to this point. This doesn't leave much in the way of establishing a new story. What action exists occurs at the end, and it has all the feels of a skirmish meant to test each side. By the end of the novel, there are still too many players and too many side stories to be able to discern what the main threat will be.
Perhaps I would have enjoyed The Fragile Threads of Power more had I not read the first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy. It might be that I would have been less frustrated without what little knowledge I had about the different Londons and the returning characters. Maybe The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a new, stand-alone series. All I do know is that I found The Fragile Threads of Power to be tedious reading, with more character introduction than plot, and overly reliant on details from the previous series. I did not click with any of the characters and do not feel that any are in the type of danger that would make me want to read more of their story. I'll leave that to the fans, of which there are many. show less
I suspect part of my issues with The Fragile Threads of Power is that I never show more finished the original series. In theory, you don't need to read the Shades of Magic books before starting this new series. Ms. Schwab encourages new readers to jump right into The Fragile Threads of Power without worrying about what happened. Unfortunately, much of the story refers to events or people from those first three books. There is an entire untold story behind Lila's and Kell's every interaction. It isn't just between Lila and Kell. There are entire unspoken conversations between almost every character who you were supposed to first meet in the previous trilogy. Without that knowledge, you are missing a key component of this new story.
Plus, Ms. Schwab often refers to events in the Shades of Magic trilogy, the big battle, the enemy they fought, and the consequences. Unfortunately, she refers only; she provides no details for new readers. You can only infer what you can from these references without grasping the full picture. There is no world-building because Ms. Schwab already did it. She might be encouraging new readers that The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a stand-alone trilogy, but I do not believe it is. She relies too much on the events from the first trilogy and the world-building she already did for that series.
To make matters worse, The Fragile Threads of Power is slow. Most of the book is one long introduction to each of the characters, with particular attention to the new ones. For Tes and Kosika, we get their complete backstory and everything they experienced that brought them to this point. This doesn't leave much in the way of establishing a new story. What action exists occurs at the end, and it has all the feels of a skirmish meant to test each side. By the end of the novel, there are still too many players and too many side stories to be able to discern what the main threat will be.
Perhaps I would have enjoyed The Fragile Threads of Power more had I not read the first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy. It might be that I would have been less frustrated without what little knowledge I had about the different Londons and the returning characters. Maybe The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a new, stand-alone series. All I do know is that I found The Fragile Threads of Power to be tedious reading, with more character introduction than plot, and overly reliant on details from the previous series. I did not click with any of the characters and do not feel that any are in the type of danger that would make me want to read more of their story. I'll leave that to the fans, of which there are many. show less
I enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab so much that it made My Top 5 Books of 2021 so I decided to give her 2025 release Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil a try. First and foremost, this is a well written historical fiction novel with multiple female character points of view. All three characters eventually intersect in this plot spanning multiple centuries and multiple countries.
Alice is our contemporary character in 2019 and a student at a university in Boston. show more Feeling adrift, a one night stand changes the course of her life and sets her on a path of regret and revenge. In 1521, Maria is aged 10 years old and living with her family in a small town on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. We meet the third character Charlotte/Lottie later in the book and we pick up her backstory from 1827 in London.
This is a character driven book about these three women:
"In fairy tales, big things happen in threes. Three children. Three beds. Three roads. The third bite is poison, the third gift is great, the third door always leads home." Page 338
Now that I've set the scene and have your attention, it's time to drop a bomb... this is a sapphic vampire romance. Yep, you read that right. The paranormal romance genre rarely features in my reading schedule but I took a chance on this based on the strength of the author's writing. And I was right!
The writing in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is beautiful. The personal challenges and internal struggles faced by all three women kept my attention and the gothic setting was sublime. As they age over decades and centuries, vampires in Schwab's world start to lose touch with the values and characteristics that made them human.
"Now and then, she wakes to find another little corner of her emptied, some aspect crumbled away in sleep. Perhaps it was a shard of insecurity. A sliver of regret. Sabine probes her mind, trying to find the nature of the absence, like a tongue searching for a missing tooth, but never does." Page 265
Schwab addresses the topic I was most interested in when reading the Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire series: what is it like to be immortal? (Don't worry, there are no sparkly vampires here). The author examines the toll it takes on all three of the characters, including the challenges they face maintaining their existence in the world without revealing their secret nature and evading the dangers that pursue them.
This statement from a male vampire to one of our characters reminded me of the relationship between Lestat and Louis:
"If you wish to stay, then you may do so as my guest, and I will be your gracious host. But you will live as I do, by a certain set of rules. There will be no skulking about in shadows, no victims stolen from the street and cast in the canal. I will show you how to savor every soul you take. How to claim space, and bend minds, how to enthrall, enchant, and masquerade. How to be the last one they think of when the bodies go missing." Pages 206-207
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a unique genre-blending novel that defies easy categorisation and will appeal to a range of readers as a result. Straddling historical fiction, fantasy and queer romance and championing strong feminist characters, this book may appeal to you even if you don't like vampire novels. And if you believe books about vampires aren't for you, consider this:
"And here is the awful thing about belief. It is a current, like compulsion. Hard to forge when it goes against your will, but easy enough when it carries you the way you want to go." Page 401
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab is about female agency, love, power, hunger, control, rage and revenge and is highly recommended for Anne Rice fans. show less
Alice is our contemporary character in 2019 and a student at a university in Boston. show more Feeling adrift, a one night stand changes the course of her life and sets her on a path of regret and revenge. In 1521, Maria is aged 10 years old and living with her family in a small town on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. We meet the third character Charlotte/Lottie later in the book and we pick up her backstory from 1827 in London.
This is a character driven book about these three women:
"In fairy tales, big things happen in threes. Three children. Three beds. Three roads. The third bite is poison, the third gift is great, the third door always leads home." Page 338
Now that I've set the scene and have your attention, it's time to drop a bomb... this is a sapphic vampire romance. Yep, you read that right. The paranormal romance genre rarely features in my reading schedule but I took a chance on this based on the strength of the author's writing. And I was right!
The writing in Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is beautiful. The personal challenges and internal struggles faced by all three women kept my attention and the gothic setting was sublime. As they age over decades and centuries, vampires in Schwab's world start to lose touch with the values and characteristics that made them human.
"Now and then, she wakes to find another little corner of her emptied, some aspect crumbled away in sleep. Perhaps it was a shard of insecurity. A sliver of regret. Sabine probes her mind, trying to find the nature of the absence, like a tongue searching for a missing tooth, but never does." Page 265
Schwab addresses the topic I was most interested in when reading the Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire series: what is it like to be immortal? (Don't worry, there are no sparkly vampires here). The author examines the toll it takes on all three of the characters, including the challenges they face maintaining their existence in the world without revealing their secret nature and evading the dangers that pursue them.
This statement from a male vampire to one of our characters reminded me of the relationship between Lestat and Louis:
"If you wish to stay, then you may do so as my guest, and I will be your gracious host. But you will live as I do, by a certain set of rules. There will be no skulking about in shadows, no victims stolen from the street and cast in the canal. I will show you how to savor every soul you take. How to claim space, and bend minds, how to enthrall, enchant, and masquerade. How to be the last one they think of when the bodies go missing." Pages 206-207
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a unique genre-blending novel that defies easy categorisation and will appeal to a range of readers as a result. Straddling historical fiction, fantasy and queer romance and championing strong feminist characters, this book may appeal to you even if you don't like vampire novels. And if you believe books about vampires aren't for you, consider this:
"And here is the awful thing about belief. It is a current, like compulsion. Hard to forge when it goes against your will, but easy enough when it carries you the way you want to go." Page 401
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab is about female agency, love, power, hunger, control, rage and revenge and is highly recommended for Anne Rice fans. show less
I loved this book from the first page. I would never have picked this up because I don’t usually read fantasy or time travel. I’ve not much interest in Faustian mythology. But oh my, I am so glad this was a book club selection. I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through 300 years of cultural history, dipping in and out of major events from the point of view of the downtrodden and other times the wealthy class. But it really isn’t about the day to day trials of a woman who lives forever. It show more is more about relationships and memories and the trades people are wiling to make for happiness. It is complex in its presentation of these thought problems and does not slip into superficial explanations. My only regret is that the story didn’t end a few pages earlier. I think the author or her editor felt the need for a few more explanations but I was fine with an ending that assumed the reader would be satisfied. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 93
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 68,262
- Popularity
- #195
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 2,067
- ISBNs
- 646
- Languages
- 16
- Favorited
- 51
