Kell is one of the last Travelers -- magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes -- as such, he can choose where he lands. There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there's Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. 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. Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see -- a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive -- and that is proving trickier than they hoped.
"Confident prose and marvelous touches-a chameleon coat, a scarlet river of magic, a piratical antiheroine-bring exuberant life to an exhilarating adventure among the worlds."-Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Compulsively readable...her characters make the book."--NPR
"Feels like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books...kept me engrossed by its story every bit as much as I was fascinated by its complex, multilayered world."--io9.com
"Has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy...This is a book to treasure." -Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of The All Souls trilogy
"Compulsively readable...her characters make the book."--NPR
"Feels like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books...kept me engrossed by its story every bit as much as I was fascinated by its complex, multilayered world."--io9.com
"Has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy...This is a book to treasure." -Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of The All Souls trilogy