--- product_id: 312655362 title: "Del Rey A Deadly Education" price: "€ 44.82" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 6 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/312655362-del-rey-a-deadly-education store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # Rich, dark magic world-building Finalist for Lodestar Award NYT Bestseller status Del Rey A Deadly Education **Price:** € 44.82 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > ✨ Rewrite the rules of magic — don’t miss the dark fantasy phenomenon! 📚 ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Del Rey A Deadly Education - **How much does it cost?** € 44.82 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/312655362-del-rey-a-deadly-education) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Complex, Nuanced Heroine:** Experience El’s fierce, morally intricate journey that breaks the mold of traditional fantasy protagonists. - • **Award-Winning Storytelling:** From Naomi Novik, the master storyteller behind Uprooted and Spinning Silver, now with a darker twist. - • **Unrivaled Dark Academia Vibes:** Dive into a brutal, stylish coming-of-power story that redefines magical boarding schools. - • **Critically Acclaimed Bestseller:** Join thousands of readers who rated it 4.6/5 and propelled it to top ranks in Contemporary Fantasy. - • **Immersive, Diverse Magic System:** Explore a refreshingly clever and inclusive magical world that challenges expectations and keeps you hooked. ## Overview Del Rey’s 'A Deadly Education' is a New York Times bestselling dark fantasy novel by Naomi Novik, blending sharp dark academia aesthetics with a unique magical school setting. Finalist for the Lodestar Award and highly rated by over 2,400 readers, it features a complex heroine navigating a deadly magical academy, redefining the genre with its rich world-building and morally charged narrative. ## Description NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the first book of the Scholomance trilogy, the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic. FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARD - "The dark school of magic I've been waiting for."--Katherine Arden, author of the Winternight Trilogy I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I'm concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I'm not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don't need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I'm probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I'll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world. At least, that's what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that's crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does. But the Scholomance isn't getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone's idea of the shining hero, but I'm going to make it out of this place alive, and I'm not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either. Although I'm giving serious consideration to just one . With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a school bursting with magic like you've never seen before, and a heroine for the ages--a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come. The magic of the Scholomance trilogy continues in The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves "The can't-miss fantasy of fall 2020, a brutal coming-of-power story steeped in the aesthetics of dark academia. . . . A Deadly Education will cement Naomi Novik's place as one of the greatest and most versatile fantasy writers of our time." -- BookPage (starred review) "A must-read . . . Novik puts a refreshingly dark, adult spin on the magical boarding school. . . . Readers will delight in the push-and-pull of El and Orion's relationship, the fantastically detailed world, the clever magic system, and the matter-of-fact diversity of the student body." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Review: It got delivered I’m only rating 3 cuz I didn’t vibe w book - Groot. Review: The Disappointment of 2020 - Quite a disappointing read, especially from Naomi novik:( ## Features - Item Trademark: DEL REY BOOKS - manufacturer: Del Rey Books - Item Weight: pounds, pounds, 0.6, 0.6 ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #22,407 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #40 in Contemporary Fantasy #57 in Coming of Age Fantasy #212 in Epic Fantasy | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,465 Reviews | ## Images ![Del Rey A Deadly Education - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81OfzsIl-RL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐ It got delivered I’m only rating 3 cuz I didn’t vibe w book *by A***Y on 17 June 2025* Groot. ### ⭐⭐ The Disappointment of 2020 *by M***M on 28 December 2020* Quite a disappointing read, especially from Naomi novik:( ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I do NOT believe this book is racist. *by T***E on 15 December 2022* I'm suddenly noticing that a few people are levelling accusations of racism at this book. I don't believe these accusations are justified. IMO, all the complaints are attributable to the fact that a) El is very antisocial, meaning she struggles to connect/care about anybody, regardless of what race they are; and b) she grew up in Wales away from her Indian family. Of course she's not going to refer to them by their Indian names and think fondly of them! It's unfair to even suggest that she should. I was born in Bangladesh, but I only lived there six months before we moved to Hong Kong, and I call my grandparents/uncles/aunts by English terms, not 'nanijee' or 'khalamoni'. It makes perfect sense to me that El would do the same. Here is a rebuttal I wrote to the claims of racism. ___Main review: OH MY GOD this book is bloody GENIUS. I've never been one of Novik's more rabid fans. I thought Uprooted was okay, and I actively dislike Spinning Silver. But this book blows them both of out of the water. It's smart, wicked, dark, and thrilling. Sixteen-year-old Galadriel 'El' Higgins is a sorceress. Like other magic wielders, at the age of fourteen she was bussed into the Scholomance, a magical school without any teachers or authority figures whatsoever. She hasn't left since. The only way a student leaves school is by graduating, and that involves a frantic race for life through a horde of ravening monsters. Only about half a senior class ever make it. These monsters - maleficaria, or 'mals' - are absolutely everywhere, and they love nothing better than consuming sorcerers. True, the school is infested with mals, but students still come to the Scholomance because your chances of survival are even worse if you pass through puberty on the outside. Every day, El wakes up, tries desperately to find someone who'll let her walk to breakfast or the bathroom with them, and then settles down to learning all the things you need to get out of the Scholomance alive. (In case you're wondering how this school works without teachers, Novik does a great job of explaining. Basically, you do the work, or you die). El is half Indian and half Welsh, but she doesn't fit in for more reasons than just her mixed ethnicity. She's a dark sorceress: she was born with an affinity for death and destruction magic, which she has to be very careful to keep herself from using. It would be far too easy for her to destroy the Scholomance - and everyone inside it. So, no matter how much she's ostracised for the weird vibes people get off her, and her abrasive personality, she keeps a tight lid on her self-control. Orion Lake is pretty much at the other end of the social spectrum from El. He's a wealthy New Yorker with access to almost limitless magic, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he has a hero complex. He's saved hundreds of students from mals... and she's one of them. She can't stand that. But he needs someone to save him from himself, and that someone looks like it might have to be El. I don't think there's anything about this book I didn't LOVE. ✔️ El's character is perfect. She's prickly and snarky, because she's been hurt so much, but she's loyal, smart, and incredibly relatable. Her development over the course of the book - from furious loner to someone who lets Orion in, and realises that maybe she's garnering real friends too - is beautiful to behold. Oh, and also, she's hilarious. ✔️ The worldbuilding is brilliant. It's clear Novik put an insane amount of thought into this series, and it really shows. I guess you might call some paragraphs infodumping, but I was so fascinated by this whole concept that I absorbed all of it greedily. Nothing seemed too much for me. I just wanted to know more about the whole world Novik has created here. The Scholomance is described exactly as I'd imagine it, and I'm so glad she's done justice to it. ✔️ The romance is just right. It's barely even a romance, just the lightest touch of one, but it's set up very well for the next book. Orion is such a great character. ✔️ I love the diversity. The Scholomance is very multicultural, taking in literally all the magical students from around the world. This is incorporated into the book without feeling like we're being beaten over the head with it. Overall Go read the damn book. I've been purposely vague on the plot, because this is something where you really will derive maximum enjoyment form going in blind. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/312655362-del-rey-a-deadly-education](https://www.desertcart.be/products/312655362-del-rey-a-deadly-education) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-07-14*