Review: Six of Crows
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Pages: 462 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.
Review:
Whoever decided to string together a band of six misfits to take place in an impossible heist is pure genius. And the catch? The six are misfits - antiheroes to be precise - and they're doing it for a whole lot of money. And the object they are trying to steal? A person.
I read Leigh Bardugo's other series, the Grisha trilogy, as it came out years ago. At the time, I love them. Now, in retrospect, I find them bland and cliché, and almost like every other fantasy novels out there. That being said, upon hearing about Six of Crows, I was reluctant to pick it up. I had eventually gotten my hands on it and read sixty pages, but then set it down.
But now, two years following its release, I've read Six of Crows and its sequel, Crooked Kingdom twice (yes they're a duology, and can I just say, I love the concept of dulologies!). And I LOVE it! Looking back, I have no idea why I put the book down the first time, but now after cruising through it twice, this is easily one of the stand out series among the YA crowd. The nice thing about this book is that even if you haven't read the Grisha trilogy, you can still read this one! It feels like a totally different world, even though it's not.
So first off, what do I like about it? Well, any book won't be complete without a good cast of characters. Here's a nice piece of fanart I've seen circulating around:
Kaz is full of witty dialogues like this, and I love it. He is ruthless, wicked, and goes to any length to get what he wants, earning him the rightful nickname Dirtyhands. An atypical swoon-worthy character. Then there's Inej, who's a total badass heroine and Kaz's righthand, while grounding the group. I love the dynamic between Wylan and Jesper, who add humor and lightness to the mix. And of course there's Nina and Matthias, who's love-hate relationship makes my heart melt.
As I mentioned before, it's set in the same Grisha universe, except it extends beyond Ravka. Ketterdam, reminiscent of Amsterdam, is grungy and dirty, and Bardugo aptly highlights how corrupt the city is. We are dealing with characters in a gang after all. But it makes for a great settings, and adds to the plot and characters. I would personally prefer not to live there, but hey, it beats the Ice Court.
Bardugo is one step of the reader at all times, and is always pulling tricks up her sleeve. The best books are when the author makes the reader audibly gasp and delivers an unpredictable story. Bardugo has certainly mastered that, which is an improvement from her earlier series. Six of Crows is told through the perspectives of five of the main characters - each chapter is told solely by one of them through third-person narration. Normally, I don't like too much switching around, but Bardugo handles it seamlessly.
So who do I recommend Six of Crows to? Anyone! No seriously, anyone looking for a fast-paced page turner that's hard to put down. Though it's characterized as fantasy, I would say this book is fantasy-lite. The elements of fantasy don't get in the way and the the jargon of the universe don't bog the plot down. And best of all, it's fun and that's why I like it. So happy reading!
And now, to end with a beautiful piece of art I found from a quote in the book that perfectly sums it up.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Pages: 462 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis:
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.
Review:
Whoever decided to string together a band of six misfits to take place in an impossible heist is pure genius. And the catch? The six are misfits - antiheroes to be precise - and they're doing it for a whole lot of money. And the object they are trying to steal? A person.
I read Leigh Bardugo's other series, the Grisha trilogy, as it came out years ago. At the time, I love them. Now, in retrospect, I find them bland and cliché, and almost like every other fantasy novels out there. That being said, upon hearing about Six of Crows, I was reluctant to pick it up. I had eventually gotten my hands on it and read sixty pages, but then set it down.
But now, two years following its release, I've read Six of Crows and its sequel, Crooked Kingdom twice (yes they're a duology, and can I just say, I love the concept of dulologies!). And I LOVE it! Looking back, I have no idea why I put the book down the first time, but now after cruising through it twice, this is easily one of the stand out series among the YA crowd. The nice thing about this book is that even if you haven't read the Grisha trilogy, you can still read this one! It feels like a totally different world, even though it's not.
So first off, what do I like about it? Well, any book won't be complete without a good cast of characters. Here's a nice piece of fanart I've seen circulating around:
Aren't they just beautiful? I've never met such a diverse set of characters in one book, and Bardugo crafts each and everyone one of them carefully, but in a way that gives them all dimension. They all come with their various backstories that shapes them into who they are. She even succeeds in making the unlikeable likeable. Bardugo includes individuals of different ethnicities, builds, and even disabilities. Dare I say that Kaz Brekker may be one of the best characters I've read? And even better, he's an antihero.
"Greed is your god, Kaz."
He almost laughed at that. "No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.”
Kaz is full of witty dialogues like this, and I love it. He is ruthless, wicked, and goes to any length to get what he wants, earning him the rightful nickname Dirtyhands. An atypical swoon-worthy character. Then there's Inej, who's a total badass heroine and Kaz's righthand, while grounding the group. I love the dynamic between Wylan and Jesper, who add humor and lightness to the mix. And of course there's Nina and Matthias, who's love-hate relationship makes my heart melt.
As I mentioned before, it's set in the same Grisha universe, except it extends beyond Ravka. Ketterdam, reminiscent of Amsterdam, is grungy and dirty, and Bardugo aptly highlights how corrupt the city is. We are dealing with characters in a gang after all. But it makes for a great settings, and adds to the plot and characters. I would personally prefer not to live there, but hey, it beats the Ice Court.
Bardugo is one step of the reader at all times, and is always pulling tricks up her sleeve. The best books are when the author makes the reader audibly gasp and delivers an unpredictable story. Bardugo has certainly mastered that, which is an improvement from her earlier series. Six of Crows is told through the perspectives of five of the main characters - each chapter is told solely by one of them through third-person narration. Normally, I don't like too much switching around, but Bardugo handles it seamlessly.
So who do I recommend Six of Crows to? Anyone! No seriously, anyone looking for a fast-paced page turner that's hard to put down. Though it's characterized as fantasy, I would say this book is fantasy-lite. The elements of fantasy don't get in the way and the the jargon of the universe don't bog the plot down. And best of all, it's fun and that's why I like it. So happy reading!
And now, to end with a beautiful piece of art I found from a quote in the book that perfectly sums it up.
Comments
Post a Comment