Six of Crows (by Leigh Bardugo) Book Review
Six of Crows is the first of two books in a new duology by Leigh Bardugo, published between 2015 and 2016 by Henry Holt and Company, the second book being Crooked Kingdom. It is set in the Grisha universe, the same as the Shadow and Bone trilogy by the same author.
What made me want to read it:
Both books have been well voted in the YA Fantasy Category of the Goodreads Choice Awards and have been praised to hell and back. Everyone seems to love it. In addition, after reading Shadow and Bone, and more or less enjoying it and being drawn to the universe, knowing there were two more books set there that everyone said were much better, I had to come read it.
What is it about (no spoilers):
In the city of Ketterdam, Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands, is part of a street gang called the Dregs. His reputation gets him an impossibly dangerous job offer: to break into an impenetrable fortress in a hostile country and retrieve a high security hostage. To do so, he will to reunite a crew who can help him pull it off, enticed by a very high reward.
What I thought about it (no spoilers):
First of all, I have to say, I thought this was much better than Shadow and Bone. I really liked the world building on that one, but the whole chosen one saves the world plus a love triangle is a bit overdone already, in my opinion, and while it was entertaining I wouldn't say it became a favorite of mine.
Now this book, I think, managed to expand on that world building and take what it already had and create a good story upon it. I like that we have multiple nations, with individual languages and cultures (as I thought it had been a missed opportunity in the first series) and that we have characters from different backgrounds.
Now, on to the main characters. There are six of them, though only 5 get POV chapters, and I'll say right away that I thought their interactions felt real and were fun to read, and that each of them has their own motivations and their own development apart from the main plot. Which is a good thing.
OK, Kaz first. He's the main character, out of the six main cast. I'm going to say I didn't like him. I don't know exactly how to explain, but sometimes it seems a book is too much in love with their main character and so, tries to make the reader feel the same too, at the expense of it being very forced. He's 17, and he's already this super criminal, although he only started at about 15 or so (I think). That could be fine, he could be a really good manipulator and pick pocket and con artist. But it's the effort of making him the “demon” (as another main character calls him) and someone to be afraid of and make him too awesome that fails. We get enough scenes to see he's not really a (typical) hero or a good person . He's greedy, he has personal grudges, he targets innocents, people die and get hurt because of his actions. We see the plans he conceives, we see him being the gangster he's supposed to be so there really is no need to keep telling us (and exaggerating) what you are already showing, as the telling gets to be too much. Aside from that, which I think diminishes his character, there's my personal tastes, in that, I'm a bit over the bad boy with no feelings (they're just really hidden, but OK) thing. But if he were not put so much in a pedestal I think I would've liked him a bit better.
Moving on to the two girls in the crew: Inej and Nina. They are both strong characters on their own right and I have to say I liked them. Inej is known as the Wraith and is the best gatherer of intelligence of the gang, moving as a shadow and being good with knives. She's had her problems and now she's part of the Dregs and is loyal to Kaz and respected and liked by the crew. Despite her being a strong fighter, there is thankfully none of the “not like other girls” stuff nor she degrades things associated with female gender. Since this seems to be a trend with these types of characters, I was surprised with not seeing it here. Nina is a Grisha, who left Ravka after the Civil War in unpleasant circumstances. Being a Grisha, she is powerful and beautiful. She knows she's beautiful, she loves to eat, she's funny, she can flirt and she builds a friendship with Inej. Again, positive, since it's not usually how things happen in YA.
Mathias is an interesting character, morally speaking, having been a Grisha hunter, basically, and now struggling with his new position in life, that questions his core beliefs and the way he was brought up and educated. Love plays a part in it, but it's not in a love-fixes-all kind of thing and I actually like that despite everything he is, at his core, an honest person.
Wylan comes from a rich merchant's household and is, naturally, out of place among the band of misfits. He has however unexpected talents and a role as a type of hostage. Basically the naive kid among other kids who've been trained as soldiers and have had their circumstances turn them to rough street living with dangerous skills. Although we don't see that much of him, and he's not a POV character, I kind of liked him and am hoping to see more of him.
Finally there's Jesper. My favorite out of the six, and I guess, by now I know I will just like this type of character: deeply flawed with an addiction problem that he recognizes but can't easily get over, but who actually cares for the ones with whom he works (and it's clear they like him too) and sometimes feels under appreciated. He's part of the Dregs gang and good with guns. At first you don't really understand what someone with a noisy talent is doing in a stealthy operation but you soon see.
A note here: I like the grey morality of this series. Many characters are not good people, or do bad things while knowing that they're doing them. They don't always think of the “greater good” or of what is best for others or of who they're hurting and that's refreshing to see. Anything else would've been out of place. Of course, some of them are good people and do care about others, but even so, their actions are sometimes contrary to this.
As for the plot itself. I said the saving the world thing is getting old for me and I'm glad that we got to see this complex universe used for a different kind of story. Before we get to the operation itself we get a glimpse of the workings of Ketterdam's underworld and gang politics and I have to say that attracts me. As we move on and the pace picks up, you won't get many dull moments, since there's a good balance between action and in-between bits of the characters' backstories, showing us more about who they are as individuals, what are their motivations and ultimately, what is at stake for them with the mission. It's thrilling to see the mission unfold, and how they deal with the unexpected obstacles that appear in their way, and the book transmits a sense of excitement in the reader. There is, however, a problem here, concerning this. Of course, as the mission goes on, many times something goes wrong and you're supposed to feel the tension and try to figure out how they're going to get out of it and be surprised when they come up with a clever solution. Only, you see, most of those times, it turns out things didn't really go wrong, it was totally planned, Kaz saw it coming and already told someone what's the plan (you didn't know because the POV character also didn't know or just decided not to think about about it) and that kind of drains the enjoyment of things. Like, fine, he's this super criminal genius and all, but deliberately hiding things from the reader, repeatedly, just for the surprise factor… meh, I feel cheated. I'd have rather known what the plan was and see the characters getting themselves out of the problem without there having been a hidden solution everyone but me, the reader, knew.
Then there's the romance. I feel like a senile old person repeating herself over and over, but romance just for the sake of it is… bland. There are many fantasy books out there who could still keep their story and appeal without the romance but at this point it justs seems a rule that every YA book needs romance. Every character needs to be in a romantic relationship by the end of a book/series. To me, personally, most of those romances aren't appealing and feel unnecessary and I know others who think the same. Friendships, rivalries and all kinds of relationships other than romance ARE appealing and interesting to read. But expanding on that and specifically, on this book. There are six main characters. Of them, 4 are already basically paired up since the beginning. Meaning, they are in love already and aren't together merely because there are still some obstacles (that will obviously be overcome next book) to the relationship. You don't really see them developing feelings for each other (in one case, there are some flashbacks but… well there are more important things to deal with then) you are just informed they are already there, and then get to know what are the impediments to their love. This isn't enough for me to get invested in these relationships. Incidentally, the two remaining characters will, of course, by the laws of YA, end up together, but although I saw it coming from the very beginning, I'll say that it's actually the relationship I care most for (or will, I don't know if they actually end up together yet, I just started the sequel, but as I said, laws of YA). Because, those characters only just got to know each other, and I can see the transition from strangers to forced acquaintance to eventual friends and whatever comes next. The fact that it was also not a speed-of-light romance (you know, I've known you for 2 weeks but you're the love of my life) also makes me like this more. Although reviews are of course subjective, this paragraph specifically deals more with my personal tastes on the matter, I guess. It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, only that this is a point that exasperated me when I read.
I found it a very good book (4 stars) and to anyone who liked or found Shadow and Bone interesting, I definitely recommend it. To anyone who didn't read it/doesn't feel like doing it, although I think it's a good foundation in terms of world building (more on the Grisha front and backstory on their situation), I also recommend it, because I find it so different. It deals with a separate situation, it's less cliché overall (or less obvious about it) and the characters feel more real and likable. A narrative that escapes some of the tropes of the previous series and that manages an interesting story that makes a better use of the universe created.
[My review for this book can also be found here.]
