"Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker 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…
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."
I was scared to start Six of Crows. The hype surrounding it has been huge, the blurb sounded intriguing, I've been eagerly anticipating it, but I didn't like Shadow and Bone. Honestly, though? I needn't have worried. This book is fantastic and I don't say that lightly.
Shadow and Bone has been called fantasy-lite, but there is absolutely nothing about Six of Crows that warrants such a label. It's a sweeping epic tale with six main characters, five perspectives, complex and detailed world-building that is seamlessly integrated into the story, flashbacks to the characters' histories, and a wonderful blend of darkness, magic, action, humour and romance.
In the hands of a less skilled author, this could have been a mess but Bardugo crafts each of her characters with love and sensitivity, allowing them to be extremely badass, wicked sometimes, and unlikable in that multi-layered way that actually makes them completely likable. Each one is a different race, different background, and has so many layers. Each one has a handful of amazing different aspects, and things about them that will constantly surprise you. I loved and connected with Nina so much.
It's set in the same Grisha universe as her other books. This time in an alternate Netherlands instead of Russia but it's much darker and more adult. These characters are thieves, convicts and runaways. Street gangs compete for territory and power. The author takes all these dark "real world" factors and infuses them with the supernatural.
I want to be clear that the romance never takes over the story; it feels natural and welcome when it surfaces, which isn't too often. In fact, I'd say Bardugo is a bit of a tease for most of the novel.
I honestly cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it as this review would then be about as long as the book.
Age Rating 14+. Gritty and dark, taking inspiration from real-life underworld.
"For Gideon Mack, faithless minister, unfaithful husband and troubled soul, the existence of God, let alone the Devil, is no more credible than that of ghosts or fairies. Until the day he falls into a gorge and is rescued by someone who might just be Satan himself.
Mack's testament - a compelling blend of memoir, legend, history, and, quite probably, madness - recounts one man's emotional crisis, disappearance, resurrection and death. It also transports you into an utterly mesmerising exploration of the very nature of belief."
A book which I kept reading because something interesting always seemed to be around the next page, but never sadly materialising.
Was Gideon Mack really mentally ill, or is that what any character (or reader) must think when confronted with his story of death and resurrection? Was he tricked by the devil to "stop playing games" and in so doing ruin his life? Was he really drinking as much as everyone thought, or is that another example of how people want to quarantine and water down those things that happen outside of the regular world?
Getting pulled into the Scots atmosphere of chill and resignation was interesting, but not everyone's cup of tea and I found myself skimming a lot of the book.
The most intriguing characters were unexplored, whilst the mundane ones were examined in tedious depth. The most exciting and anticipated section of the book, meeting the devil, was a let down. The moral of the story was rather insultingly spelt out in flashing lights by the author at the end without any lead up in the story.
The MC Gideon is in short a bit of a non-person, a man who carefully crafts a façade that hides the hollow place within. That does not make him fun to be around. Gideon Mack is a tedious, boring psychopath, not a scary one.
On the whole, the book is a deflating anti-climax. Even the devil is not the charismatic force that one might expect, and the entire story does not so much end as fizzle out into further tediousness.
"This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. To Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart."
After all the hype around this book I gave it a try. Bad idea. One of the many typical YA fiction novels that follows an unfortunately predictable plot.
The main part of the book was soooo slow. Painfully slow. We're introduced to a world that had some amazing potential but remained incredibly basic, bringing nothing particularly new to the table. There are two kinds of people in this world - Silvers and Reds. The former are the ruling class, have silver blood, and sometimes possess special abilities like mind control and elemental manipulation. The Reds are a slave class who are ruled over by the Silvers and live in poverty.
A nuclear apocalyptic event is implied but never explored deeper only hinted at through tantalizing references. Also the origin of the Silver's abilities or strange blood colour is happily skipped over. Are they a genetic anomaly from radiation? Are they genetically enhanced humans? Do they rely on futuristic nanobots that they have forgotten exist due to a nuclear apocalypse, which would account for their silver blood colour.
Mare is a Red who, in unexpected circumstances, discovers that she has powers of her own. In order to keep an eye on her and learn more about the powers she possesses, she is disguised as a Silver and trained within the Silver palace. All the other women in the novel instantly hate her, usually for no good reason, and all the men see sunshine radiating out of the pores of her skin(metaphor for cue love triangle/square. Seriously though don't mess around with brothers, its weird and not cool).
There was so little action in that first 60% that I literally had to force myself through pages and pages of Mare flirting with the Silver prince Cal, and the prince's betrothed Evangeline hating Mare as soon as she set eyes on her. This book was a constant showdown between the innocent MC and the bitchy mean girl and her gang. I'm pretty sure Evangeline's meanness is going to be used as an excuse for Mare to run off with Cal and not lose any sleep over it. Maybe not... but probably.
I haven't previously given much thought to why I typically crave bloodthirstiness from my heroines but Mare just killed me. She made some tough decisions but was so wishy washy about them.
"Children." The words rip out of me. "He's a father."
Damn right he is, and a husband, and a son, and a grandson, and maybe an uncle and a nephew, too. They all are, you daft women.
Then she goes and sticks her head in the sand like a freaking ostrich after the decision is carried out:
All together, twelve died last night, but I refuse to learn their names. I can't have them weighing on me . . .
If you're going to kill someone for the "greater good," you need to be decisive about it and truly I couldn't understand why she would have any qualms about killing Silvers. She goes into detail about how much she hates Silver and how dreadfully they treat her people. Only two Silvers are nice to her through out the entire book!!
The main problem for me was that the revolution and the bigger war going on between the Silvers and Reds wasn't given enough attention. I felt like the plot relied on the romantic aspect and the angst to propel it along. Neither of which I cared about. I must say that I absolutely loved the cover, I think it was understated and macabre.
Age Rating 13+. One, two kisses I think and no gore just some fantasy violence.
"Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker 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…
