Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) (Grishaverse, #4)

by Leigh Bardugo

[nannah]

This book is like a 180 degree turn from the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's other trilogy, The Grisha Trilogy, which . . . I didn't really enjoy. I only picked this up because my dear friend recommended it so highly. And I'm glad I did!

Book content warnings:
human trafficking
drug abuse/addiction
slavery
(probably more; I can't think of them at the moment . . . )

Simply put, this book's plot is an elaborate heist. Six misfits bound together by strange attractions/debts/common goals/etc. have to enter the most tightly-guarded palace in the world and free the creator of a dangerous drug. The drug can amplify a Grisha's (basically a type of witch/sorcerer) power to a scary degree, but it also leaves them addicted until the drug kills them.

The six incredible misfits are as follows: Kaz Brekker, leader of the criminal gang, the Dregs, and full of tragic backstory; Inej Ghafa the Wraith, a former (forced) prostitute now part of the Dregs to be their "spider", a gatherer of information; Jesper, a (bisexual? :) ) member of the Dregs addicted to gambling, over his head in debt with a specialty in sharpshooting; Nina Zenik, a Grisha in prostitution who has a loaded past with Matthias; Matthias Helvar, a former Drüskelle, Grisha-hunter, from the very ice palace the six are going to break into; and finally Wylan Van Eck, the (also bisexual?) son of the man commissioning them to do this foolish job for a whole ton of money.

The biggest difference between Six of Crows and The Grisha Trilogy is that the world in this book seems bigger, vaster, and definitely better-realized. In Shadow and Bone, the world felt like a cheap imitation of Russia, like something you'd buy in a tourist shop (or many tourist shops). Here, I understand that this world is like a parallel universe, where cultures mirror our own, but with slight differences. Matthias's culture resembles the Scandinavian peninsula (as far as I know), Ravka (where Nina the Grisha) comes from resembles Russia, of course, etc.

On its own, without comparing it to what I've read from Leigh Bardugo before, Six of Crows stands strongly on its own. The characters are vibrant, (quite dark), interesting, and very well-rounded. They are wonderfully diverse, having different ethnicities, races, religions, sexualities, and Kaz - the leader of them all - has a disability. Being disabled myself, I've never felt more happy to read about an interesting disabled character like this, written by a disabled character.

Yeah, I'm surprised I liked this so much. I'll be reading on.