Although “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo came out in 2015, I just recently got around to reading it. I watched and read “Shadow and Bone” already, which turned out to be one of my favorite series. I decided it was about time I read the spin-off. I expected to plow through this book in a day or two because I usually love fantasy books with multiple points of view.
Unfortunately, it didn’t start off super strong for me. The first fifty pages built the city of Ketterdam well, but I ended up skimming over long descriptions of dilapidated buildings and alleyways. However, I did like that it didn’t feel like the beginning of a story, it felt more like I was being plunged into the middle of a mission, which a lot of YA authors have trouble doing right. I also liked the way Bardugo introduced the characters; she let their personalities show through their actions and dialogue. Rather than writing “Kaz likes money” and “Inej is religious”, Kaz said things like “Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.” and Inej named her knives after saints.
All six of the main characters have compelling backstories. I enjoyed learning about them in flashbacks throughout the book. Kaz is a teenaged gang leader seeking revenge after the death of his brother. Inej is an indentured slave turned spy. Jesper is a gambler whose parents think is studying at a university. Nina is a Grisha (basically a sorcerer) in search of forgiveness after betraying someone she loves. Matthias is a former soldier for the place the gang is infiltrating, battling his instincts urging him to be loyal.
Surprisingly, this odd combination didn’t overwhelm the plot, it only made it more exciting. The heist was fast-paced, but it didn’t feel like Bardugo was skipping out on any details. She detailed the palace well enough for me to vision it perfectly without needing the map at the beginning of the book. The constantly shifting plan created an unpredictable outcome because there were many roadblocks where I wasn’t sure they’d make it out alive. How is it possible for a teenage girl to climb a six-story high incinerator? I have no idea, but it was believable in the book. It was interesting that each gang member had a different goal going into the expedition, yet by the end they all just wanted to make it out alive, not caring about the millions of dollars on the line anymore.
When I read books with high-stakes missions, I normally end up wanting more from the ending since it goes by too fast for me. This book was different because I was left wanting more in the best way, as the cliffhanger made it impossible not to read the next book in the series. There was no other ending I would’ve hoped for or expected.
I give this book four stars just because I wanted to give up reading it a quarter way through out of boredom. I do recommend it, though, to resilient readers and fans of YA authors like Chloe Gong and Stephanie Garber. Despite Bardugo’s strong worldbuilding, the characters are what really made this book; they were witty, clever, and alluring enough for me to really care about what would happen to them.
