SIX OF CROWS BY LEIGH BARDUGO, A DETAILED BOOK REVIEW

 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers. In this post, I shall review Six of Crows, a fantasy novel by Leigh Bardugo. Published in 2015,  it is set two years after events described in Ruin and Raising (that is the final novel in the Shadow & Bone Trilogy). Six of Crows is a duology, meaning that it has a sequel, but first things first. So, I've read Six of Crows. Was it worth the hype? Yes, it most definitely was. Compared with the Shadow & Bone trilogy, the writing is smoother. On overall, Six of Crows duology is noticeably more polished when it comes to writing than the Shadow &Bone trilogy. The plot in Six of Crows feels more connected and organized, and every detail seems to fit perfectly. The writing is noticeable better in this duology than it was in the Shadow & Bone trilogy.  It was not what I expected, though. You might say that I had pretty high expectations for this novel.

Yes, I’ve read quite a few rave reviews for Six of Crows, all the praise for the moral complexity and greyness of the main characters, the impeccable writing and what’s not. So, I thought- this might be good. Afterall, I enjoyed the original trilogy so why not another set in Grishaverse. Nevertheless, I didn’t think the Six of Crows novel would be this good or this dark for that matter.

This novel is exceptionally well written. There isn’t a sentence that feels out of place. If I was the editor, I’d not touch it. That’s how good it is. Of course, I might not agree with all the writer’s choices, but as far as the writing goes, I cannot find a flaw in it. The prose flows in this one. It’s magnetic and compelling. Six of Crows is a page-turner that does not lack depth and meaning. I feel that Leigh Bardugo really let her writing talent shine in this book.

It is quite a bleak world Six of Crows is set in, and all the central characters in it have to make do in it. The main characters are, hands down, what I loved most about this novel. As the novel’s title Six of Crows would indicate, there are six main characters and they are known as crows. Our crows are two female characters (Nina and Inej) and four male characters (Kaz, Jasper, Matthias and Wylan). Speaking of them, I decided to show you some outfits inspired by Crows, but more about that latter. I try to make the visual aspect of my book review posts as appealing as possible, and sometimes it takes some time and though. However, the main focus is always on the review itself, so let us get back to the writing.

Be Warned, Six of Crows is Darker than You Might Expect

 Six of Crows is more Peaky Blinders meets Game of Thrones and Clockwork Orange than an average fantasy young adult novel. Unlike with Shadow & Bone, there is no single main protagonist that fights for the forces of good and falls in love in the process. There is are six main characters, and they are basically a gang. So, not exactly your typical good guys.  Set in a world dominated by gang violence, fights for power, human trafficking, marked with brilliantly written and morally grey characters, Six of Crows might be darker than you expect. The basic plot revolves around a heist that it is so hard to pull off that it is almost impossible. So, in some ways it might be even called a heist novel. If you are new to that definition, a heist novel is basically a novel with a plot centred on a hard to pull off heist, that features a cast of characters who are not random criminals but whose unique skills enable them to get the job done. As far as the basic plot is concerned, that’s pretty much what this novel is about.

 

I felt like this outfit would make for a great modern equivalent of something Crows might wear. 

An Extremely Difficult Heist Set in a Fantasy Setting

Still, I’m not sure I’d call this one a heist novel, even if it the heist that drives the plot, there is another plot and that is something cooked up by the gang leather, but more about that latter. Not to mention the fact that this novel (perhaps not surprising being a duology) ends on a cliffhanger. Six of Crows has a sequel titled Crooked Kingdom and this one basically continues and finished the plot. The duology is so connected that it feels like a single novel at times, and the sequel does not focus on the heist anymore. So, the heist is not as central as it might seem, even if it drives the plot.  In addition, I felt like the emphasis of this novel is more on the characters and their relationships with each other than it is on the plot, that is, the heist. Of course, there is also the fantasy element. This novel is very much a part of the Grishaverse. The themes of identity are all there. The Grishas in the Six of Crow face the same difficulties and the ones in the Shadow & Bone trilogy. Therefore, they deal with the same identity crisis. “To confess to their power or not?”, that is the question.

A leather jacket worn with some colour!

An illustration of this vintage leather jacket that I did a while back!

Grishaverse is Wonderfully Expanded and Enriched in Six of Crows

The Grisha Universe (also known as Grishaverse) definitely expends in this novel. While the Shadow & Bone showed us a world predominately inspired by Imperialist Russia, this one takes us into a world that is more Western than Eastern. We discover a different land within the Grisha universe, one inspired by Netherlands and its capital inspired by Amsterdam. Leigh lists some other inspirations, such as Antwerp, Las Vegas, London, and old New York. Dutch culture, that is, the Dutch Empire is one of the central inspirations. The old London and New York are the other. You have this feeling of trade and money running the day. Time is money, and money rules- one feels as one reads this novel. You can recognize the colonial practices among the pages of this novel. Slavery is present, even if the business people try to disguise it with official contracts, it is very much obviously widespread.

People in Ketterdam (and those in our group) come from all over the world. This is a colonial empire the novel is inspired by, after all. If you look at the main characters, they are all from somewhere. Even Kaz is from somewhere else. Wylack is the only one that is actually from Ketterdam. There is Nina from Ravka, and Inej who belongs to nomad people that in turn might be inspired by the Romani people from India or Indian people in general.  There is also a Jasper, a dark-skinned character from Novy Zem (and if you speak any Slavic language, you’ll recognize that is New Zealand but I suppose it could also mean New Lands), so we do learn more about that part of the world as well. Finally, there is Matthias, whose home and ethnicity is inspired by Scandinavian people. There is a lot of worldbuilding in this novel, and it is done extremely well.

Kez Bekker likes to dress in black, and so does Inej. Jasper, on the other hand, likes patterns and colours.

 

Welcome to Ketterdam, a Dazzling Trade Capital Inspired by Amsterdam and New Amsterdam (aka New York) among other places

 Leigh does create a credible world. Ketterdam feels as real as Ravka did, perhaps even more so. The author speaks neither Dutch nor Russian, but she managed to create a feeling of those languages in her Grishaverse novels. Once again, Leigh Bardugo created a credible fantasy setting. Bardugo was born in Israel but she grew up in the USA (Los Angeles, California to be more precise). Leigh Bardugo is Jewish, being descendent from Spanish Jewish on one side of her family, and Russian and Lithuanian on the other. Perhaps this makes her a kind of citizens of the world. When asked on Goodreads about it, Bardugo confirmed that Ketterdam is inspired by a number of places, listing historical Amsterdam as the first inspiration:

 

“Ketterdam (for better or worse) is not real. It's inspired by Amsterdam, Antwerp, Las Vegas, London, and old New York (aka New Amsterdam). Kerch is loosely inspired by the Dutch Republic at its peak. Though many of the countries in my world were inspired by real nations, the analogs break down pretty quickly.”

Naturally, Leigh Bardugo writes fantasy, so with historical places we must remember that it is never a complete analogy. I think her fantasy world are not as focused on historical places as some others, as for example those of Guy K. Gavriel Kay. In that sense, I would say that she is closer to George R.R. Martin and A. Sapkowski. Bardugo’s novels feel more inspired by certain places that based on them. The fantasy element is also a central part of them, rather than an afterthought.

 

I did some research for this review (as one does) and I found that Leigh Bardugo gave an interview in that she touches on the origin of this novel. Moreover, Bardugo says she specifically remembers how she got the idea and it has something to do with the Ocean 11 movie.

 

Leigh Bardugo: It’s usually tough for me to trace the genesis of an idea, but this one’s easy. I was driving down a street in Los Angeles, when I saw a billboard for a movie called Monuments Men starring George Clooney and Matt Damon. It didn’t make me want to see the movie (sorry, George), but it instantly brought to mind Oceans 11, and then I almost drove off the road because all I could think was MAGICAL HEIST.

It’s a lot harder for me to untangle how the story changed. The structure stayed largely the same, but the characters and relationships evolved in unexpected ways, and naturally, that impacted the narrative. *https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2016/03/26/interview-with-leigh-bardugo-about-six-of-crows/

….a bit later in the interview Leigh Bardugo speaks about her struggles creating a believable heist plot. I must say I did not feel her struggle. The heist plot is written so well!

Natasha: One of the most exciting things about Six of Crows for a lot of readers were the twists and turns of the heist. Can you talk a little about the process of planning and writing the heists, and anything challenging about that?

Leigh: I think the most important thing for me to say is that the heist happened in revision and there was absolutely no way around it. It was a puzzle where, if I moved one piece, everything else fell out of alignment. I think it’s also worth mentioning that I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I took on this book. I love heists, so I thought, hey, won’t it be fun to write one? But most of our expectations for heists come from television and film—visual mediums. I learned pretty quickly that the same tricks and feints do not work in a novel, and there were plenty of times I looked up from the manuscript and just said, “What the hell was I thinking?”*

*Cited from : https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2016/03/26/interview-with-leigh-bardugo-about-six-of-crows/

Nothing says urban chic like a leather jacket. You can find more ways to style this tough leather jacket in my old posts. 

 

The Fantasy Element Is Not Dominant But It Is Still Crucial for Six of Crows

 

So, what about the fantasy element? The fantasy element is there, but it is not a dominant one.  The fantasy is not the reason why I do not consider this a heist novel because apparently a heist novel can be set in a fantasy world as well. The central characters are the reason why I would be reluctant to call this novel a heist one. What do I mean? Six of Crows focuses a lot on – well, the Six Crows. They are a part of a gang run by Kaz. Not only do we follow their background stories, we see them mature and develop as characters in this novel. All of them. At times, this very much felt like ‘coming of age’ story.

 

Romance Does Not Take Central Stage

There is a love story or two within this novel, but it is not in the focus like in the Shadow & Bone trilogy. Romance is very subtle, as characters in this world tend to be quite emotionally damaged and more focused on survival than love.  There is one definite romantic story, though. It is between a certain Grisha and a Grisha-hunter of sorts. At times, I enjoyed their romance, and at times it felt like too much. There were some stereotypes there. All that enemy to lover nonsense that I’m typically a fan of. That being said, I’m not a romance fan so it could just be me. So, to be quite honest, the romance in this book did not win me over. What did win me over is the quality of writing.

Six of Crows Feels Very Different from Shadow & Bone Trilogy

Why does this novel feel so different from Shadow & Bone trilogy? Was that the author’s intention? It seems that it was. I found confirmation for that in the Natasha’s interview with Leigh (that I already mentioned and will quote numerous times in this post).  In this interview, Leigh says that “Six of Crows was a reaction to the Grisha Trilogy and to a lot of fantasy narratives that focus on a chosen one…”

Often in my review of Six of Crows, I will compare it with the Shadow & Bone trilogy and explain the ways in that these two differ. I already said that the writing feels more polished and that the plot is better written. Before I continue, I will repeat that Shadow & Bone was my introduction into Grishaverse. If you remember, I reviewed all the three books in this trilogy. I wrote how much I loved the way Leigh Bardugo created her Grishaverse. I felt that the concept of Grisha powers, that is, the small science, felt very original. I feel that the experience of having a chronic illness helped Leigh to make her characters more real. I wondered whether it is not what helped her create Alina, this girl that has to fight her way out of the dark. However, there were also something that I did not like about the trilogy as well, and that was the number of Young Adult Fantasy tropes. I even found some article where all the YA fantasy tropes and stereotypes were listed, and the Shadow & Bone trilogy checked almost all of them.  Maybe the author was aware of that as well. In the interview, Leigh Bardugo says she wanted to get away from fantasy narratives that focus on the chosen one and classical good versus evil stories. She certainly succeeded in that; this novel is wonderfully complex. Here is the excerpt from the interview, so you can read it in the words of Leigh herself.

 

Natasha:  Were there any tropes you tried to avoid or were worried about while writing? What about tropes you deliberately used or subverted?

Leigh: I think in some ways Six of Crows was a reaction to the Grisha Trilogy and to a lot of fantasy narratives that focus on a chosen one. I love those stories, but I wanted to step away from that. No kings, no queens, no saviors. This is not a story about good versus evil. It’s about doing what it takes to survive and hopefully maintaining your humanity while you do it—and maybe finding the people who help you manage that. Also, I don’t know if you’d call this a trope, but occasionally, I’ll see someone say, “I keep picturing Kaz as an old man with his cane! Lol.” Or they’ll say, “Why doesn’t Kaz have Nina heal his leg?” and it gets me really riled. So I wrote that anger into Crooked Kingdom. I want people to understand exactly why Kaz has never chosen to be healed by magical means, and I want them to understand exactly how the way Kaz deals with his physical disability makes him stronger and more dangerous. *

 

*https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2016/03/26/interview-with-leigh-bardugo-about-six-of-crows/

 

 

Why Is Six of Crows Labelled YA? Is It the Author’s Choice Or the Publisher’s?

This is the question I would like to know an answer to, especially since Leigh said she did not think much about their age as she wrote the novel. As different as Six of Crows is from Shadow & Bone, they still belong to the same Grishaverse. So, I imagine marketing it as fantasy that is not Young Adult would have been complicated. Maybe they both (Leigh Bardugo and her publishers) decided it is just easier to market it as YA fantasy. For clarification, in terms of publishing the young adult generally refers to a reader group aged from twelve to eighteen. Now, I really do not think twelve or thirteen or even fourteen-year-old ought to be reading this novel. Hence, I’m very perplexed by this novel being labelled young adult, considering the amount of graphic violence it contains. I mean the blood isn’t dripping from every page, but the extreme violence is always there in the background, an essential element of the writing, the part of the criminal word this novel is set in. The place novel is set in is crowded with gangs. There is death, violence, abuse, human trafficking and murder everywhere.

As far as I’m concerned this is novel for adults. Authors such as George R.R. Martin or A. Sapokowski’s would not think of publishing their best-selling fantasy sagas as young adults and neither should Leigh Bardugo, not when it comes to Six of Crows duology.  Now, when it comes to Shadow & Bone, the violence is not nearly as graphic. Still, there is murder and death in Shadow & Bone trilogy, so even that one should not be marketed to very young readers.  I would not recommend it to anyone younger than seventeen or eighteen. I really do not think adolescents need to read fantasy this dark. They are more suitable fantasy novels out there for young readers, such as The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.  As I said, Six of Crows is more for adult readers. Eighteen plus preferably.

This outfit feels like a modern day version of something Jasper might wear. It has some colour, texture and of course patterns. 

The Age Of the Protagonist Of This Novel Makes Little to No Sense

I maintain that it does really not make sense for the main characters to be sixteen- or seventeen-year-olds.  That is perhaps my main issue with this novel. It’s the age of the characters, i.e the protagonists of this novel. The Six of Crows gang are basically all underaged. They are supposed to all be under eighteen, aged from sixteen to seventeen. Not even their boss Kez is eighteen, and he is often referred to as a boy by other characters. Reading this novel, I found it hard to believe. Not just for Kaz. In fact, they felt like characters in their thirties. With some effort, I could imagine them being nineteen or twenty perhaps, aged by the hard life. They could be in their early twenties. However, there is no way they could be almost adolescents. It just does not make sense. They seem too adult and in too many ways.

 

Again, I found what the author herself wrote about the age of the protagonists. Leigh seems to be aware of the criticism from the readers:

 

“Natasha: On a personal note, I’m curious whether the characters were initially conceived as teenagers.

Leigh: Yes and no. I always knew they would be young, but I didn’t think too much about their specific ages when I was imagining the story. I know some people have found the idea of Kaz and crew as teenagers unlikely, but they’re really not teens in any kind of modern way. The idea of the teenager and the concept of adolescence are actually pretty new, and they don’t have much place in the world I’ve created. These kids have lived a lot and suffered a lot by the time we meet them, and in most cases, they’ve had no one to protect them. I mean, imagine Arya Stark at 17.” * Cited from : https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2016/03/26/interview-with-leigh-bardugo-about-six-of-crows/

 

I do not really agree with Leigh Bardugo’s reasoning here. It is true that traumatic events can make one ‘age faster’ in a way. Still, a sixteen-year-old is a sixteen-year-old. An adolescent will always be different from an adult in a number of ways. Yes, many teenagers in the past had adult responsibilities. Many teenagers today have adult responsibilities. That does not change their biology or psychology. Just because words like teenager and adolescent did not exist in the past, it does not mean they did not exist in the past.

 

There is also this wrong belief that people used to mature faster in the past and became adult at a young age. What happened actually is that in the past there was a high mortality rate among children. However, people who would survive their childhood died at about the same time as they do now. It is not as if everyone dropped dead at age forty. I think that a lot of people do not understand how this worked, they imagine that if the average life expectancy was fifty or forty, that people got married at fifteen or something like that on the average. That is certainly not true and you can verify this by doing some research. Humans biologically matured in the past in the same way they do now. It is not like human years in past were akin to dog years or something. Humans were not that different psychologically and biologically in the past than they are now. Anyway, the fact that Leigh Bardugo references Arya Stark makes sense. As much as I like George R.R. Martin, I think he is terrible at writing children and/or adolescents. Arya Stark is another example of a character that does not feel like a child in any way. Her character might be entertaining for the readers, but I would not call it well written on overall. In some ways she is well written, and in some ways Arya just falls short.

I sometimes feel like many authors from USA make their characters younger than they ought to be for shock effect. I might be wrong, but there is a pattern I keep noticing. Either that, or the fact that the Unites States of America do not really have strict child protection laws like some other countries, so depictions of children involved in violence or suffering violence is typically uncensored neither on film nor in the books. As I said, it is not a proven theory, but it gives me some food for the thought.

 

 

Dedication To a Secret Weapon and Unexpected Friend

 What a sweet dedication!

Six of Crows comes with a dedication. I always love dedications for some reason.  Maybe because they show writers as real people. This novel is dedicated to Kayte, “a secret weapon and unexpected friend”. What I love about this dedication is that it ties with the theme of the novel perfectly. You see, I think this is a story about a friendship. Six of Grows are a gang, but over the course of the novel, as they acquire new members, they grow into friends. Not just any friends, but real friends, almost a family of sorts. Hiding under the Crows often tough exterior, there is a soft interior. They all had to learn to be merciless in order to survive, to kill to avoid being killed, to injure to avoid being injured. They often keep secrets one from another, but more often from trauma than distrust. Kaz, the mastermind, keeps secrets for various reasons. The others, they keep secrets mostly out of shame or pain.

 

Third Person Narration But Told From Different Points of View

The narration is pretty standard and straightforward. The novel is narrated by a third person omnipresent narrator. However, different chapters follow different character’s point of view. Even if they do not tell the story in the first person, we are focus on them and see the world through their eyes. Mostly, the point of view follows the Crows. If this sounds familiar, you are perhaps thinking of George R.R. Marting and his Song of Ice and Fire book saga. Remember how one chapter takes the point of view of Cersei and the other of Arya, even if they are all told by the third person narrator? That is the kind of narration that takes place here.

 

The place where it all takes place is of course: Ketterdam. As I said, this is the world ruled by money. The more money you have the more respected you are.  The first chapter takes us into a house of a rich merchant. Joost, a young man who became a member of the city watch, is only too happy to pay visits to the house of a rich merchant to admire Anya, a beautiful Grisha employed there. 

 

Joost had two problems: the moon and his moustache.‌

He was supposed to be making his rounds at the Hoede house, but for the last fifteen minutes, he’d been hovering around the south-east wall of the gardens, trying to think of something clever and romantic to say to Anya.

If only Anya’s eyes were blue like the sea or green like an emerald. Instead, her eyes were brown – lovely, dreamy … melted chocolate brown? Rabbit fur brown?

“Just tell her she’s got skin like moonlight,” his friend Pieter had said. “Girls love that.”

A perfect solution, but the Ketterdam weather was not cooperating. There’d been no breeze off the harbour that day, and a grey milk fog had wreathed the city’s canals and crooked alleys in damp. Even here among the mansions of the Geldstraat, the air hung thick with the smell of fish and bilge water, and smoke from the refineries on the city’s outer islands had smeared the night sky in a briny haze. The full moon looked less like a jewel than a yellowy blister in need of lancing.

 

The First Chapter Is Told From Joost’s POV

 

Six of Crows opens with Joost, a character that is soon to be dead. Still, we follow the first chapter from his point of view. There is also a fair amount of dialogue, and it makes the prose better. The dialogues are well written and give us insight into other characters. 

All the characters in the first chapter are minor ones, including Joost. Sorry for the spoiler about him dying and all, but it is only the first chapter, so it does not spoil much. This death is pretty insignificant in the great scheme of things but it does show how innocent get hurt. This reminded me of something George R.R. Martin did in a Feast for Crows. If I recall well, that novel also opens with a young man that dies pretty soon (by the end of that chapter). This boy is in love with a pretty girl and hopes to win her over. What you know! The same is the case in Six of Crows. Now, I do not think that Six of Crows copied A Feast for Crows. It is only a minor detail, after all. The plots do not have that much in common. Still, I thought it was interesting. It might have been an unconscious influence on Leigh. 

Assuming that she had read George R.R. Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire saga, it could be possible. While I was doing research for this book review, I found that Leigh mentions George R.R. Martin quite often. Speaking of that, I like how open about her writing Leigh is in her interviews. She comes across like a very intelligent and well-informed woman. Anyhow, Joost is a nice enough youth, but that does not mean that life will be good to him. Early on, we see others making fun of him. Perhaps Joost is an outsider, too.

 

Joost adjusted the set of his coat and rifle, then patted the weighted baton at his hip. Maybe Hoede would take a liking to him. Sharp eyed and quick with the cudgel, Hoede would say. That fellow deserves a promotion. Joost tried to summon some dignity. “I need to finish my rounds.”

Rutger elbowed Henk. “That means he’s going to go stick his head in the Grisha workshop to get a look at his girl.”

“Oh, Anya, won’t you use your Grisha magic to make my moustache grow?” Henk mocked.

Joost turned on his heel, cheeks burning, and strode down the eastern side of the house. They’d been teasing him ever since he’d arrived. If it hadn’t been for Anya, he probably would have pleaded with his captain for a reassignment. He and Anya only ever exchanged a few words on his rounds, but she was always the best part of his night.

The first chapter also introduces us to this world that is ruled by money. Joost admires the mansion of his employer and fantasies that it is one of his own. They are elements of this chapter that almost feel like stream of consciousness. We get to have a peak in Joost’s head, but the narration is always by the third person all-knowing narrator:

And he had to admit, he liked Hoede’s house, too, the few peeks he’d managed through the windows. Hoede had one of the grandest mansion on the Geldstraat – floors set with gleaming squares of black and white stone, shining dark wood walls lit by blown-glass chandeliers that floated like jellyfish near the coffered ceilings. Sometimes Joost liked to pretend that it was his house….

Indenture Is Just a Legal Way for Ketterdem Elite To Own Slaves

What happens next is that Anya is brought in with a boy she is supposed to heal. There is a mention of indenture. Basically, one of the meanings of indenture is a historical document detailing agreed labour. Historically, indentured servitude was an unpaid form of labour. Basically, indenture means that a person agrees to work without pay for a determined number of years.  Indenture contract can be considered as a payment for some good or service or a way of getting out of debt.  An indenture was sometimes legal punishment. This obviously can be compared to slavery. When it comes to Ketterdam (the capital this novel is set it), indenture is basically a legalized form of slavery. People in Ketterdam agree to it because they have no choice. They are often formal slaves bought by different businesses and businesses in Ketterdam. When they indenture is bough by someone, they belong to them.  Grisha individuals agree to it because they have no choice. Joost informs us that the rich merchant Hoede has three Grisha indentures and that they do not come cheap. What this means is basically that Hoede has three Grishas in his service. In a way,  the rich merchant Hoede owns the Grishas. While it is true that Grishas are generally looked after better than regular individuals, the indenture still makes them servants and slaves. Sometimes these are more servants, sometimes slaves. In any case, indenture bounds them to the owner of indenture. Indentures can be sold, and so can people and Grishas.

 

When Joost thanked her, Anya smiled and Joost was lost. He knew his cause was hopeless. Even if she’d had any interest in him, he could never aff ord to buy her indenture from Hoede, and she would never marry unless Hoede decreed it. But it hadn’t stopped him from dropping by to say hello or to bring her little gifts. She’d liked the map of Kerch best, a whimsical drawing of their island nation, surrounded by mermaids swimming in the True Sea and ships blown along by winds depicted as fat- cheeked men.

 

Grisha Anya Is Drugged and Brought In To Heal A Boy

So, when Anya is brought in to heal the boy her boss and others are planning to hur so they can test a new drug that enhances Grisha abilities on her, Anya has no choice but to comply. Joost wants to help but in reality, there is nothing he can do even if he tries. Anya is behind glass, and he can only look. Still, I think what matters is that Joost does not try, and it might be because he is afraid of losing his job. As I said, money rules in Ketterdam.

I should stop this, Joost thought. I should find a way to protect her, both of them. But what then? He was a nobody, new to the stadwatch, new to this house. Besides, he discovered in a burst of shame, I want to keep my job.

Testing the drug on Grisha Anya actually backfires on her master, as she becomes so powerful she can command. The drug in question is a bit part of the plot. It makes Grisha’s abilities stronger, and it makes them extremely powerful. Under the influence of this drug, Grishas can do just about anything. However, the drug is not only highly addictive, it is also almost always fatal for Grishas. That much power comes at the price. I think this is a good metaphor for life and drugs in general. Whatever one uses for that extra energy boost can come at a price. Drugs are abused for many reasons, but in the end drug abuse always leads to destruction and damage of the individuals. Drugs kill and destroy. The tragedy here is that poor Anya had no choice. They administered the drug to her without her consent. They hurt a small boy so they could watch her heal him, inflicting greater and greater damage. We do not know what is happening in Anya’s head, but we can imagine she is more than appalled by their cruelty. Anya is a Corporarki, acting as a healer and the boy is in her care. Anya wants to protect him. Under the influence of the drug, Anya manages to control the men around her, getting into their head, controlling their movements and consequently escaping with the boy.

Anya merely smiled and tilted her head back so she was looking at the sergeant. “Shoot the glass.”

“What did she say?” asked the merchant. “Sergeant!” the captain barked out.

“Shoot the glass,” Anya repeated. The sergeant’s face went slack. He cocked his head to one side as if listening to a distant melody, then unslung his rifle and aimed at the observation window.

“Get down!” someone yelled.

Joost threw himself to the ground, covering his head as the rapid hammer of gunfire filled his ears and bits of glass rained down on his hands and back. His thoughts were a panicked clamour. His mind tried to deny it, but he knew what he’d just seen. Anya had commanded the sergeant to shoot the glass. She’d made him do it. But that couldn’t be…..

The Greedy Plan Backfires as Anya Manages To Escape With the Boy

During Anya’s escape, the question of her worth is mentioned by her boss that is owner Hoede.

“Do you know how much money she’s worth?” Hoede retorted. “Someone restrain her! Do not shoot!”

Everything is always about the money with the merchant class. This is a recurring motive in the book. Hoede does not care about Anya, but he cares about how much she is worth. Anya manipulates both Joose and Hoede to ensure her escape. I thought this part was especially well written. Leigh gives us insight into Joose’s head. We see how Anya manages to calm Joost.

Anya raised her hands, red sleeves spread wide. “Wait,” she said.

Joost’s panic vanished. He knew he’d been frightened, but his fear was a distant thing. He was filled with expectation. He wasn’t sure what was coming, or when, only that it would arrive and that it was essential he be ready to meet it. It might be bad or good. He didn’t really care. His heart was free of worry and desire. He longed for nothing, wanted for nothing, his mind silent, his breath steady. He only needed to wait.

“Open the door and come in, Hoede,” she said. Joost heard the words, understood them, forgot them.

Just like Joost, Hoede obeys Anya’s instructions, even when she orders him to kill himself. Honestly, it is impossible to feel for Hoede. In this situation, one can only feel for Anya and the poor traumatised boy she is carrying in her arms.

Hoede walked to the door and slid the bolt free. He entered the steel cell.

“Do as you’re told, and this will soon be over, ja?” Anya murmured with a smile. Her eyes were black and bottomless pools. Her skin was alight, glowing, incandescent. A thought flickered through Joost’s mind – beautiful as the moon.

Anya shifted the boy’s weight in her arms. “Don’t look,” she murmured against his hair. “Now,” she said to Hoede. “Pick up the knife.”

The Second Chapter is Told From Inej’s Point of View

The next chapter opens with my favourite character- Inej, as she reflects on my second favourite character- Kez Bekker. She does more than just reflect on Kaz of course. In this chapter, we see her in action, climbing walls with her knives, breaking in and doing what she does best, finding information for Kaz. It is a great introduction to her character, and I like the fact that the character opens with her thinking of Kaz and not exactly trusting him.

 

Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coff ee houses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the plea sure district known as the Barrel. The boy they called Dirtyhands didn’t need a reason any more than he needed permission—to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man’s fortunes with the turn of a card. Of course they were wrong, Inej considered as she crossed the bridge over the black waters of the Beurskanal to the deserted main square that fronted the Exchange. Every act of violence was deliberate, and every favor came with enough strings attached to stage a puppet show. Kaz always had his reasons. Inej could just never be sure they were good ones. Especi

 

Kaz and Inej have a complicated relationship. She is grateful to him for saving her and making her a member of the gang, but she also has reasons to doubt him. Inej is keenly aware that Kaz’s every act of violence is planned and realizes that he is much more intelligent than people give him credit for. However, this does not mean that Inej can trust Kaz. Nobody can trust anyone in Ketterdam.

In the first Inej’s chapter we also get acquainted with Jasper. Now, Jasper is another fascinating character. Jasper is a gambling addict and an adrenaline junkie. I also wondered whether Jasper might not have ADHD.

 

 I feel like this could be a modern day version of something Nina would wear.

The Third Chapter is Narrated by Kez

The second chapter merges into third effortlessly. No matter whose point of view we follow, the narrative is descriptive and well written. Kaz’s mind is on his work. There was a conflict, someone betrayed him but with Inej’s and Jasper’s help, Kaz comes up at top as usual. The rest of the gang is afraid of Kez. Speaking of that, there is a gang within the gang in this novel. There are the Dregs, a gang a Kez is lieutenant in, but there is also a gang within the gang that he leads- the Crows. Gang lieutenant is a higher position is a gang, meaning that Kaz has people under him in Dregs. However, there is also someone above him in Dregs but more about that later.

They’d been badly shaken by his betrayal— both the revelation and the way Kaz had delivered punishment. Beneath all that jostling and whooping, there was fear. Good. Kaz relied on the fact that the Dregs were all murderers, thieves, and liars. He just had to make sure they didn’t make a habit of lying to him. Kaz dispatched two of them to keep an eye on Big Bol and to make sure that if he made it to his feet, he left the city. The rest could return to the Slat and the Crow Club to drink off their worry, make some trouble, and spread word of the night’s events. They’d tell what they’d seen, embroider the rest, and with every retelling, Dirtyhands would get crazier and more ruthless.

 

Kaz does his best to keep his authority with Dregs and as we can see he is successful. However, Kaz keeps too much too himself. This is something that often frustrates Jasper and Inej, who are more like friends to him. Kaz has a habit of keeping Jasper and Inej in the dark. Even if secretly he does have faith in them, Kaz does not exactly show it. This understandably makes Inej and Jasper resent him. At the moment, the full Crow gang is not yet formed.

Jesper stepped into his path. “You should have let me know about Big Bolliger,” he said in a furious whisper.

“Don’t tell me my business, Jes.”

“You think I’m dirty, too?”

“If I thought you were dirty, you’d be holding your guts in on the floor of the Exchange like Big Bol, so stop running your mouth.” Jesper shook his head and rested his hands on the revolvers he’d reclaimed from Dirix. Whenever he got cranky, he liked to lay hands on a gun, like a child seeking the comfort of a favored doll.

Instead of making peace with Jasper and treating him like an actual human being, Kaz gives Jasper a gambling opportunity at his club. Both Kaz and Jasper are creatures of habit at this point. Kaz does not open up emotionally, and Jasper accepts money for gambling instead of an apology. Through the course of this novel, these two will have to learn to rely on one other and communicate better. They will also have to grow as characters. The character development in this novel was most satisfactory. A lot of that character development came through the main characters finally treating each other with empathy. They learn how to open up to one another and threat each other well. Jasper, Kaz and Inej go a long way in this novel.  Despite everything she has been through, Inej is an emphatic individual from the start of the novel. She only kills when it cannot be avoided, and she has faith. Inej is the moral vertical in many ways. Inej that is something of a guardian angel to Kaz. In almost every chapter of the novel, Inej saves Kaz (and everyone’s one) life. As Kaz is walking, he feels Inej shadowing him: “He didn’t call out to her. She would make herself visible when she was good and ready. Usually he liked the quiet; in fact, he would have happily sewn most people’s lips shut. But when she wanted to, Inej had a way of making you feel her silence. It tugged at your edges.”

Kaz and Inej talk about work. She gets upset about some of his decisions and criticizes his greed. Kaz replies with lines that are often quoted, about how he makes greed serve him. The more I read the novel, the more I understand these lines. There is more to Kaz than it seems.

Kaz couldn’t see Inej’s face in the dark, but he sensed her disapproval.

 “Greed is your god, Kaz.”

He almost laughed at that. “No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.”

 A Rich Merchant Jan Van Eck Kidnaps Kaz Only To Offer Him a Job

Do you remember Anya, the Grisha that was drugged and managed to escape? Well, Anya did not get far, she died from the drug jurda parem. The drug did not remain a secret, though. A rich merchant kidnaps Kaz. When he wakes up in the merchant’s house, Kaz does not panic because thanks to Inej spying skills, he knows he has dirt on everyone. The merchant and Kaz talk, and soon Kaz gets out of his chains. The merchant

He was out of his chair before his chains hit the ground. He leapt the desk, snatching a letter opener from its surface in one hand, and catching hold of the front of Van Eck’s shirt with the other. The fine fabric bunched as he pressed the blade to Van Eck’s throat. Kaz was dizzy, and his limbs felt creaky from being trapped in the chair, but everything seemed sunnier with a weapon in his hand.

Van Eck’s guards were facing him, all with guns and swords drawn. He could feel the merch’s heart pounding beneath the wool of his suit. “I don’t think I need to waste breath on threats,” Kaz said. “Tell me how to get to the door or I’m taking you through the window with me.” “I think I can change your mind.” Kaz gave him a little jostle. “I don’t care who you are or how big that ruby is. You don’t take me from my own streets. And you don’t try to make a deal with me while I’m in chains.”

 

The Jan Van Eck tells Kaz of Hoede's experiment, the one that resulted in Anya’s death. Van Eck shows Kaz a boy that can walk through walls, a Grisha under the influence of jurda parem. Jan Van Eck offers an insane amount of money to Kaz Brekker if he can rescue the inventor of the drug Bo Yul-Bayur from the Ice Court. This is not an easy task, as Ice Court is an unbreachable military stronghold in Fjerda, a country inspired by Scandinavian countries.

Long story short, Kaz accepts the job and starts recruiting a crew that will try to pull of the impossible heist. However, even before they get together and leave, they are dangerous. A rival gang wants to end them all and take the lucrative job for themselves. What follows is a tale of adventure, courage but also heartbreak. The first person Kaz tells of the plans is not surprisingly Inej.

 

“You’re not in the business of giving gifts. What’s the job?” 

“An impossible job, near certain death, terrible odds, but should we scrape it . . .” He paused, fingers on the buttons of his waistcoat, his look distant, almost dreamy. It was rare that she heard such excitement in his raspy voice.

“Should we scrape it?” she prompted.

He grinned at her, his smile sudden and jarring as a thunderclap, his eyes the near- black of bitter coffee. “We’ll be kings and queens, Inej. Kings and queens.”

“Hmm,” she said noncommittally, pretending to examine one of her knives, determined to ignore that grin. Kaz was not a giddy boy smiling and making future plans with her. He was a dangerous player who was always working an angle. Always, she reminded herself firmly. Inej kept her eyes averted, shuffling a stack of papers into a pile on the desk as Kaz stripped out of his vest and shirt. She wasn’t sure if she was flattered or insulted that he didn’t seem to give a second thought to her presence.

 

Who Are the Six of Crows? The Brave Six Who Will Try the Impossible Despite the Risks

Lez’s start with Kaz Bekker. Inez describes him as someone who does everything for a reason. She accuses him of making greed his god. At one point, Inez describes Kaz voice as being harsh:

““Of course he is,” said Kaz. His voice had the rough, abraded texture of stone against stone. Inej always wondered if he’d sounded that way as a little boy. If he’d ever been a little boy.”

We get a lot of descriptions of Kaz from Inej. She knows him best, and he is obviously often on her mind. He also apparently baths in front of her, so make of that what you will.

“How long will we be gone?” she asked, darting a glance at him through the open doorway. He was corded muscle, scars, but only two tattoos— the Dregs’ crow and cup on his forearm and, above it, a black R on his bicep. She’d never asked him what it meant. It was his hands that drew her attention as he shucked off his leather gloves and dipped a cloth in the washbasin. He only ever removed them in these chambers, and as far as she knew, only in front of her. Whatever affliction he might be hiding, she could see no sign of it, only slender lockpick’s fingers, and a shiny rope of scar tissue from some long ago street fight.

Kaz is the second lieutenant in the Dregs gang, second in command. There is someone over him and that is Per Haskell. In fact, it was Per Haskell that bought off Inej indenture. However, Per Haskell only did it because Kaz asked him too. In fact, Per Haskell had no idea what a valuable member Inej is going to be. The real reason why Dregs are doing well as a gang is Kaz. Per Haskell is lazy and prefers to let the others do his work.

 

“Then why come here tonight?” “Because this is the way Per Haskell wants it.” Old man, old ways, Inej thought but didn’t say, and she knew the other Dregs were thinking the same thing. “He’s going to get us all killed,” she said.

I wonder where Kaz is really from. We do not learn in the novel. He is called the bastard from the Barrell, but he really is not. His best kept secret is that he is neither a bastard nor from Ketterdem. He is an orphan who came to Ketterdem with his brother. We are told he is from a farm near Lij but where is that exactly? I looked up the name Kaz, and according to the Internet, it has possible Japanese and Slavic origins. However, it could also be Irish, Dutch or English. Its origin is ambiguous. Bekker is a German and Dutch last name. Of course it is not Kaz real last name, but Kaz real last name is also Dutch sounding (Rietveld) and his brothers name is also Dutch sounding, so we can assume Kaz is the Grishaverse equivalent of Dutch. We do learn a lot about Kaz background as the novel progresses, but I’d love to know where exactly he supposed to be from and what his name origin. Is Kaz short for something? Casper? Anyway, I was absolutely fascinated by Kaz. There is one passage in the opening chapters where Kaz is describes as turning into someone else, into the monster known as Dirtyhands.

Geels looked at Kaz as if he was finally seeing him for the first time. The boy he’d been talking to had been cocky, reckless, easily amused, but not frightening— not really. Now the monster was here, dead- eyed and unafraid. Kaz Brekker was gone, and Dirtyhands had come to see the rough work done.

 

Using his disability as a strength, Kaz never lets life keep him down. However, he also pays the price for being so emotionally cut off. He risks losing his humanity if he keeps forever to himself. Kaz had learnt survival the hard way. He built a gang out of nothing and he learnt not to trust anyone.

He could feel the Dregs’ eyes on his back as he headed over the bridge. He didn’t need to hear their whispers to know what they would say. They wanted to drink with him, hear him explain how he’d known Big Bolliger had gone over to the Black Tips, listen to him describe the look in Geels’ eyes when he’d dropped his pistol. But they’d never get it from Kaz, and if they didn’t like it, they could fi nd another crew to run with. No matter what they thought of him, they’d walk a little taller to night. It was why they stayed, why they gave their best approximation of loyalty for him. When he’d offi cially become a member of the Dregs, he’d been twelve and the gang had been a laughingstock, street kids and washed-up cadgers running shell games and penny- poor cons out of a rundown house in the worst part of the Barrel. But he hadn’t needed a great gang, just one he could make great— one that needed him. Now they had their own territory, their own gambling hall, and that rundown house had become the Slat, a dry, warm place to get a hot meal or hole up when you were wounded. Now the Dregs were feared. Kaz had given them that. He didn’t owe them small talk on top of it.

 

 

Inej Ghafa, a Spy That Believes in Saints

Inej is the most tendered hearted of the lot, but she is not naïve. Inej is intelligent and thinks logically. However, she is also emphatic. She even prays for the member of the Dregs that betrayed them to another gang.

He might be stupid enough to cross Kaz Brekker, but he’d survived this long in the Barrel, and that took will. He might make it. Help him, a voice inside her said. Until a few moments ago, he’d been her brother in arms. It seemed wrong to leave him alone. She could go to him, off er to put him out of his misery quickly, hold his hand as he passed. She could fetch a medik to save him. Instead, she spoke a quick prayer in the language of her Saints and began the steep climb down the outer wall. Inej pitied the boy, who might die alone with no one to comfort him in his last hours or who might live and spend his life as an exile. But the night’s work wasn’t yet over, and the Wraith didn’t have time for traitors.

Inej’s spying skill proves extremely valuable to Dregs, and Kaz in particular. It is mostly thanks to Inej that Kaz knows everything about everyone. Her unmatched acrobatic skills enable her to climb roofs and enter ever possible place. Kaz teaches us how to break locks as well. At the start of the novel, Kaz does not believe anyone, but he relies on Jasper and Inej. Her skills have a lot to do with it, but I feel there is more to it.

Kaz gave an irritated shake of his head. To say he trusted Inej would be stretching the point, but he could admit to himself that he’d come to rely on her. It had been a gut decision to pay off her indenture with the Menagerie, and it had cost the Dregs sorely. Per Haskell had needed convincing, but Inej was one of the best investments Kaz had ever made. That she was so very good at remaining unseen made her an excellent thief of secrets, the best in the Barrel. But the fact that she could simply erase herself bothered him. She didn’t even have a scent. All people carried scents, and those scents told stories— the hint of carbolic on a woman’s fi ngers or woodsmoke in her hair, the wet wool of a man’s suit, or the tinge of gunpowder lingering in his shirt cuffs. But not Inej. She’d somehow mastered invisibility.

Throughout the novel, Inej agility and apparent invisibly are often discussed and mentioned. At times she is so skilful as to appear magical. However, Inej is no Grisha.

Jesper Fahey A Zemeni That Never Misses a Shot With a Gambling Addiction

Jesper’s character is a very charming and often a funny one. Kaz relies on his charm to smooth things over. Despite his gambling and perhaps even drinking addiction, Jesper is clever.

“Besides, Jesper would smooth it all over. A few drinks in and a few hands up and the sharpshooter’s good nature would return. He held a grudge about as well as he held his liquor, and he had a gift for making Kaz’s victories sound like they belonged to everyone.”

I also liked the relationship that Jasper and Inej develop. They are honest with one another. With time they only grow closer. I think both of them have a tender heart.

Jesper stretched his long arms overhead and grinned, his teeth white against his dark skin. He had yet to give up his rifle, and the silhouette of it across his back made him resemble a gawky, long- limbed bird. “Statistically, he’ll probably only get some of us killed.”

“It’s not something to joke about,” she replied. The look Kaz cast her was amused. She knew how she sounded— stern, fussy, like an old crone making dire pronouncements from her porch. She didn’t like it, but she also knew she was right. Besides, old women must know something, or they wouldn’t live to gather wrinkles and yell from their front stoops.

 “Jesper isn’t making a joke, Inej,” said Kaz. “He’s figuring the odds.”

Jasper, Inej and Kaz are a good team to start with, but to pull off the heist they will need help, and this is where the other characters come on.

 

Nina Zenik, a Flirty and Fierce Grisha Heartrender

Nina is a softie on the inside, tough on the outside. She can be flirty, but she is also very brave and intelligent. When Kaz sends Inej to ask her to join their ranks, Nina is working her indenture. However, she accepts the daring plan as a way of getting closer to Matthias Helver, with whom she has quite a story. I will not get to it as I want to avoid spoilers, but Nina and Matthias have a history together. They are bound by fate, you might say. Nina is a very honourable sort of person, and she wants to fix a wrong she felt she had done. Even if that wrong was choosing a lesser evil, she still feels responsible. Anyway, Nina and Matthias banter was another enjoyable aspect of this book.

“

Sometimes their relationship seemed to be stereotypical, and I think some aspects of it could have been more credible were they written differently, but on overall I enjoyed reading about them.

 “What are you so afraid will happen? Afraid you might start to like me?”

He said nothing.
Despite her fatigue, she trotted ahead of him. “That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to like a Grisha. You’re scared that if you laugh at my jokes or answer my questions, you might start thinking I’m human. Would that be so terrible?”
“I do like you.”
“What was that?”
“I do like you,” he said angrily.
She’d beamed, feeling a well of pleasure erupt through her. “Now, really, is that so bad?”
“Yes!” he roared.
“Why?”
“Because you’re horrible. You’re loud and lewd and . . . treacherous. Brum warned us that Grisha could be charming.”
“Oh, I see. I’m the wicked Grisha seductress. I have beguiled you with my Grisha wiles!”
She poked him in the chest.
“Stop that.”
“No. I’m beguiling you.”
“Quit it.”
She danced around him in the snow, poking his chest, his stomach, his side. “Goodness! You’re very solid. This is strenuous work.” He started to laugh. “It’s working! The beguiling has begun. The Fjerdan has fallen. You are powerless to resist me.”

 

Matthias Helver, a Tall and Handsome Grisha-hunter

As I already said, Matthias has a history with Nina. At the start of the novel, Matthias is imprisoned in Hellgate. He is rescued by the Crows, and joins their ranks when they offer to help him get pardon from his government/country. Matthias family was killed by Grisha’s so he despises them. Matthias is like many of the Crows, an orphaned. Early in life, he joins the order of Grisha-hunter, finding a father figure in one of the commanders. Matthias is religious in his way.

 

“…. I’ll just hire Matthias’ ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.”
“My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,” Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.”

 

Wylan Van Eck, A Dyslectic Genius That Blows Things Up

Wylan becomes a member of the Crows quite early on. Wylan rarely takes front stage, but he is still a valued member. Most of the Crows do not about his origin. Wylan has sort of ran away from home. His father the rich merchant Van Eck cannot stand the fact that his only son is dyslectic. When Kaz recruits Wylan, he does it as much as for his demolitions skills as for the leverage on Van Eck. However, Kaz does not know that Van Eck does not exactly care for his son.

Jasper and Wylan became pretty close early on. These two seem to hit it off.

“What do you like?'
'Music. Numbers. Equations. They're not like words. They...they don't get mixed up.'
'If only you could talk to girls in equations.'
There was a long silence, and then, eyes trained on the notch they'd created in the link, Wylan said, 'Just girls?'
Jesper restrained a grin. 'No, not just girls.”

 

 Villains Worth Mentioning

If our heroes are morally grey at times, the villains are all black.  Here are some of the main villains in the Six of Crows

Per Haskell, The Leader of the Dreggs is a Lazy Old Man

Per Haskell is described as an old man that might have been dangerous once but now is just a lazy criminal anxious for others to do his work for him. Inej is well aware of the situation, and she knows she owes her gratitude for escaping the brothel to Kaz, not to Per Haskell. It was Kez that convinced Haskel to Buy her indenture.

 

But what does Per Haskell know? Inej thought as she looked for the guards patrolling the roof above, trying to pick out their shapes in the dark. Haskell ran the Dregs, but these days, he preferred to sit in the warmth of his room, drinking lukewarm lager, building model ships, and telling long stories of his exploits to anyone who would listen. He seemed to think territory wars could be settled as they once had been: with a short scuffle and a friendly handshake.

As Kaz notices: “Haskell was perfectly capable of convincing himself that he was the genius making the Dregs prosper, especially if one of his cronies was whispering in his ear. That idea didn’t sit easy, but Kaz could worry about Per Haskell tomorrow”

 

Jan Van Eck, a Rich and Heartless Merchant

Van Eck is a man with zero redeeming qualities, and he only gets worse as the novel progresses. By the time this duology finishes, he turns into somewhat of a cardboard villain. I almost wish there was something to humanize him, and to make him seem more real. He stands for everything that is detestable about Ketterdem. Van Eck is only driven by the money. He criticises Kaz for his activities but the truth is that the businessmen of Ketterdem are the true criminals. They only find ways to make their crime legal, but they are corrupt at heart.

 

Pekka Rollings, a Villian That Destroyed Kaz’s Life

Pekka is a ruthless sort of criminal. He destroyed Kaz’s life and Kaz wants revenge. Again, I do not want to reveal too much as to avoid spoilers, but the man is really depictable.

“Pekka Rollins couldn't count the threats he'd heard, the men he'd killed, or the men he'd seen die, but the look in Brekker's eye still sent a chill slithering up his spine. Some wrathful thing in this boy was beginning to get loose, and Rollin's didn't want to be around when it slipped its leash.”

Tante Heelen, An Owner of a Brother

Tante Heelen is absolute evil.  Owner of a brother The Menagerie, Tante Heelen bought of Inej indenture, forcing her into prostitution. Kaz saved Inej from that fate, but Inej is still traumatized by Tante Heelen abuse. It could be said that Inej has PTSD because of everything she suffered at Tante Heelen hand.

  Conclusion: Six of Crows is a fantastic fantasy novel, well worth the hype!

I immensely enjoyed reading Six of Crows.  This novel is exceptionally well written, a  real page- turner that also offered a lot of food for thought. The character development and the dynamics between the Crows is impressively put onto paper. Wonderfully written dialogues help to form connection between the characters and make the reader feel like he is there. I enjoyed the critique of corrupt merchant society that makes professional criminals look like the good guys. In a world where money rules, our protagonist do not lose their humanity. This book is not perfect. It suffers from some stereotypes and features cardboard villains. Nevertheless, in many ways Six of Crows is very close to perfectly. This novel kept me on my toes and I do not mean just by its plot. I was genuinely interested in the characters, and what happens to them. I was impressed by how detailed the world presented in this novel was. The worldbuilding is exquisite. 

“But all he could think of was Inej. She had to live. She had to have made it out of the Ice Court. And if she hadn't, then he had to live to rescue her.
The ache in his lungs was unbearable. He needed to tell her... what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn't pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he'd begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. He needed to thank her for his new hat.”

As always, thank you for reading and visiting. Have a lovely day!