Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo---In Which I Express My Ardent Love for My New Favorite Book!

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz 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...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

The hype. It is real.
For some weird reason I always find myself avoiding over-hyped books (Cinder, Throne of Glass, Emmy & Oliver, all those series!!!) and putting them off for a long time until I succumb to the temptation. And then. Slip, and I fall down the rabbit hole of raving and giggling and fangirling. Here are 2 possible reasons why I approach popular books with trepidation:

1. The fear that the book doesn’t live up to my sky-high expectations and leaves me in a disappointed slump of misery and broken dreams.

2. It’s absolutely worth it and leaves me in a glowing, disappointed slump of misery and broken dreams. Because how do I get over it!? How?

After that rather long preamble, I remember this post is about Six of Crows, for whom I can use hundreds of screaming, fangirling GIFs. The only regret I have is not jumping onto the bandwagon sooner.

Premise

A band of teenage gangsters (2), acrobat/assassin (1), magicians (2 *spoilers* One of them is hiding in plain sight!), sort-of-useful-but-useless-tag-along (1) and witch hunter (1) breaches a super-secure prison called the Ice Court to rescue a super-drug inventor/chemist--for a handsome monetary reward--lest he falls into the “wrong hands.” You had me at

“assassin” and “heist,” Leigh Bardugo.

Grisha—magicians who have the ability to manipulate matter and are divided into three main categories based on hteir powers Corporalki, Etherealki and Materialki. Etherealkiwork with basic elements like wind, fire, and water, while Corporalki work with the human body, either as Healers or as Heartrenders. Materialki deal with steel, fabrics, poisons, and glass. Like any race with special powers, Grishas are regarded as either protectors or threats, but no one can deny one fact: they are formidable no matter which side they're on. In Six of Crows, Grishas are experimented on because of their gift; people capture them and use on them a drug that turns them into weapons.

Characters

They are one of the best parts of the book, because there are so many of them, and each one is very vivid and lovable. Lets’ name them:

Kaz: the leader of the group. Grew up in the alleys pulling cons and running jobs (did I use that phrase right? Will Google) in the Barrel, the slum of Ketterdam. He also has a limp, uses a walking stick, and wears gloves all the time it’s legendary.

“Well,I'm the kind of bastard they only manufacture in the Barrel.”
Inej: the contortionist/assassin. She was kidnapped and forced into prostitution before Kaz’s gang redeemed her. She’s also known as the Spider because she can eavesdrop on the wall unseen. Also, she frequently sprouts proverbs from her home country like a wise little old woman.

Nina: the Heartrender, a magician who can manipulate the human body (make your heart rate slow to a stop or close your lungs) AND who’s sassy and brassy and loves cake.

"How about cake?"
"What about it?"
"I'm very keen on cake. I'm wondering if we can find some common ground."
Matthias: the gloomy witch hunter who’s brought up to hate magicians like pests. He’s also breaking into his own home because the prison is his old headquarter. Talk about conflicting interests!
Jesper: a comic side-kick who’s got some good lines and surprising secrets.

Waylan: the...meh. I tried to care about him but nope, I honestly didn’t even remember his name when I write this. He’s probably just there to make an even number.

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.” 

What I love most about these characters is that each one’s got a back story that goes WAAAY back. They also have a lot of personal struggles, fears, and desires that really develop and deepen their character growth. In the beginning of the book, to me they’re “Wow, criminal geniuses, assassins, magic! My body is ready!” But by the end of the book, most of the characters have grown into fleshed-out, realistic persons that are so much more than just “cool.”

“No mourners. No funerals. Among them, it passed for 'good luck.” 

Let’s also talk about the relationships~Some OTPs, eh?

Kaz + Inej

This is rather surprising, because both of them are their own individuals and don’t really need shipping. But. We start to see all those cute/awkward little moments that get you secretly shipping them and hoping Bardugo pull the strings further. They’re not IN YOUR FACE SMOOCHING AND LOVEY DOVEY, which is far better. I also enjoy the incompleteness of their relationship (I don’t think they’ve kissed...?) even by the end of the book, so I look forward to seeing how it develops further in the next book. 

“I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.” 

Nina + Matthias

This pairing is improbable but we see it coming. Nina is rescuing Matthias out of a prison at the beginning of the book (not the super-secure one but still), and Matthias is actively hating Nina for putting him there in the first place. If that sounds confusing, well, basically everything about their relationship is. They’re on the opposite sides of almost every spectrum: religion, personality, etc, and they’re enemies. They shouldn’t fall in love, but they did! *swoon* The conflict and misunderstandings and betrayal thrown in there add so much spice and drama to the ship. Also, the two are utterly adorable together, which makes up for the angst. I ship ‘em hard.

“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.”

Jesper + Waylan (?)

Is this even a pairing? I feel like Bardugo is trying to match-make everybody in this group and kind of threw the two together. I’d rather she leaves a few loose ends and not tie everything neatly together in the relationship department. For me, there’s no chemistry or even ship-able material between the two, which makes it a bit weird.

Pacing

It’s quite fast-paced and action-packed because Six of Crows is, after all, a heist book. The clock is ticking, and there’s no time for fluff. Some of the back stories may feel dragging to some people, but to me they’re just added bits of awesomeness where I can get to know the characters even better and understand their motives for their actions. Every part is just pushing the story towards its climax.

Setting

A fantasy land with kingdoms like Ketterdam (kind of an Amsterdam with traders and harbors), Shu Han (Asian/Chinese), Ravka (Russian), Fjerda (northern Europe), and Kerch (African), plus a handful of other small countries. The above parentheses are just my conjecture from little clues like last names, currency, and phrases in the books and may be entirely wrong.

I admire Bardugo’s treatment of diversity and culture in this book. She introduces a realistic diversity into her world without making any culture into a caricature. Each is pretty vibrant and believable. You do not get the feeling that the author is ticking off boxes: White? Check. Black? Check. Asian? Check. What else? Check. Her world just feel very organic and not forced at all.

Bardugo also tackles also some deep issues like human trafficking, racism, and drugs. Inej, for instance, is trafficked from her home country into the gritty life in the Barrel. Racism is also a huge part in the book, namely the struggles between Grishas and Fjerdans. Fjerdans regard Grishas as an inferior, even evil, race to be eliminated (sounds familiar?) and round them up to be “tried” at the Ice Court. This really brings depth to the character Matthias because to be in love with Nina, he has to overcome deep-seated prejudice and question the beliefs he was instilled into from birth. Drugs is also a quite terrifying factor in this book. The invention of a super-drug--one that can enhance Grisha powers and turn off their humanity, essentially making Grishas killing machines--changes the political landscape of the kingdoms. This drug leads to unethical experiments on Grishas and clashes among kingdoms as everyone tries to harness this new Grisha power for their own ends. These topics definitely brings more darkness to the story.

“The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.” 

Final thoughts

It’s been some time since I’ve read a fantasy book this satisfying. The beginning may not feel hypnotizing or addictive, but trust me, a few chapters in and you won’t be able to walk away. I was like “oh, I couldn’t care less about some callow guard’s mustache (yes) or his obsession with this Grisha.” And then the real cast comes on stage and I’m hooked. So, if you haven’t read Six of Crows already, do it now! I promise you’ll love it to pieces.

By the way, do you know Leigh Bardugo also wrote the Grisha trilogy? I had no idea until I read it: it's the same universe! You can catch up on those while waiting desperately for the next book in the Six of Crows series!