Six of Crows takes place in a city named Ketterdam, a bustling port city famous for its pleasure houses and gambling. It's also a hub for organized crime, with several rival gangs operating out of their various territories around the city. One of these gangs, the Dregs, is led by a dark, moody young man named Kaz Brekker. Kaz is infamous for being ruthless in pursuit of fortune, so when a highly lucrative job opportunity falls into his lap, he can't help but accept it. The payout is unreal, but the job is incredibly dangerous; it's the kind of mission that most would consider to be impossible. Kaz is determined to pull it off however, so he puts together a team that he believes is up to the task.
His crew consists of a variety of disreputable characters. First is Inej, a talented acrobat and spy. She can climb any wall and move so silently that others have dubbed her "The Wraith." Next is Jesper, a sharpshooter with incredible accuracy and aim. There's also Nina, a Grisha heartrender that is also a wonderful and sneaky actress, and Matthias, a former soldier with valuable military knowledge. Finally, there is Wylan, the estranged son of a wealthy merchant that also happens to be an explosives expert. Together, this group must figure out a way to pull off the most difficult and deadly job imaginable, which is, of course, complicated with many twists and turns along the way.
I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I read the Shadow and Bone series over the course of the last month, and enjoyed it well enough, but it wasn't a special favorite for me or anything. I was expecting to feel similarly to Six of Crows as I did to the other books set within this universe. However, I thought this was phenomenal. I think it's far superior to the original series and is a truly good adventure story.
The greatest strength of the novel for me was the characters. Each of them had distinct personalities and complex motivations. Their relationships to each other were complicated and interesting to dissect. Their backstories were detailed and provided context for their behavior and decisions. I felt like I got to know them better and better as the story progressed and I actually cared about them and wanted them to succeed. The narration of the story hopped around from person to person between chapters, and each perspective was interesting to read about. There were no characters that were boring or that I wasn't interested in hearing from. This is a rare feat in young adult fantasy, where I'm usually way more into one perspective over the others. Everyone was interesting here. The group was diverse as well, with different ethnicities, religions, and sexualities represented. That was another nice touch that I don't often see in fantasies.
The story itself was interesting too. The job the characters are on is a prison break type of scenario, and it was tense at all the right moments. The twists in the story were well-crafted, making for lots of suspense throughout the book and the action scenes were easy to follow and exciting. At 465 pages, this is a fairly long read, but it never felt slow to me. The pacing was good and each element of the plot felt necessary. This wasn't just about stealing or money either. Bardugo did a good job of inserting larger, weightier themes into the text that make the reader think deeply about all sorts of traumas and injustices in the world. I can't really think of any complaints or criticisms to bring up. Six of Crows was simply a very good read, especially considering how "meh" I felt about the first series set in this universe.
This is the first book in a duology, and it ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. I am actually looking forward to picking up the second book, Crooked Kingdom, next and seeing how the story ends. It's been a while since I read a fantasy that I truly liked a lot. It was nice to find a story I could get lost in. This book was definitely worth the time.
Challenge Tally
Clear the Shelves 2021: 15/50 (keep)
Total Books Read in 2021: 31
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