Entry tags:
Review of Crows
Hey,
I just finished up Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. It had pretty much everything I want in these kinds of stories, but it really clunked out in the end.
This is fantasy heist novel which takes its cues from The Lies of Locke Lamora and then promptly does its own thing. The novel starts off in Ketterdam an island city-state mostly interested in making money any way it can. Among the criminally-minded businessmen there's no one more infamous than Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker. He's the power behind the throne of the street gang known as the Dregs.
He's made an offer he can't refuse. The world contains people with magic/psychic abilities called Grisha. There are several types and each focuses on a different power -- some control an element, some can harm or heal and others can make stuff. They are powerful, but are limited in their fine control. A scientist has developed a drug that greatly amplifies the power of Grisha allowing them to do far more than they normally could. The only problem is that a.) they become hopelessly addicted and b.) continued use kills them. Still, anyone who has the formula for the drug will wield enormous power so capturing the scientist is of vital interest to Ketterdam.
The only problem is that the scientist is currently being held in an impregnable fortress in the Kingdom of Fjerdan where they hate Grisha with a passion. So Kaz and his team won't have long to get there, find the man and spirit him away. So there follows a daring break-in and escape.
Like I say, there's a lot here to like. The world-building is solid even if the political entities are mostly historical analogs, but the magic seems pretty well thought-through. The crew Kaz assembles is a diverse mix of people and I believe it passes the Bechdel test. The actual caper itself is pretty much a mix of cunning plans, unexpected surprises, and brilliant improvisations. Everyone on the crew gets a solid does of spotlight time and their interactions are fun.
But there are some pieces that really undercut the book for me. First off, Kaz is the oldest person in the crew and he's only eighteen. It's possible this is a YA book and if that's the case I get it, but that's why I don't read much YA fiction. Could there be an 18 year-old criminal genius who can assemble a team and infiltrate a royal fortress? Sure, but everyone on this team is a young teen-ager and all of them are pretty skilled specialists of one kind or another. It's just a huge stretch to think these are the best people to send on this mission.
The larger problem is that the ending is built to support a sequel and it's terribly constructed. There's this huge bait-and-switch at the end which is kind of to be expected but it's incredibly unsatisfying.
Like I say, there's a lot of good stuff here and if you're into YA or fantasy crime fiction you might really like this, but it really fell flat for me at the end so I'm unlikely to carry on with the series.
later
Tom
I just finished up Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. It had pretty much everything I want in these kinds of stories, but it really clunked out in the end.
This is fantasy heist novel which takes its cues from The Lies of Locke Lamora and then promptly does its own thing. The novel starts off in Ketterdam an island city-state mostly interested in making money any way it can. Among the criminally-minded businessmen there's no one more infamous than Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker. He's the power behind the throne of the street gang known as the Dregs.
He's made an offer he can't refuse. The world contains people with magic/psychic abilities called Grisha. There are several types and each focuses on a different power -- some control an element, some can harm or heal and others can make stuff. They are powerful, but are limited in their fine control. A scientist has developed a drug that greatly amplifies the power of Grisha allowing them to do far more than they normally could. The only problem is that a.) they become hopelessly addicted and b.) continued use kills them. Still, anyone who has the formula for the drug will wield enormous power so capturing the scientist is of vital interest to Ketterdam.
The only problem is that the scientist is currently being held in an impregnable fortress in the Kingdom of Fjerdan where they hate Grisha with a passion. So Kaz and his team won't have long to get there, find the man and spirit him away. So there follows a daring break-in and escape.
Like I say, there's a lot here to like. The world-building is solid even if the political entities are mostly historical analogs, but the magic seems pretty well thought-through. The crew Kaz assembles is a diverse mix of people and I believe it passes the Bechdel test. The actual caper itself is pretty much a mix of cunning plans, unexpected surprises, and brilliant improvisations. Everyone on the crew gets a solid does of spotlight time and their interactions are fun.
But there are some pieces that really undercut the book for me. First off, Kaz is the oldest person in the crew and he's only eighteen. It's possible this is a YA book and if that's the case I get it, but that's why I don't read much YA fiction. Could there be an 18 year-old criminal genius who can assemble a team and infiltrate a royal fortress? Sure, but everyone on this team is a young teen-ager and all of them are pretty skilled specialists of one kind or another. It's just a huge stretch to think these are the best people to send on this mission.
The larger problem is that the ending is built to support a sequel and it's terribly constructed. There's this huge bait-and-switch at the end which is kind of to be expected but it's incredibly unsatisfying.
Like I say, there's a lot of good stuff here and if you're into YA or fantasy crime fiction you might really like this, but it really fell flat for me at the end so I'm unlikely to carry on with the series.
later
Tom