Itll Be Nice Working With Proper Villains Again

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Not gonna lie, I first picked up this book based purely on the cover and those gorgeous blackness edges:

Seriously, it'due south 1 of the most cute books I've seen in a while.  But every time I picked it upward in shop, I hesitated to buy it based on the fact that it's set in the aforementioned world every bit Bardugo's previous Grisha trilogy, which I oasis't read however.  And then instead I bought Shadow and Bone – the first in that serial and recommended by pretty much the Unabridged cyberspace.  And information technology was…ok?  I didn't hate it, but for some reason it just didn't captivate me.  Something about the main character, perchance.  BUT, the world of the Grisha was admittedly fascinating, so I finally caved and bought Six of Crows.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international merchandise where anything tin be had for the right price―and no one knows that amend than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could brand him rich beyond his wildest dreams. Just he can't pull it off solitary.…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who tin can't walk abroad from a wager.

A delinquent with a privileged past.

A spy known every bit the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a souvenir for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the simply thing that might stand between the world and destruction–if they don't kill each other first.

(From Amazon)

If you have read any other reviews for this book, information technology's pretty much guaranteed they all compared it to Body of water's 11, and as much as I want to be a special snowflake, I'one thousand going to have to ditto that comparison.  The story revolves around a heist – a master thief assembling a crack team of criminals to steal something from a super secure location that'due south never been breached before, in commutation for lots and lots of money.

As with any expert heist story, information technology'southward all about the squad.  An uneasy alliance between thieves, murderers, and misfits, each with their own motives and very detail set of skills…

Our ringleader here is Kaz Brekker: loftier-ranking member of the gang "The Dregs", nicknamed "Dirtyhands", and known for his ruthlessness.  He's the all-time thief in the Butt (basically the slums in the city of Ketterdam), and has a gift for planning.  When we first encounter Kaz, he'south on his way to a parlay with a rival gang, where they try an ambush.  It turns out Kaz is 1 leap ahead of the hitmen, and he skillfully turns the tables on the thugs.  Information technology'southward an excellent introduction to the graphic symbol, letting the reader know exactly how close he plays things to the chest, not fifty-fifty telling his second-in-control what was going to go downward.  Throughout the novel, nosotros also go to learn more about Kaz, how he became "Dirtyhands", and what drives his desire for coin and revenge.

Other members of the Dregs recruited for this job include Jesper Fahey, a sassy sharpshooter with a gambling problem, and Wylan Van Eck, a newbie to the Barrel, who'due south along for his skill with explosives as well every bit his value every bit a earnest.  These two guys provide near of the comic relief, non to mention some excellent flirty banter.

Added to the mix is Nina Zenik, a gorgeous Heartrender who works in the Barrel and provides Kaz with information on her rich clients.  Nina is a erstwhile soldier from Ravka, but she's biding her time in Ketterdam in the hopes of freeing the man she sent to prison.  Which brings united states to Matthias Helvar; when nosotros first encounter the Fjerdan Grisha-hunter, the gang is breaking him out of prison house in the hopes of gaining his insider knowledge of the Water ice Courtroom.  However, Matthias is less than thrilled to encounter Nina, so now the gang has to convince him not to kill her on the way due north.

Nina and Matthias are the will-they-won't-they of the book, but it's washed in a very understated manner that I appreciated.  Both characters have potent reasons to hate the other, only some added history and sexual tension makes it harder for them to resist the attraction.  There's plenty of angst, merely at to the lowest degree it's valid and, praise the YA gods, there's no stupid love triangle.

Last just definitely not least, my favourite character, Inej Ghafa.  Known throughout the Barrel every bit "The Wraith", this diminutive erstwhile-acrobat was taken from her circus family and sold into slavery, forced to piece of work in a pleasance house for those with a taste for the exotic until she offered to help Kaz and he bought her freedom.  Now Inej is a silent shadow, discovering the secrets of Ketterdam and reporting them to Kaz for his own employ (usually blackmail).  This diminutive badass is known for her insane climbing skills and her mortiferous knives, but I plant her to exist the most human being of the bunch.  Her growing friendship with Nina as well provided some excellent daughter-ability moments.

The outset few chapters were a bit hard to get into, as they were pretty much a giant info-dump.  It might be easier for fans of her previous work to follow along as Bardugo sets up the world in the aftermath of the Grisha war, but for a newbie like me it was a lot to have in.  Once Kaz gets the task offer though, things selection up speed.  My favourite affair about this volume was the varying third-person viewpoints throughout.  Each member of the team, save Wylan, gets their ain chapters, which allows for character motivations and backstories to be revealed flake by scrap, instead of just dumped on the reader at the beginning.  It was especially helpful with Nina and Matthias, as it provides the perspectives of both characters every bit they contend whether to kill each other or brand out.  Bardugo manages to give each character their ain way and voice, while keeping the tone of book cohesive.  Besides, kudos to the author for putting together such a diverseness of characters – the cultures may be unique to this world, but the physical descriptions leave no doubt as to the variety of the grouping.

As for the heist itself, this is mainly where the Body of water's Eleven comparison comes in, as Bardugo uses the same type of framework to reveal the details of the job as they happen, as opposed to laying out the entire plan for the reader.  This allows the suspense to build, considering you tin can never be certain if things have actually gone to shit or if everything is just going according to Kaz's main plan.

SPOILER-ISH Alert:

The book ends on a cliffhanger, and then it's best to only get alee and purchase the sequel, Crooked Kingdom, if you're enjoying this one.

Tl;dr: I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see what kind of stuff this coiffure pulls off in the sequel.

Check out Cannonball Read for more reviews.

carsoncousitony.blogspot.com

Source: https://kendraverse.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/it-will-be-nice-working-with-proper-villains-again/

Share this post