Book Review: Six of Crows

If you are looking for a rugged fantasy, this book is for you. Six of Crows by critically acclaimed author Leigh Bardugo follows a conniving crew, Kaz Brekker, Jesper Fajey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, and Inej Ghafa, who thieve their way through the city of slums: Ketterdam. Throughout the novel the reader is subject to the struggles each character faces, while attempting to free scientist Bo Yul-Bayur, being held captive in the foreign country of Fjerda and its impenetrable Ice Court. Author Leigh Bardugo explores multiple points of view, from each of the six main characters, allowing the reader to uncover, not only the fight they face with crime lord, Pekka Rollins, and the Fjerdans, but with themselves. By the book’s end, these characters were not just a crew, but a family, who embrace their battle scars as a part of who they are.

For me, Six of Crows is an easy five star read, capturing various influences and genres that blend to create, simply, a good book. There is romance, mystery, crime, fantasy, a bit of everything for everyone. Bardugo has created an intricate and individual world of its own, which encapsulates the reader. If you wish to dive deeper into Bardugo’s fantastical world, you can check out the rest of her novels within the Grishaverse, including the Shadow and Bone trilogy, King of Scars duology, and the second Six of Crows book: Crooked Kingdom. Crooked Kingdom takes place almost immediately after the events of Six of Crows, as Kaz and the crew set out to destroy wealthy merchant Jan Van Eck, an influential figure in many of the crew members’ lives. All which have recently been adapted into a Netflix series: Shadow and Bone.