Review: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

13/11/22 

I used to be a fantasy junkie - diving into fictional worlds was my obsession (and often necessity to survive reality). Then life and time and stuff happened and there was not so much space for it anymore. But my love for it was still strong and so the “tbr” list of fantasy books was getting longer and longer and now there are so many of them, that I may go crazy. But instead, I finally took a deep breath, put the other genres away for a bit and reached for fantasy - and not just any fantasy. For the one that is all over my feed and bookstores. And I was fully aware that that's not so good, because it creates expectations, but the book had the opportunity to prove itself. And well…

… it did. 

Even though I was not feeling it from the beginning. It was a bit confusing and a little too much. I don't usually have a problem with names, but there were a lot of new names for everything, not just people. The whole world, the city, the parts of it, gangs, its members, our protagonists, the magicians and all their orders (this was my first Grisha book). My head may have hurted a little, which doesn't happen usually, but it was late at night and I was ready to dive into some fictional world and instead got an encyclopaedia thrown into my face. I didn't create much of a bond with the characters at first and just… you know, don't take me wrong, it was nice, I was interested, but it wasn't the best first date I had with a book. But, as it sometimes happens, as we got to know each other, meeting every night, it got better. And the characters became the driving force for the whole thing. The worldbuilding is great, the story is good, but those characters… THOSE CHARACTERS. They could literally be fishing the whole book and I would like it the same probably.  

They are very diverse, both in character and appearance, which seemed very natural and their dynamics were just perfect. If I'm a basic bitch in something, it's always going for the dark guy that borders with the villain. The only exception is if there's a blonde Northman that has something to do with wolves and here there was both of them. It's so hard to pick a favourite from them all and I won't, but I will say - I lived for Nina and Matthias. I loved them to death and I could read a trilogy just about them, but then I would also miss all the others that were amazing. What I really, really appreciate though, is that there are two main women and guess what. They are friends, from the beginning till the end, no fighting about men or talking about which one is more hot, they are not enemies even for a second, just completely supporting one another and I could actually cry about that, like… thank you. Just thank you. 

It got to a point when I just couldn't put the book down. And it may seem that it was because of the story and action, because there was so much of it, but the main reason was, again, the characters. I just wanted to read another interaction and then another and I could spend my life with them. People usually complain about things being slow, but I'm the opposite - I often prefer them that way and so what I've enjoyed the most were the calmer passages where you got to know some of their stories and their backgrounds and it was all very interesting and just… yes. I love them all, the whole squad and I honestly don't even care what I'm reading about as long as they are in it. That about sums it up for me. (More than two months later and I still think about them often. They're worth it.)

My only problem with them, as always, was the age. I know it highlights the lives they live and fates they had to suffer at such a young age, and yes, those things also make you more mature, but there is no way I can believe that that many characters at once can look mature and act mature and be the absolute top in their skills. No. Way. So in my head, they are all over twenty.

Anyway, my restored reading of the fantasy genre was a success (for now) and I'm very curious what the next one will bring.