Synopsis:
Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Let's get something straight right off the bat: this is the sequel to
both the Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows duology, which means you need to read the Grisha trilogy before reading this. The Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows duology both served as entry points into Leigh Bardugo's world, and King of Scars is a marriage of both - the politics and mythology of the Grish trilogy and the heist and spywork of the Six of Crows duology.
I didn't realize how badly I missed the Grishaverse until I started reading. I missed this world and these characters like crazy! Being back in Ravka with so many familiar faces really highlights how much Bardugo has grown as a writer and a storyteller since the Grisha trilogy. The Grisha trilogy will always have a special place in my heart for being my favorite books when I was a teenager, but they haven't aged well. King of Scars takes everything that was good about the Grisha trilogy - the mythology, the politics, and the world-building - and makes it better.
From what people have said, I expected Nina's story to feel more disconnected from Nikolai and Zoya's, but Bardugo did an excellent job of weaving Nina's story and the spirit of the Six of Crows duology into Nikolai and Zoya's stories without compromising either narrative. While I think the abrupt switch in POVs can be a bit jarring at times, I think Nina's story complements Nikolai's and Zoya's stories well.
However, I do think Nikolai's story was buried by Nina's and Zoya's. For a duology focused on Nikolai, I felt Nina's and Zoya's chapters were more engaging, and even Isaak's chapters filled me with a greater sense of excitement than Nikolai's did. Have I just fallen out of love with Nikolai? He was my favorite character when I read the Grisha trilogy as a teen, but since revisiting it, I found myself more interested in the Darkling and Genya, even Alina herself. I wonder if, because I loved Nikolai so much in the past, his character just isn't as compelling to me.
My least favorite part of King of Scars was by far the slow pacing. The beginning, especially the first 100 pages or so, was incredibly slow. I felt very similarly about Six of Crows, so it may just be how Bardugo will write her books from now on, by sacrificing pacing in exchange for a more solid set-up. But once the plot did pick up, oh MAN did it pick up.
So let's talk about that ending. Without getting into spoiler territory, the ending didn't really surprise me? I expected to be SHOOK over the ending, but there was so much foreshadowing at it in the last 200 pages of the book that it really came as no surprise at all. I think it's definitely a questionable choice, however, especially in how it compromises the original ending of the Grisha trilogy. It makes the Grisha trilogy feel a lot more like "so what?" and that's kind of disappointing. If there hadn't been so many references to the Grisha trilogy in this novel, I would've suspected Bardugo was trying to divorce the Grisha trilogy from the family and have us forget about her.
Overall, I didn't love this novel, but enjoyed it a lot nonetheless and am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
I didn't realize how badly I missed the Grishaverse until I started reading. I missed this world and these characters like crazy! Being back in Ravka with so many familiar faces really highlights how much Bardugo has grown as a writer and a storyteller since the Grisha trilogy. The Grisha trilogy will always have a special place in my heart for being my favorite books when I was a teenager, but they haven't aged well. King of Scars takes everything that was good about the Grisha trilogy - the mythology, the politics, and the world-building - and makes it better.
From what people have said, I expected Nina's story to feel more disconnected from Nikolai and Zoya's, but Bardugo did an excellent job of weaving Nina's story and the spirit of the Six of Crows duology into Nikolai and Zoya's stories without compromising either narrative. While I think the abrupt switch in POVs can be a bit jarring at times, I think Nina's story complements Nikolai's and Zoya's stories well.
However, I do think Nikolai's story was buried by Nina's and Zoya's. For a duology focused on Nikolai, I felt Nina's and Zoya's chapters were more engaging, and even Isaak's chapters filled me with a greater sense of excitement than Nikolai's did. Have I just fallen out of love with Nikolai? He was my favorite character when I read the Grisha trilogy as a teen, but since revisiting it, I found myself more interested in the Darkling and Genya, even Alina herself. I wonder if, because I loved Nikolai so much in the past, his character just isn't as compelling to me.
My least favorite part of King of Scars was by far the slow pacing. The beginning, especially the first 100 pages or so, was incredibly slow. I felt very similarly about Six of Crows, so it may just be how Bardugo will write her books from now on, by sacrificing pacing in exchange for a more solid set-up. But once the plot did pick up, oh MAN did it pick up.
So let's talk about that ending. Without getting into spoiler territory, the ending didn't really surprise me? I expected to be SHOOK over the ending, but there was so much foreshadowing at it in the last 200 pages of the book that it really came as no surprise at all. I think it's definitely a questionable choice, however, especially in how it compromises the original ending of the Grisha trilogy. It makes the Grisha trilogy feel a lot more like "so what?" and that's kind of disappointing. If there hadn't been so many references to the Grisha trilogy in this novel, I would've suspected Bardugo was trying to divorce the Grisha trilogy from the family and have us forget about her.
Overall, I didn't love this novel, but enjoyed it a lot nonetheless and am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
No comments:
Post a Comment