Review: Six of Crows
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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ketterdam feels like a dirty combination of foggy canals and shady deals, Amsterdam-style but with an added layer of magic.
I liked how Bardugo develops the Grisha system, with its orders of Corporalki and Etherealki giving each character their own special twist in the big plan.
Kaz is this always-three-steps-ahead commander with his limp and his gloves that never, ever leave his hands, which conceal levels of his own trauma in his past that make his schemes feel personal. Inej brings this wordless strength and agility, while Jesper's quick mind conceals his gambling compulsion and Grisha abilities. Nina's forward charm and Heartrender powers illuminate moments with her passion for food and blazing dedication, set against Matthias' repressed Fjerdan background and tormented inner life.
Bardugo switches between their POVs, and drops flashbacks to reveal their histories a little bit at a time, which I thinnk is a great way of making us care about why they act the way they do. Her descriptions help us view and feel the energy of the Ice Court or the bustling Barrel quite easily, and the dialogue has constant humour and edge.
On the flip side, the ages of these characters just don't sit right; all that knowledge and backstories feel way beyond what teenagers could pull off. And despite all its glamour, it relies on old familiar heist conventions without doing anything to enhance the fantasy formula.
Still, the character depths and how their pasts shape the group dynamics make it worth the read.