Some of you may be a little tired of me shoving the praises of one Leigh Bardugo down your throat…
Tough shit, buckle up fuckers! WE RIDE AGAIN!
This final (canonical) chapter of the Grishaverse Story, which I have managed to start and finish in less than 13 months, did what I have come to expect from a Bardugo work:
It broke my heart and reaffirmed my belief that there are good things in the world.
Now.
I say I have come to expect these core experiences from Bardugo’s writing – yet somehow this shit still takes me by surprise.
King of Scars, and Rule of Wolves is another short step into the future after the original trilogy (see Shadow and Bone Trilogy Review).
PAUSE
Super quick logistical recap for you;
Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising:
The original Grishaverse trilogy, following the story of Alina Starkov a girl plucked from obscurity after her ability to summon the light is discovered.
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom:
The second venture into the Grishaverse, in a whole new part of the world.
Kaz Brekker – crazy, crippled and a criminal mastermind all at the age of 17.
When offered a job he can’t refuse, Kaz assembles the ultimate crew of misfits to try and pull off one impossible heist.
These two books are set (I think) approximately 2(ish) years after the original trilogy ends. We hear about the events of the first story and even meet a few familiar faces in passing.
This brings us to the focus of this review:
King of Scars and Rule of Wolves:
In this third instalment, we return to Alina’s country of Ravka, this time approximately three/four years after the end of Alina’s story and about a year or so after the Six of Crows duology.
Newly crowned King of Ravka, Nikolai Lantsov is fighting five battles at once and seems to be losing them all.
The Shu are encroaching from one side. To the North, Fjerda marches ever closer to the Ravkan border.
The scars of Ravka’s last war are perhaps most visible in its new King and Nikolai must contend with the Demon inside as well as the threats to his country, both foreign and domestic.
I say domestic because something dark is happening within Ravka itself.
The Fold – the dark void of monsters that split the country in two for centuries was vanquished by Alina Starkov.
But the land has not healed as all had hoped and now a mysterious and deadly bright ravages the fields and towns – and it all seems to be spreading from the place where the Fold once lay.
However, Nikolai does not have to fight alone.
General Zoya Nazyalensky, loyal, frighteningly fierce and probably the strongest Grisha left alive – she is determined not to let Ravka’s dark history be its downfall – especially as she still feels a sense of deep guilt and responsibility.
Nina Zenik – our favourite broken Heart-render, who we first met in Kaz Brekker’s crew in Six of Crows. Still mourning her own losses and coming to terms with the crippling effects of an addiction to a dangerous chemical weapon, Nina is back in Ravka’s service as a spy in their greatest threat and enemy, the country of Fjerda. She must do what she can to stop a war, without losing herself to vengeance during the process.
And of course, there are my personal favourites, Genya Saffin and David Kostyk. More on them later.
I mean, there are only so many times I can burst blood vessels expressing the virtues of this literary universe and its associated works.
Bardugo is a master of her craft. Plot, continuous world-building and the effortless progression of characters just make the reading of the Grishaverse so enjoyable and easy to read.
And I don’t mean ‘easy’ as in simple or simplistic – I just mean that I don’t have to strain my mind to get the full experience of the books.
Now, here is where I may shock the ones who know me best…
I have one MASSIVE complaint about this particular duology. Leigh Bardugo kills off probably THE MOST autistically-coded character I have ever read and she does it without warning and in the most heart-breaking way.
I took and still take that as a personal offence AND a hate crime.
Miss Bardugo you will be hearing from my attorneys.
It really was a joy finishing this particular series but I’m also not ready to accept its over – as pathetic as it sounds, it feels like I’ve lost a friend.
BUT! There are other ways to stay in this wonderful universe. Bardugo has also produced accompanying works – literature featured in the story itself, stories from different perspectives and a graphic novel origin story for one familiar face.
So maybe my friend isn’t too far gone just yet…
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