Book #63 of 2019:
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (Nikolai Duology #1)
After five novels — and some short stories that I haven’t yet read — author Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse setting feels wonderfully lived-in. This latest volume is the start of a new duology in that Russian-flavored fantasy world, but it essentially reads as the next book of her original Shadow and Bone trilogy, returning to several of its heroes and picking up the plot of political intrigue and nations on the brink of war.
That’s a bit of a letdown for readers like myself who prefer the heist hijinks of the spinoff Six of Crows duology, but it appears for now that Bardugo’s interest is with the fate of the central country Ravka and not the mad ambitions of gentleman thief Kaz Brekker off on the edges of the map. Although this new storyline is technically a sequel to both of the earlier sub-series, it leans mostly on the first, with little that would confuse or majorly spoil anyone who skipped the Six of Crows books (beyond the sheer presence of Kaz’s former lieutenant Nina).
Still, this is a fun adventure strengthened further by the author’s typically excellent grasp on character. There are some slow-burning moments of tenderness that might blossom into true romance in the sequel, and some intriguing developments of our understanding of the Grisha magic. My biggest criticism is probably that the two main narrative threads barely intersect at all for now — and if we’re just following unrelated things in the Grishaverse, I’d really like to see what Dirtyhands and the rest of his crew are up to as well.
★★★★☆
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