Fantasy is a genre I’ve rarely explored. Thanks to CBR, I grew more curious about it, so several years ago I went on a little spree and bought a pile of them. That’s how I came across Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.
Six of Crows reminded me of one of the only other fantasy books I’ve read, The Lies of Locke Lamora, in that it is a tale of a heist with a brilliant, complicated leader of a rough and tumble gang.
Kaz is the top lieutenant of the Dregs gang. He is one of those broken figures, both emotionally and physically. He is approached by a wealthy merchant to free a prisoner in an ice fortress, for which he will be paid a fortune. The prisoner knows how to make jurda parem, a highly addictive drug that ramps up the powers of the Grisha, who are magical beings. Kaz assembles a gang of six, including himself, to perform the near impossible heist.
Besides Kaz, there is Inej, also called the Wraith, who can stealthily climb everywhere and expertly wields knives. There is Nina, a Grisha who can manipulate people’s bodily functions, Matthias, a released prisoner, Jesper a sharpshooter, and Wylan, who can do demolitions.
I truly enjoyed this book. The characters had compelling back stories and skills that made them interesting to follow. The personalities were distinctive with their own unique voices. There was humor and lots of great twists and turns. The heist details were well done and ramped up the tension. I just had a lot of fun with this book.
I only had a few minor quibbles. The gang were all teenagers but definitely sounded and acted like they were in their twenties. Apparently this age issue had the publishers reissue the book without the ages mentioned. There was also a bit heavy handed use of the taciturn, longing male character. Both Kaz and Mathias were the epitome of closed off, hard masculinity, but underneath in love with two of the female characters. A bit of a tired trope, although I confess I am a sucker for it.
The ending was super satisfying and leads to the second book in the duology. I ordered the sequel immediately.
