Six of Crows
Ratings1,060
Average rating4.3
I don't generally read fantasy, and I am clearly older than the target audience for this, but it wasn't bad. It wasn't the best, either. Multiple times, I found myself surpised/intrigued/pleased with some turn of event, but it could have been 50 to 75 pages shorter. It sags a bit during the bulk of the narrative, although the POV switching does generally move the story along nicely.
Credit to the author, there were a few big surprises in here that I wanted to call bs on, but she laid the foundation for these things earlier and they were basically airtight. I never felt like any of them was merely for convenience, although they were convenient.
I'll probably read the next one, but I don't see myself digging into this world any deeper than that, aside from maybe giving the Shadow and Bone Netflix series a try.
solid fantasy fare w some p good worldbuilding and a fun heist plot. nothing to write home about but good fun
When I originally read this in 2020, I thought it was fun. I enjoyed it, so I gave it 3 stars. Oddly, I am becoming more fond of it in hindsight.
DNF @ 12%
so much info is being thrown at me and so many words are used that clearly come from the trilogy series that comes before this i think?? also i'm dutch so the use of dutch-ish words and names makes me cringe. i can't remember a single thing after anya (that chapter was okay but whatever happened after that was not for me) the guilt in me is building up for dnf'ing such a well loved book but either fantasy isn't for me or the writing style idk. i also hate how i switches between 19329468 povs like cmon... it felt way too chaotic and just didn't appeal to me at all sorry
I have no idea why, reading this book just gives me a massive headache. This hasn't happened with any other book I've read, but DNFed this book for that reason.
DNF - PG 15
Why?
I already see signs that I would agree with these reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2314441560 && https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3118985596 && https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1709710766
And, honestly, I am cracking up about the fact that the first time I tried to read this book, I DNF'd after 39 pages and this time I only made 15. (Original DNF ‘review' to follow.) But I can already see aspects in that first chapter that make me go ‘yeah, I'm not going to enjoy this book, am I?'
I wanted to give the book another go because everyone freaking loves it (everyone loves GoT and Lies of Locke Lamora, too, but I tried the latter and know that the former would be too unrelieved darkness for me and I'm just not there for that) so it shows up on every list I come across, it seems like. (As well as the fact that I was craving another good heist story after The Medici Heist - and this ain't it. Because it just ain't. AND because retrying a previously DNF'd book gave me one of my all time favorite books ever with Ninefox Gambit. So, yeah, hope springs eternal, but these springs are dried up.)
So, yeah, I can already tell that this book is going to be a lot more ‘dark and gritty' than I like reading and I am in the process of learning to trust myself again when books scream at me ‘this is not for you!' at the top of their lungs.
(Also it amuses me greatly that I first tried this book something like six years ago and my complaints then are pretty much exactly my complaints now...so... I'm glad to see I'm consistent, anyway.)
Original ‘Review'
DNF - PG 39
Why?
So, for me to like a book, I have to like the characters. Doesn't mean they have to be good people, or even commonly considered likable. But I have to like there. There has to be something there that makes me go ‘yeah, these people are okay.'
I was already worried at the first chapter, because the POV character is so unlikable. I mean, seriously, I don't remember the last time I was so thoroughly turned off a character to quickly. Then I meet Kaz and...things did not improve, not the least because I knew he was a main character, the main character. He is also a crispy little creep.
I like thieves. I don't like gang leaders and/or gang lieutenants. I do not like it when they do their level best to treat everyone like crap. I don't like it when the character defining introduction includes dead eyes. I also do not like it - nor can I understand it - when this seventeen year old boy basically takes over a gang and EVERYONE is terrified of him. Because he's a monster. Lol
Honestly, for me and the little I read, this is a less profanity riddled The Lies of Locke Lamora - including all the reasons I couldn't stand that book.
DNF at 27%
Lots of little things bugging me about this one, which kept hauling me out of the reading experience.
It's marketed as a YA book, but I think probably the only reason it's able to do that is because the main characters are (allegedly) teenagers. But almost none of them behave like teens would actually behave. They're in charge of gangs. They've spent years becoming hard in prison. They've been forced into brothels that they've then escaped from or been bought from. They have severe addictions. They are often homeless and/or defenseless. This is a VERY adult book, and I don't know how it was able to be marketed as for young audiences.
I'm not super big on fantasy anyway, but this walked the line between not enough fantasy and too much? Like, I wasn't sure why this couldn't be set in actual Amsterdam since that's what the framework was obviously laid on - there were not enough fantastical elements to make this worth setting in a fake world.
I probably would have kept reading because it was mildly entertaining, until I got to some rather gruesome violence, inflicted by one gang member on a rival gang member (which is where I put the book down; thanks, but I don't need to hear the logistics of removing one's eye from its socket).
what the hell what didn't i notice that i was reading the first book of a duology?
a great read overall! earlier as i was reading the last quarter left of the book, i was thinking how it had been anti-climactic so far. i wasn't that satisfied with the reveals and even matthias' complete turn of understanding about the rights and the wrongs of his and nina's belief didn't garner such satisfaction to me.
BUT the last 5% pulled me back in. i'm kinda annoyed that i was left with a cliffhanger but maybe it was my fault for missing the fact that this universe is a duology. yet, as a complete kaz × inej truther, i'm also so stroked about crooked kingdom.
Just finished “Six of Crows” and wow, what a ride! The ending really hit the spot with a perfect cliffhanger that has me itching to grab the second book right away.
The story follows six main characters, and honestly, they're what makes this book shine. While the author sometimes gets a bit heavy-handed with the details (like, okay, we get it!), the character dynamics really pull you in. Nina and Matthias's storyline? Absolutely captivating. Their relationship had me hooked from start to finish.
Now, about Kaz - bit of a mixed bag there. The author built him up as this brilliant mastermind early on, and while he did pull off some clever moves, it didn't quite live up to all that initial hype. As for Kaz and Inej's relationship... it's fine, but feels like something we've seen before. Nothing groundbreaking, but still enjoyable enough to keep you reading.
Jasper and Wylan were fun additions to the crew, though we didn't get as much time with them as the others. Would've loved to see more of their dynamic!
People keep comparing this to Ocean's 11 (which I haven't seen), and I can see why - the heist element is super engaging and felt fresh. My one gripe? Never really felt like our crew was in real danger. There was always this sense that they'd find a way out somehow, which took away some of the tension. The plot twists were decent, though if you're paying attention, you might see them coming. They felt a bit rushed - wish the author had built up the suspense more before the big reveals.
What really blew me away was the world-building. Every city, every location is described so vividly you can picture it in your mind. And this is coming from someone who usually isn't big on fantasy!
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Bottom Line: Despite some nitpicks, “Six of Crows” is a solid read with great characters and immersive world-building. Already planning to dive into the sequel!
It was fine, it just wasn't for me. i appreciate the really good writing in the book, and the concept was interesting. maybe if they aged the characters up a little bit to make it more interesting i'd like it, but it was boring
Kaz went from feral to outright insane, and I'm here for it.
Not sure what to rate it though
Book Club Pick #14
Definitely a fun time!!
This book was not perfect by any means, but it's very entertaining. The characters are the best part, by far. And the slow burn romances are fun.
One issue with the book, is that there's a lot of convenient saves. That didn't bother me too much, but they're definitely there.
I also didn't realize before picking up the book that it's YA. The only thing that really bothered me there were the ages of the main characters. I just don't think 17 year old are doing all this.
heist books are even better than heist movies because you pick your own montage music
Ok, I had to sleep on this for a night because I have feelings. The first 50% of the book DRAGGED. For everyone saying they read this book in 2 days, I applaud you. The first time I picked it up, I read 20 pages and put it back down for another time. This time it took me at least a week to finish. Once it got to the 65% point, I was able to fly through it because ACTION FINALLY STARTED.
There's SOOO much background on each character that the book almost feels like a character study – definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. The plot is very straightforward: succeed at heist. That's it. No twists, no building. Every chapter is in a different character's POV, and you get a flashback to their story and what makes them, them. I will say that helped me feel a connection to them by the end of the book, but do not expect to be in adventure mode the entire time. I went in with those expectations and came out disappointed in that regard.
Inej and Nina make the book. I obviously need to know what happens next and am hoping that now that all of the boring backstories are out of the way, we get more action in “Crooked Kingdom.” The first half of the book is their travels to the Ice Court, but the return journey took one page of the book as if barely any time had passed. WTF?
I rated this 4/5 because Leigh's writing is fantastic as always, and it really is a great story, but the pacing was just really off for me.
I haven't read Shadow and Bone, but I picked up Six of Crows as I'd seen numerous takes saying it's mature and complex for a YA book, written better, and can be enjoyed as a standalone. Not my usual bag, but I was keen to give it a try. Now I really wish I hadn't bothered. A fantasy heist pulled off by multiple POV characters is cool in theory, but its execution here is below pedestrian.
Everything about the book is undercooked. Bardugo can structure an inoffensive sentence, but there's little beauty or atmosphere to the writing. The worldbuilding is all vague aesthetics and no specifics – if you can call it “worldbuilding” to reskin some lazy cultural stereotypes and stick the letter “k” everywhere – not like a fully realised setting that's already three books' worth of lived-in. The ensemble cast is charmless, lacking depth beyond two or three traits each, all delivering the kind of dismal “banter” and artificial one-liners that make me want to grind my teeth to dust.
Flashbacks and POV-changes kill the pacing whenever the story threatens to get too exciting. So much of the book is long, navel-gazing flashbacks, the opposite of the urgency and suspense you'd want from a high-stakes criminal escapade. I started wishing the author had just told the damn thing in chronological order, because she was clearly more interested in backstories than she was in creating a coherent main storyline.
It's not a new observation, but I didn't buy the characters' ages and the total lack of age diversity among the main cast. One or two teen prodigies I could possibly suspend my disbelief for, but a whole squad of them? I see the issue is often glossed over with, “It's a tough world – they had to grow up fast! And it's fantasy, anyway!” but it's not the ages in themselves that are the issue. I easily believed that the teenagers in A Song of Ice and Fire were kids in a brutal world with trauma and burdens to which they had different, complicated responses. It can be done. I just didn't remotely believe it from the haphazard narration and characterisation choices in this book.
The teenagers in Six of Crows reminisce gravely about their dark pasts and long careers like people two or three times their age, to a degree that's borderline comical. Then, just as you're starting to think you could ignore their ages and imagine them as adults, there'll be some cringeworthy relationship drama that feels too childish for such hardened characters. All six of them are set up to be in perfectly contrived, chemistry-free couples, because what better time for romance than on a life-or-death stealth mission? Give me a break.
I stuck with the book to see if the central heist was pulled off in some ingenious way that justified the buildup and made clever use of the multiple POVs. It wasn't. It's just a series of annoying bungles and forced conveniences. My last bit of patience evaporated when a character was revealed, in the eleventh hour, to have secret Grisha-ex-machina powers that were never previously mentioned even in their own POV chapters. Bardugo passing up something that could've given real depth and intrigue to an underdeveloped character, in favour of springing that lousy “twist”, cemented for me that the writing wasn't just boring but bad. It somehow just got worse from there, ending in a tryhard flurry of attempted shocks and callbacks.
I really wanted to be impressed by this book, but it was a poorly crafted bore that never missed an opportunity to disappoint. I think it might even be the least enjoyable book I've ever read, and I'd have DNFed if it wasn't a buddy-read with friends (who found it equally soul-sucking). If Six of Crows is widely considered better than Shadow and Bone, the bar for the Grishaverse must be beneath the floor.
Oh my god. I'm doing the review now but it only took me some seconds to remember how DAZZLING AND AMAZING this book was for me. We have Kaz, and I realized that we are so common (traumas do not) and god, Jesper and Inej definitely have my heart, I cried in some moments when I was saying like no way with this book like "what's going on?". Perhaps is a trauma added in my list but I just can't express how this book was so special for me.
Admittedly it has been a while since I binge-read the Shadow and Bone trilogy but I still remember, vividly, how adamant everyone was that Six of Crows is just the better, more mature version that improves upon almost every aspect of Shadow and Bone. I was excited to read it and so I bought it all at once alongside the first trilogy and at the first book of the next duology King of Scars. Back then, I didn't get around to reading this book but I did enjoy the first three. I found the Darkling to be a terrible name for a villain and every magic-user being called Greg was weird but funny.
Six of Crows disappointed me, greatly. For the first few hundred pages I've kept wondering just why but come the end of the second third it hit me - Six of Crows is an anime! There's Kaz Brekker, the criminal prodigy whom all fear, and Inej the Wraith who will stab and murder with supreme skill, and Jesper the Sharpshooter, and Nina a powerful Grisha, and Wylan the Demolitionist, and Matthias the SS Soldier Witch-Hunter.
Who would have thought that these seasoned veterans are all no older than 19. Kaz, the feared demon of the criminal world, is seventeen years old. There was no reason to make their ages so explicit. It did nothing for the plot besides breaking any sort of suspension of disbelief one might have. Kaz, from the first few paragraphs of his story, was at least in his late twenties by the way his point of view was presented. I could understand twenty-three but seventeen is too low. It does not work. The murderous Wraith is sixteen because she's just so special.
Besides being literal children they are all quite horrible people and no amount of sad backstory will make that okay.
I've come across people praising the worldbuilding and same as with the characters, I am not sure what kind of mass hallucination has most of the readership experienced but this ain't it. It's anime, again. The north is full of very gruff and evil people who love ice and everything with cold because obviously they do. It's so generic in so many ways and with the focus being much less on the powers of the Grisha that somewhat interesting aspect is completely gone.
The plot itself is predictable and not that engaging. Again, the anime-esque nature of the book shows with scenes upon scenes that come seemingly randomly recounting the POV character's backstory. I'm sure good 15% of the book are these sections, perhaps even more. Couldn't we have Kaz tell his sad backstory to Inej instead of being subjugated to the plot coming to a stop just to throw it on us? Anime, pure and simple.
I will not be reading The Crooked Kingdom.
Once you get past all the names thrown at you, the story falls into place. Unanswered questions are appropriately teased or swiftly answered depending on the foreshadowing or context. The characters all have their own motivations and feel compelling. They're quippy and funny to boot, I love the banter. I still find a bunch of 15-18 year olds scheming and killing a bit too surreal at times so I try to forget their ages.
I wasn't expecting too much romance but was pleasantly surprised. One of the couples already had prior history so this pairing made sense. Without getting into spoilers, other romantic entanglements I'm either unconvinced or pleasantly surprised.
I loved reading the Shadow & Bone series, and I was optimistic for this spinoff in the same world.
I almost didn’t finish it, but I’m glad I pushed through. The beginning starts fine, but then it got boring, which isn’t what you’d expect from a heist book.
Once the heist was happening, though, it was riveting. I hope that the next book in the duo doesn’t have the same issue.
