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A review by eesh25
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
King of Scars is the newest addition to the Grishaverse. And if you don't know what the Grishaverse is, then I suggest moving away from this book and going to Shadow and Bone, which is the first book in the first series set in this universe. Because while I'm not sure what the official description says—maybe this book is supposed to work as a standalone as well—but I can say that I don't think it'll make much sense, or have as much of an impact, if you haven't read the previous five books, especially the first three. If you have read them, then you're good to go.
This book tells the story of Nikolai and Zoya, both of whom you probably already know from the previous series', They're a bit older now, and are joined by some other old characters. This book is in third person and four characters get a POV, though in one's case, it's because more because of the story than the characters himself. The other three are Nikolai, Zoya and Nina.
By this point, you must be more or less familiar with the different nations and their stances on Grisha. Most importantly, with Fierda's stance on Grisha, which is kill-'em-all. And the purpose of this series has always been to change that—for Grisha to have an equal place in the world. This time though, things are more political. Nikolai is the king, after all, and he's desperately trying to keep Ravka afloat through all the financial crises, tragedies, enemies and debts. So when the monster, the one that the Darkling turned him into, starts making an appearance at nighttime with a thirst for blood, it's a big problem.
Nikolai needs to find a cure for his problem-with-wings-and-claws and quick, before anyone outside the trusted circle finds out. And that's the general plot. There's other stuff going on but most of it is interrelated so you don't feel like you're trying to balance too many plots. And both Nikolai and Zoya are familiar and likable characters. Zoya, especially, I love. She has a dry, lethal sense of humour and she kicks so much ass. She also doesn't mince her words so any interaction with her is bound to be fun.
Nikolai, the poor guy, isn't as fun as he used to be. Some of his charm has faded and, reading from his perspective, it's easy to understand why. You finally get to see how current and past events effect him and just how much pressure he's in to make sure Ravka doesn't fall apart. He's still great though.
Then we have Nina. I didn't enjoy her plot-line as much. You know how I said most of the plots were interrelated. Well, Nina's seems like it isn't. It's still important and I really like Nina, but not only is she in a different country (Fjerda), her story is separate from all the others so whenever we get to one of her chapters, it's a little strange and I was honestly waiting to go back to the main story. And her perspective is so sad too... But maybe that's just me and you'll feel differently.
Another little issue I had is that the novel feels like a set-up book. And yeah, that's how series usually work, but each installment is also supposed to have a plot that gets resolved in that book alone. And this novel didn't have that. Nothing really got solved. But it did establish the characters really well. And if that was the purpose, then it did a great job.
Last but not least, I'm conflicted about the ending (like, the last two pages). I'm pretty sure most people will love it and it definitely brings a twist, but it felt like a predictable move, considering I was hoping it's something the author wouldn't do. But you can't really judge the direction the author will take it from two pages and I'm hopeful about the next book. There are a lot of things up in the air and I have no clue what's gonna happen. But I'm excited about it.
And that's why I would definitely recommend checking this book out. It's well-written, as can be expected from Leigh Bardugo, it has great characters and it's interesting despite being somewhat long. Plus it's only a two-book series so the resolution isn't far off. Duologies are so great, aren't they?
This book tells the story of Nikolai and Zoya, both of whom you probably already know from the previous series', They're a bit older now, and are joined by some other old characters. This book is in third person and four characters get a POV, though in one's case, it's because more because of the story than the characters himself. The other three are Nikolai, Zoya and Nina.
By this point, you must be more or less familiar with the different nations and their stances on Grisha. Most importantly, with Fierda's stance on Grisha, which is kill-'em-all. And the purpose of this series has always been to change that—for Grisha to have an equal place in the world. This time though, things are more political. Nikolai is the king, after all, and he's desperately trying to keep Ravka afloat through all the financial crises, tragedies, enemies and debts. So when the monster, the one that the Darkling turned him into, starts making an appearance at nighttime with a thirst for blood, it's a big problem.
Nikolai needs to find a cure for his problem-with-wings-and-claws and quick, before anyone outside the trusted circle finds out. And that's the general plot. There's other stuff going on but most of it is interrelated so you don't feel like you're trying to balance too many plots. And both Nikolai and Zoya are familiar and likable characters. Zoya, especially, I love. She has a dry, lethal sense of humour and she kicks so much ass. She also doesn't mince her words so any interaction with her is bound to be fun.
Nikolai, the poor guy, isn't as fun as he used to be. Some of his charm has faded and, reading from his perspective, it's easy to understand why. You finally get to see how current and past events effect him and just how much pressure he's in to make sure Ravka doesn't fall apart. He's still great though.
Then we have Nina. I didn't enjoy her plot-line as much. You know how I said most of the plots were interrelated. Well, Nina's seems like it isn't. It's still important and I really like Nina, but not only is she in a different country (Fjerda), her story is separate from all the others so whenever we get to one of her chapters, it's a little strange and I was honestly waiting to go back to the main story. And her perspective is so sad too... But maybe that's just me and you'll feel differently.
Another little issue I had is that the novel feels like a set-up book. And yeah, that's how series usually work, but each installment is also supposed to have a plot that gets resolved in that book alone. And this novel didn't have that. Nothing really got solved. But it did establish the characters really well. And if that was the purpose, then it did a great job.
Last but not least, I'm conflicted about the ending (like, the last two pages). I'm pretty sure most people will love it and it definitely brings a twist, but it felt like a predictable move, considering I was hoping it's something the author wouldn't do. But you can't really judge the direction the author will take it from two pages and I'm hopeful about the next book. There are a lot of things up in the air and I have no clue what's gonna happen. But I'm excited about it.
And that's why I would definitely recommend checking this book out. It's well-written, as can be expected from Leigh Bardugo, it has great characters and it's interesting despite being somewhat long. Plus it's only a two-book series so the resolution isn't far off. Duologies are so great, aren't they?