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A review by anthonybanthony
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Rating: D+
I’m surprised by how much I didn’t like this considering it has so many elements that appeal to my sensibilities.
- My biggest problem: This didn’t feel like a YA story. The main characters are 17/18, yet they’re the best fighters and thieves in the world running a criminal empire, with enough psychological and physical trauma to match. (Inej is 17 yet feared enough to be called The Wraith, while Kaz is basicall an anti-hero version of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes with how intelligent and capable he is). They make Cobra Kai and Squad 312 look like emotionally balanced chumps.
- The Crows aren’t enjoyable or fun to read about. They’re a group of dour, dirty, depressing jerks. Kaz, Inej, Nina, Mathias have comically dark/tragic backstories, while Jesper and Wylan are so dull I have nothing to say about them. If they were 25-30, that would’ve been way better. I would’ve bought into the story/world.
- The Crows don’t seem to like each other, either. I can’t imagine any of them enjoying each other's company in a quiet moment with the exception of Mathias and Nina. The best part was the flashback featuring the aforementioned pair surviving the shipwreck. Their relationship wasn't amazing, but it was the only one that felt natural. When I was flat out told Kaz and Inej liked each other, I was shocked.
- The prologue was awful. I felt like I had a glossary dropped on my head and it added almost nothing.
- More flashbacks than a Family Guy marathon, many of which add nothing beyond killing the pace (with the exception of Nina and Mathias, although that storyline has its own problems)
- Banter sucked and the chemistry just wasn't there. The Crows communicate almost entirely in quippy soundbites, many of which are so eye-rollingly silly I thought I was reading Powerless. There’s rarely a genuine moment between them (This may seem hypocritical coming from me, but trust me when I say there's a balance). Consequently, I didn’t care if they succeeded in the heist. The world and characters weren’t worth the emotional investment. They go from grudging allies to spewing Red Dawn-caliber platitudes about love and loyalty between heartbeats.
- Everything from the backstories, to the action, to the magic is so edgy it’ll slice you apart before the end. It’s got all the hits: slavery, graphic torture, dismemberment, bloodbending like its an R rated version of freaking Avatar the Last Airbender, burning at the stake, genocide, forced addiction to drugs, etc. Even the main characters sink to some of these levels to show how badass they are.
- Several key moments and some of the action scenes felt truncated. One of the characters takes out a chimera like it’s nothing and the characters just keep running. I never felt the danger/impact.
- Ending wasn't terrible but had some serious issues.Nina ingests the super drug to amp up her X-Men powers and take out the guards preventing their escape. The guards have their own drugged-up X-Men prisoner, so she decides to put him out of his misery...by making his head explode! She has the power to take out hundreds of soldiers in any way she sees fit, and she has the gall to say 'rest well' when she makes the poor guy's head explode. Couldn't have come up with something a touch more gentle? Then, once Inej gets kidnapped by the central antagonist, Jesper is too pissed about Wylan's minor deception to care. Pal, your friend just got taken prisoner by the most powerful guy on the planet, and you're pissed because your crush pulled a trick on your mutual enemy? Two critical moments that I enjoyed killed by tiny choices. It's a microcosm of the book, really.
I got the duology box set for Christmas so I’m obliged to read Crooked Kingdom at some point in the future. The crew shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for me.
I’m surprised by how much I didn’t like this considering it has so many elements that appeal to my sensibilities.
- My biggest problem: This didn’t feel like a YA story. The main characters are 17/18, yet they’re the best fighters and thieves in the world running a criminal empire, with enough psychological and physical trauma to match. (Inej is 17 yet feared enough to be called The Wraith, while Kaz is basicall an anti-hero version of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes with how intelligent and capable he is). They make Cobra Kai and Squad 312 look like emotionally balanced chumps.
- The Crows aren’t enjoyable or fun to read about. They’re a group of dour, dirty, depressing jerks. Kaz, Inej, Nina, Mathias have comically dark/tragic backstories, while Jesper and Wylan are so dull I have nothing to say about them. If they were 25-30, that would’ve been way better. I would’ve bought into the story/world.
- The Crows don’t seem to like each other, either. I can’t imagine any of them enjoying each other's company in a quiet moment with the exception of Mathias and Nina. The best part was the flashback featuring the aforementioned pair surviving the shipwreck. Their relationship wasn't amazing, but it was the only one that felt natural. When I was flat out told Kaz and Inej liked each other, I was shocked.
- The prologue was awful. I felt like I had a glossary dropped on my head and it added almost nothing.
- More flashbacks than a Family Guy marathon, many of which add nothing beyond killing the pace (with the exception of Nina and Mathias, although that storyline has its own problems)
- Banter sucked and the chemistry just wasn't there. The Crows communicate almost entirely in quippy soundbites, many of which are so eye-rollingly silly I thought I was reading Powerless. There’s rarely a genuine moment between them (This may seem hypocritical coming from me, but trust me when I say there's a balance). Consequently, I didn’t care if they succeeded in the heist. The world and characters weren’t worth the emotional investment. They go from grudging allies to spewing Red Dawn-caliber platitudes about love and loyalty between heartbeats.
- Everything from the backstories, to the action, to the magic is so edgy it’ll slice you apart before the end. It’s got all the hits: slavery, graphic torture, dismemberment, bloodbending like its an R rated version of freaking Avatar the Last Airbender, burning at the stake, genocide, forced addiction to drugs, etc. Even the main characters sink to some of these levels to show how badass they are.
- Several key moments and some of the action scenes felt truncated. One of the characters takes out a chimera like it’s nothing and the characters just keep running. I never felt the danger/impact.
- Ending wasn't terrible but had some serious issues.
I got the duology box set for Christmas so I’m obliged to read Crooked Kingdom at some point in the future. The crew shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for me.