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A review by ravenousbibliophile
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
"You love trickery."
"I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue." - Kaz Brekker.
In the city of Ketterdam, there is the Barrel, and in the Barrel there is Kaz Brekker, also known as Dirtyhands. Con-man, card-sharp and a true bastard of the Barrel. Kaz leads the Dregs, a once run-down gang of street urchins who under his command have risen to become a force to be reckoned with. Normally, for the right price, no job is too big of Kaz and his crew, but breaking into the dreaded and impenetrable Ice Court and breaking out with a high-value prisoner might be a job, the 'right price' for which is one's life.
For those who have sampled the works of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series, the parallels that could be drawn between the stories are innumerable. However, Six of Crows, with it's fast pace and admirable world-building manages to keep things entertaining. That being said, the book is not without its flaws. Not the least of which is the inclusion of a clichéd romance which at times made me simply skip over chapters of tedious and predictable flashbacks and read only the main story. The tedium is often offset by small twists and turns in plots and character development which give a burst of flavor to the proceedings at just the right moments. By far the best character is Kaz, who's ruthless and calculating personality carries the Dregs and the story through to a lively if not entirely predictable conclusion.
I look forward to reading the sequel but not with the level of urgency as I had expected.
P.S.: It should be pointed out that in terms of book-covers Six of Crows (hardcover) certainly scores a 6/5.
"I love puzzles. Trickery is just my native tongue." - Kaz Brekker.
In the city of Ketterdam, there is the Barrel, and in the Barrel there is Kaz Brekker, also known as Dirtyhands. Con-man, card-sharp and a true bastard of the Barrel. Kaz leads the Dregs, a once run-down gang of street urchins who under his command have risen to become a force to be reckoned with. Normally, for the right price, no job is too big of Kaz and his crew, but breaking into the dreaded and impenetrable Ice Court and breaking out with a high-value prisoner might be a job, the 'right price' for which is one's life.
For those who have sampled the works of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series, the parallels that could be drawn between the stories are innumerable. However, Six of Crows, with it's fast pace and admirable world-building manages to keep things entertaining. That being said, the book is not without its flaws. Not the least of which is the inclusion of a clichéd romance which at times made me simply skip over chapters of tedious and predictable flashbacks and read only the main story. The tedium is often offset by small twists and turns in plots and character development which give a burst of flavor to the proceedings at just the right moments. By far the best character is Kaz, who's ruthless and calculating personality carries the Dregs and the story through to a lively if not entirely predictable conclusion.
I look forward to reading the sequel but not with the level of urgency as I had expected.
P.S.: It should be pointed out that in terms of book-covers Six of Crows (hardcover) certainly scores a 6/5.