Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Elizabeth Bush Bardugo, Leigh Six of Crows. Holt, 2015 [480p] ISBN 978-1-62779-212-7 $18.99 Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 9-12 The mood and mind-enhancing properties of jurda have made the chewable blossoms a popular trade item in the port city of Ketterdam, but a ramped-up version called jurda parem, concocted in a lab, is poised to release chaos among the Grisha, whose already extraordinary powers to affect human physiology and the natural [End Page 132] elements become heightened by the drug and threaten control of governments, police, or militaries. Ketterdam merchant Van Eck fears the consequences if the drug should fall into the wrong hands, and he recruits Kaz, a Ketterdam street gang leader, to put together a team to infiltrate the impregnable fortress in Fjerda and bring back the captive chemist who is held in its prison. There are heist stories with ingenious plotting, and then there are heist stories like this one that raise the ante with luminous writing, fully credible characters, a richly developed world, and internal dangers as threatening as the enemy the team faces. As leader of the six infiltrators, Kaz propels the action, but the other five rise far above the status of supporting cast with riveting backstories spun out with exemplary timing. Inej, “the Wraith,” is gifted at knifeplay and stealth but can’t sneak into Kaz’s heart; Fjerdan soldier and Grisha killer Matthias harbors a shameful passion for Nina, a Heartrender Grisha who can destroy an enemy with the wave of a hand; sharpshooter and gambler Jesper keeps another skill tightly under wraps; Van Eck’s son, Wylan, proves his value as more than collateral to ensure his father’s reward money, even as he and Jesper find their casual friendship turning into something more. This is fully satisfying both as a tale of a completed mission and as a segue into adventure to come in a series that promises to be as addictive as jurda parem itself. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois