[ENG&RU] "Six of Crows" Duology by Leigh Bardugo. My review

English

This month, I continued to explore the work of Leigh Bardugo. After reading "Shadow and Bone trilogy" (review here: @oleftinka/eng-and-ru-shadow-and), I read her most popular dilogy:

1. Six of Crows
2. Crooked Kingdom

Plot

The events of the books take place two years later, after the events of the last book of the Grisha trilogy "Ruin and Rising". This time, the action takes place in the island freedom-loving state Kerch, or rather in its capital, the typical port city Ketterdam. Rich shopping districts, full of goods from all over the world, luxury gambling houses, brothels and drinking establishments. And, of course, the slums with their dirty, narrow alleys, where you can part not only with your wallet, but also with your life, with crooked, gloomy houses, where members of numerous competing gangs live, who trade for everything and everything.
Here with one such gang and their young, but early leader, we will have to make a close acquaintance. Dregs is not a particularly poetic name, but it accurately reflects the essence of people who have gathered together for all sorts of dark deeds. Lost orphans, former slaves and courtesans, and just lovers of adventure, thrill and fast, illegally obtained money, very early to know all the dirt of this world - they have nothing to lose, no one to count on and nothing to believe. In addition to the ringing coin: someone with its help wants to find the long-awaited freedom and a chance for a more normal life, someone dreams of untold riches for the sake of earthly primitive pleasures, someone lives only with a thirst for revenge, which again will help a lot of money.
The leader of the gang gets the task — to get into the most forbidden prison to steal a valuable prize from under the noses of the guards. At stake — fabulous money and... a secret that can destroy some nations and exalt others. In this way, six very different people come together. And this crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction — if they don't kill each other first.

Characters

Briefly about the characters I will say: "They are great!". Indeed, I met six very colorful characters with their own history and character.

Here's what I liked:

• Each character with a twist. I liked that the appearance and characters of the characters are not formulaic.
• Everyone has their own story, which, I am sure, is able to catch everyone. The heroes show not only their strengths, but also their weaknesses.
• I really like that there is no one main character, each chapter comes from a different person. More precisely, the story is told in the third person, but from the perspective of the selected character.

Of the shortcomings, I can only highlight the fact that the behavior and thoughts of the characters do not correspond to the stated age (15-18 years). The heroes are much wiser and more independent.

Now learn more about each character:

Kaz is a young underworld genius, nicknamed "Dirtyhands", who has gathered the best of the worst around him. He walks with a cane and never takes off his gloves. Kaz considers the possession of information to be the basis for the success of any business and skillfully uses it. His story is very difficult and sometimes creepy (I was unpleasant to read and still some moments are disgusting).
Inej a spy, nicknamed "Wraith" with a silent gait and the ability to climb to any heights, a masterful information getter for Kaz. A Suli acrobat girl who was abducted as a child by slave traders and rescued by Kaz. The owner of daggers named after saints
Nina is a girl from the magical order of the Grisha Corporalki with an unusual ability for manipulating the emotions and states of other people, originally from Ravka. A former soldier of the Second Army, after a psycho-physiotherapist in one of the brothels. She likes comfort, good food, Ravka, her own kind, and someone who hates her.
Jasper is a desperate card player, a great shooter, and just a fun guy. He is the emotional release of the whole team. I came to Ketterdam from Novyi Zem to study at the university.
Wylen is an upper - class fugitive. Very quiet, but very talented guy, well versed in chemistry, music. Masterfully builds bombs, grenades, perfectly draws.
Mattias - Soldier drüskelle (Grisha Hunter) originally from Fjerda, a prisoner in Hellgate prison, driven by a desire for revenge. Devoted to the motherland, duty, faith.

All of them came out alive, real, imperfect, doubtful, ready to change, fall, get up and move on. I was attached to each of them, a really rare case, but none of them annoyed me.

Reviews for each book

When I started reading the first part of the duology - "Six of Crows", I didn't immediately understand why everyone was praising these books so much. The first 100 pages were difficult: the dialogues were about nothing, in the first chapters incomprehensible characters, a lot of terms related to gangs, trading, stocks. But as soon as all the participants of the mission gathered and their journey began, it was impossible to break away from the book. So much had to go through: to storm the impregnable walls, to transform into invisibles, to learn to trust and watch your back, to overcome internal barriers and differences. The finale of the first book was also good, quite complete, but with open questions. My rating: 10/10.

Everything that I liked so much in the first part, the author managed to convey in the second book of the duology "Crooked Kingdom". It was still just as exciting, dynamic, atmospheric and indescribably beautiful. The degree of tension in this part of the cycle was simply off the scale, the action rushed forward, without giving a second to rest, and some plot twists pretty frayed my nerves, because, as they say, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. In addition, this book turned out to be unrealistically touching, and by the end very tragic, dramatic and tense. Just because of the tragic and simultaneously stupid and ridiculous death of one of the characters at the end, I liked this book less than the first one. There was an unpleasant aftertaste, which reduced my delight in the whole duology.
My rating: 9/10.

In general, the duology "Six of Crows" seemed to me much more interesting than the author's debut trilogy. These books are an adventure. They are written so well that even if the topic is not close, you are drawn from the first pages into the maelstrom of events, from which you can only get out when you run your eyes over the last line. And not the fact that you want to stop there. When you read, you are just glad that there are such books.

The recipe for the success of this story consists of many ingredients and their precise proportions. There are constant scrapes, and appropriate witty dialogues, imbued with humor, a pinch of blatant cruelty, a bit of trembling love — all seasoned with interpersonal conflicts and served under the guise of a criminal story. Anything can happen here, only the genuine interest that will accompany you from the beginning to the end will remain unchanged.

After reading all books, it remains only to wait for the series from Netflix, which will connect together 2 stories of Leigh Bardugo. Judging by the trailers and well-chosen actors, there will be something very interesting and exciting.