I have read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology, and now it is time to review Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse as a whole. It has been some time since I last read the King of Scars duology, so I have not done a duology review for it. I feel it is a little late to post one, so my thoughts on the duology will be in this post.

The Grishaverse is a story world created by Leigh Bardugo, with its first book, Shadow and Bone, published in 2012. There are eleven books in total – the original trilogy, two duologies, and three supplemental books, The Language of Thorns, Demon in the Wood, and The Lives of Saints. These are YA fantasy books, but if you are a fan on adult fantasy you can still enjoy elements of this story world. It is high fantasy, working across a span of 3 years, with a two year gap between the original trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, and one year between the two duologies.

The Shadow and Bone Trilogy

This trilogy kicks off with orphaned army cartographer Alina Starkov preparing to cross the Shadow Fold with her regiment, including her best friend Mal. When they get attacked during the crossing and Mal is injured, a deep magic awakens in Alina – Sun Summoner magic. She is soon whisked away to the heart of the nation under the watchful eye of the Darkling to hone her gifts and bring the suffering nation back to a position of prosperity and power. Of course, not all is as it seems, and the trilogy has us travelling all over the place in search of magical creatures, hidden allies, and ways to beat the man who started this all.

It is an introductory series that establishes characters, the magic system, the landscapes and geography, and the political tensions and structures across a few countries. This trilogy is tasked with a lot, and I unfortunately think it takes on too much. The books get better as the trilogy progresses, but there are few things that make the trilogy really stand out. Out of the three, it is ranked at number three for me, but that may not be the same for others.

The Six of Crows Duology

Six of Crows dumps us in Ketterdam, a hub for trade, thievery, and more than a few organised gangs to run the place. Kaz Brekker is a crook, but a very good one, and when he is offered a once in a lifetime job that would leave him and his crew sitting pretty until they died of old age, he can’t pass it up. But Kaz needs a crew. So ensues a heist duology that is both incredibly well written, compelling, and entertaining from start to finish.

This duology gives us a variety of characters with mysterious, layered backgrounds, as well as multiple perspectives to make the heist and the execution of planned and improvised steps all the more interesting. The interactions are rich with tension, camaraderie, and secrets, making for engaging dialogue and observations. It is my favourite of the three series, and I can comfortably say it is the best of the Grishaverse series.

The King of Scars Duology – Spoilers ahead relating to the Shadow of Bone Trilogy!

Set three years after the events of Ruin and Rising, King of Scars returns us to Ravka and King Nikolai’s close circle of Grisha, all while dealing with the effects of the Darkling’s corrupt magic. Alongside him are Zoya, Genya, and David, and we also get to see Nina venturing through Fjerda. It involves a lot of political tension, character development, and action that surpasses that of previous series.

I like the character interactions and developments in this one, though it is a little slow to get into. Once the hook has latched itself in, it is engaging, finely detailed, and exciting to read. I don’t gel with King of Scars and much as Rule of Wolves as I found Nina’s perspective took a long time to establish the action and tension. Once I was interested though, the two books were easy reads and I appreciated the bumping up of action and stakes. This is a solid second for me in the ranking.

Overall, the Grishaverse is full of intriguing characters, witty dialogue, awesome magic, and fantastic world building, There are a few areas where the energy drops or interest lessens, but overall it is a fun YA fantasy to read. The duologies are more exciting than the trilogy, in my opinion, but it is an interesting this to see how the books are structured and how they flow from one to another.