Coming in with a BANG! Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy Review
- nerdinparadise
- Jul 29, 2016
- 5 min read
Are you interested in High Fantasy novels, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you've looked at Game of Thrones or the Wheel of Time series and thought Eh, too many pages; Guess it's not for me? Well, fear not; Leigh Bardugo has opened the doors with the Grisha triology, and I promise once you step in, you'll never turn back.
In a single sentence: A pair of orphans must save the world from an egotistical immortal with mommy issues.
I know, right?
BEWARE! THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!!! (Skip to the CLOSING THOUGHTS if you don't want to be spoiled)
SHADOW AND BONE
SYNOPSES
Alina and Mal grew up together as orphans and entered into the First Army together. On attempting to cross the Fold, a magical barrier between east and west Ravka, Alina learns she is a Sun Summoner; A grisha who is able to summon sunlight. Alina is whirled away to the capital by the Darkling, the head of the Second Army and the most powerful grisha in Ravka. Alina has to learn not only who she is, but also how to control this new part of herself and what her new role in life is to be. Can she eliminate the Fold? What does the Darkling really want from her? And why doesn't Mal respond to her letters? Alina has to make a choice - stay and let the Darkling become her master, chaining her to him with the greatest Amplifier ever known, or escape and find the Amplifier on her own. Reunited with Mal, Alina manages to find Morozova's Stag but chooses mercy and decides to set it free - but not before the Darkling arrives and takes the Stag for his own. Controlling Alina through Morozova's collar, the Darkling is now able to manipulate the Fold; But Alina gives him a taste of his own medicine and escapes.
The feelings invoked by Shadow and Bone are adequately described by All Time Low's song "Guts":
Short Review
The first book in a series really has to grab you, and Shadow and Bone does just that (and shakes you around a little to get the point across). There is a slight brush with stereotypical YA tropes (the dark handsome enemy, the boy-next-door, the mean pretty girl, the pretty girl who gets bullied for being too pretty), but they all play harmoniously off each other to really set the scene. You feel like you know Alina, and you get sucked in by the Darkling's charms.
Overall, do yourself a favor and read Shadow and Bone. You won't regret it.
SIEGE AND STORM
SYNOPSES
Alina and Mal think they've escaped; They've cross the sea and are working together to save up enough money to live a quite life. Things don't ever go as planned, and they are once again captured by the Darkling who uses Alina's love for Mal to keep her in line while Mal tracks the next Amplifier on the Darkling's list. The journey is rough, traveling the Bone Road in the Northern ocean with the scandalous pirate (oh, sorry, privateer) Sturmhond. Mal is able to track down the giant sea monster whose scales will lend Alina even more power when Sturmhond overthrows the Darkling and, with Mal and Alina in tow, escapes with the prize. Once the gang returns to Ravka even more surprises are in store, as it turns out that Sturmhond is actually Nikolai Lantsov, the youngest Ravkan prince. Alina, Mal, and Nikolai return to Os Alta to prepare for the Darkling's next move. Alina and Mal try to work together, but the strain is too great and everything seems to come loose. Right at the moment when it seems like plans are starting to fall into place, the Darkling makes a surprise attack after Nikolai's elder brother leaves Ravka's norther border wide open. Alina, Mal and a handful of the remaining grisha escape to safety underground, but Alina is cripplingly wounded from her standoff against the Darkling. Now deemed a Saint, Alina has to find a way to finish the Darkling once and for all. Her only option seems to be finding the Firebird - Morozova's final amplifier.
The feelings invoked by Siege and Storm are adequately described by We Are The In Crowd's song "Manners":
Short Review
If you thought Shadow and Bone was good, this will knock your teeth out. Action, adventure, romance, and some of the best dialogue I've ever read. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be so on edge by the time it's done you'll immediately pick up Ruin and Rising even if it's 3 A.M.
RUIN AND RISING
SYNOPSES
Alina is trying to recover from her battle with the Darkling but being trapped underground by a fanatical religious leader, the Apparat, makes it difficult. With the help of Mal and what's left of the Second Army Alina gains access to sunlight and restores her power. Alina and her companions make their way to freedom, planning to search for the Firebird and bring an end to the struggle. Along the way they reunite with Nikolai, but not for long - the Darkling shows up and brings destruction to their small tribe. Forced to flee, Alina, Mal, Zoya and Tolya head into the Shu wilderness, their only hope at survival in the Firebird. In the end, though, the hunt is useless as the Firebird isn't the last amplifier - Mal is. Alina has to make the hardest decision of her life - allow Mal to sacrifice himself so she can use the power inherent in his bones, or let the Darkling win.
The feelings invoked by Siege and Storm are adequately described by Prvis' song "You and I":
Super Short Review
I love this book. It was the perfect ending to the story, and even the afterword didn't take away that bittersweet feeling all good epics leave behind.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy is the perfect initiation for the inexperienced into High Fantasy story telling. Descriptive without going overboard, Ms. Bardugo takes familiar folk tales (such as Russia's Firebird lore) and weaves them into Ravka's culture, letting the reader feel familiar with a completely new world. I also have to say that Ms. Bardugo has a seriously amazing talent with dialogue. One of the things that really sells a series to me (and keeps me reading beyond the first book) is how the characters interact with each other and the world around them. Alina and Mal could seriously be my friends if they came to visit our world - they have the same dry, almost-off-color humor that I do.
The most important, and most effective, part of Ms. Bardugo's writing is her ability to set a steady pace. One of the hardest things for most people to overcome when reading fantasy novels is how slowly they tend to move (and hence their large page count). I personally love huge, heavy tomes - Robert Jordan was my first guide into the realm of High Fantasy - but it is so refreshing to experience a story that moves steadily, spends just enough time on exposition, and leaves most of the descriptive details up to me.
I made the mistake of reading the first entry in Ms. Bardugo's sister series, Six of Crows before diving into the Grisha trilogy, but that's alright - I can't wait to pick up all of the references when I reread Six of Crows in preparation for Crooked Kingdom.
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