Book Log 18/2016 - Leigh Bardugo: Six of Crows - Six of Crows #1

A fast-paced thrill-ride, supposedly for the YA market, but very adult in the amount of violence perpetrated by the good guys as well as the bad. This book follows the Grisha trilogy, set in the same world, which I have not read.

Kaz Brekker is a young criminal prodigy in the barrel, the rough part of Ketterdam where anything goes. He's part of a gang - the Dregs - seemingly heading towards taking over the whole operation before he's too much older, presuming he doesn't end up face down in the canal first. He's offered a chance at a dangerous heist for more money than he can dream of, but it's a job for a team and Kaz is not big on trust.

He assembles a team of like-mainded rogues: Nina, a grisha (magic) heartrender, who can control the human body with the power of her mind; Matthias, a Fjerdan soldier who has promised to kill her, yet can barely cope with his feelings for her; Inej, the Wraith, a light-footed, acrobatic spy who hates killing, but will do it if she has no choice; Jesper, a sharpshooter whose big failing is that he's addicted to gambling. The sixth member of the team is Wylan, the son of Van Eck, the council member who offered Kaz the job. Kaz thinks Wylan might be insurance to make sure they get paid after the heist, but Wylan just wants to get away from his father. The others tend to think of him as a liability, at least at the beginning.

The job is to steal a scientist, Bo Yul-Bayur, away from a highly secure prison in Fjerda's Ice Court. The scientist has developed a new drug, jurda parem, a super-stimulant, which makes grisha ultra powerful, but ultimately destroys them because it's highly addictive. The Fjerdans have him in the centre of an impregnable fortress... so Kaz had better come up with a good plan.

This story rattles along at a cracking pace and the interactions between the characters work well. Nina and Matthias are constantly at odds despite their mutual attraction. Kaz is trying not to admit that he's fallen for Inej. he has a deep-seated problem with getting too close to people. There's a hint that Jesper and Wylan could become more than friends. There are crosses and double-crosses abounding. Kaz is not the only one who has a hidden agenda. As we go through, we gradually learn something of the backstory of each one of the six 'crows'.

This book is almost perfect though it both starts and ends in a way that usually I'm not fond of. The first chapter is from the point of view of someone who is instantly disposed of, along with the object of his affections. I always feel that it's a bit of a twist too far when the book sets up reader expectations and then stomps them into the ground - though I do admit it helps to set up the problem.

At the end there's a major unresolved plot point that's pretty much a cliffhanger and obviously meant to lead into the next book. I really don't like cliffhanger endings, especially when the next book is not yet on the horizon. Sure, it makes me want to read the next book NOW, but will I still feel the same by the time it's actually available? Crooked Kingdom is due in September. I will read it, but I hope clifhangers are not this author's stock-in-trade.

Movie of the Week: The Huntsman: Winter's War

Both a prequel and a sequel, this movie wraps itself around Snow White and the Huntsman, made better by the lack of Snow White, who is not on screen. It's a kind of grown up 'Frozen' with two sisters, each with different magical powers. Ravenna is the evil queen from Snow White, not quite as dead as we thought. Her sister, Freya, horribly betrayed by her lover, turns out to have ice magic. She runs off and sets up her own kingdom (queendom?) harvesting children and turning them into warriors to be her army.

And that's where Eric, the Huntsman, comes in. He's one of Freya's children - along with Sarah, fellow warrior, whom he eventually falls for. They are separated and, believeing her to be dead, he goes off, gets drunk and the whole of the Snow White movie happens. And then there's the aftermath when Ravenna and Freya meet and eventually clash - with Eric and four dwarves caught in the middle.

I'm trying not to give away too many spoilers. Chris Hemsworth is suitably rugged as The Huntsman. Charlize Theron reprises her role as Ranvenna. Sheridan Smith, Rob Brydon, Nick Frost and Alexandra Roach play the short-stature parts. Sheridan Smith and Rob Brydon are particularly good.

While it won't set the world on fire, it was an entertaining Wednesday afternoon, slightly better than its predecessor.