The crew arrives outside the Ice Court and waylays a prison wagon, changing places with six of the prisoners so they’ll be carted into the Ice Court’s prison. Kaz gathers his crew: Inej, his right-hand woman, known as “the Wraith” since she can practically become invisible Nina, a Grisha Matthias, a Fjerdan former drüskelle (Grisha hunter) with intimate knowledge of the Ice Court Jesper, the Dregs’ sharpshooter and Wylan, Van Eck’s runaway son who is also a skilled bomb builder. Kaz accepts Van Eck’s mission, believing the reward money will help him take down Pekka Rollins, a rival gang leader who conned Kaz’s older brother Jordie. Van Eck wants Kaz to break Yul-Bayer out of prison, so the scientist won’t share the formula for parem with foreign governments.

The man who invented jurda parem, a scientist from Shu Han named Bo Yul-Bayer, is being held in the Ice Court, an impenetrable fortress in Fjerda. Jurda parem is extremely addictive, and Van Eck fears governments could potentially control Grisha with the promise of more parem while using the Grisha’s augmented powers to wage disastrous wars. The merchant tells Kaz of a new drug called jurda paremthat, when ingested by Grisha, amplifies their existing power. Seventeen-year-old Kaz Brenner or “Dirtyhands,” leader of the Dregs gang, is abducted by a merchant with a business proposition.

A people known as the Grisha, who originated in Ravka (the text’s version of Russia), possess magical powers. The only thing I would criticise is that at times I found parts of the book confusing, however this is probably because I wasn’t too well when reading it, and read it late into the night! I would recommend Six of Crows to anyone and everyone, especially those who are fans of the Grisha Trilogy and fantasy in general.Six of Crows begins in Ketterdam, an invented version of 17th-century Amsterdam, and the novel’s main characters hail from the seedy criminal district known as the Barrel. There was never a dull moment, with constant twists and turns and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! The characters are also carefully and brilliantly crafted, with each of them bringing something essential to the story and having their own problems to work out. I will never not be amazed by the depth of her world building, with occasional hints to the characters of the Grisha trilogy.

Bardugo perfectly captures the essence of the criminal underworld of Ketterdam. I loved the setting of the Barrel, which made the book intriguing and exciting from the start. I loved Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy and couldn’t wait to read Six of Crows – I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

6 of crows series