Oh? That giant pile of TBRs? Don’t mind them. Nope. Nothing to see.
… I’m pretty sure Ninth House just glared at me.
Welcome to the Grishaverse!
Or, “Welcome back to the Grishaverse!” Kinda? Maybe? I’m not sure if my initial reading actually counts as an actual read? Most of it was audiobook multi-tasking, which featured me becoming increasingly frustrated over people’s inability to accurately self-report behavioural data …
Anywhoo. “Welcome (back) to the Grishaverse!”
Starting things off with Shadow and Bone …
Ravka! A magic-infused nation that is one part Imperial Russia, one part steampunk-western. It’s a vast country that has been at war for what sounds like a very long time … where the nobles live in decadence and the peasants in poverty … and where the land is divided by the Rift: a mysterious darkness-filled monster-infested hellscape.
Alina Starkov is cartographer in the Imperial Army, in the midst of her first Rift crossing, when she discovers that she has magical powers that mark her as a Grisha. In the span of hours, she is whisked away from everything she knows into the extravagant world of the Grisha … but, she soon discovers that this world of fine fabrics, beautiful faces, and power isn’t what it seems.
My Thoughts:
Sigh … This book. There’s part of me that really loves it. Like, really loves it. (Magic! Adventure! A deliciously wicked villain! A swoon-worthy boy-next-door love interest!) It’s a fast, easy, and highly enjoyable read. And yet … there’s something missing. That little bit extra that tips a book over from a perfectly acceptable three-star read, to the wonder that’s inherent in a four- or five-star. I’ve been trying to put my finger on it for a while now, and I think I’ve finally worked it out: pacing.
Even though it took me a zillion years to read it this time around, Shadow and Bone is a short book by modern YA standards: 358 pages. In those 358 pages, we’re introduced to an intricate world, an interesting magic system (including magic school), a massive cast of characters, a religious system, a feudal/political system, a world history, a romance not-really-side-plot … oh, and the end of the world. Things jump around so fast that the only way for Bardugo to accommodate the plot is through exposition … the classic error of telling instead of showing. An extra 100 pages would have allowed readers the opportunity to savour the story and setting.
My Favourite Quote:
I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I’d catch myself walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I’d seen something I wanted to tell you about, or because I just wanted to hear your voice. And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I’d do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day.
The Details:
- The Book: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- Published: 2012, Henry Holt and Company
- My Copy: Personal copy
- Read date: February 15-27, 2020
- Rating/5: 🦌🦌🦌
The Geeky Jock 
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