Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows Duology
Summary
Kaz Brekker is a teenage criminal operator in Ketterdam, a port city where nearly everything has a price. He is offered an enormous payment to break into the Ice Court, a military fortress that has never been successfully breached, and extract a scientist whose work could upset the balance of power between nations.
Kaz assembles five people for the job: spy Inej, sharpshooter Jesper, runaway merchant's son Wylan, Grisha soldier Nina, and former prisoner Matthias. The novel switches among their perspectives as the crew plans, improvises, and conceals private motives. The heist gives the story its speed, but the relationships work because every member has a different reason to mistrust the others.
Six of Crows takes place after Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy, though it begins a separate duology and explains enough of the world to read first. Its characters have violent histories, and the book deals with trafficking, addiction, imprisonment, and prejudice. The story ends at a clear break rather than resolving the whole job, which makes Crooked Kingdom the necessary second half.
Reading order
- 1
- 2 Crooked Kingdom
Editions and purchase options
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Themes & motifs
About Leigh Bardugo
Leigh Bardugo is an American fantasy writer and the creator of the Grishaverse. Six of Crows shifts that setting away from royal courts and chosen-one plots toward organized crime, trade, and an ensemble cast.
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