Shadow and Bone

The Grisha Trilogy By Leigh Bardugo

Rating

4.5 stars

Date Read

11/7/16 - 13/7/16

Age Group

14+

General Thoughts

Impeccably imagined, imaginatively painted, complex characters and a dark, magical world. From the plot to the world-building, to the dialogues and the characters, this is a trilogy that will leave its readers breathless and thirsty for more.

Letter to my one Russian friend (Whose name happens to be Alina!):

"Hey Alina,

I just finished the most awesome book and the heroine coincidentally shares your name! Although it is dystopian, I guess it's set in a magical version of Russia...

Ravka has been at war with the neighbouring nations, Fjerda and Shu Han for a long time. And, as it has been torn in two for centuries now by The Unsea, victory is completely out of the equation.

The Unsea, alternatively called The Shadow Fold, is a river of Darkness that splits Ravka in half, West and East. It is a magical creation, a result of a powerful sorcerer's greed, and in it horrible, flesh-eating creatures, the volcra, roam, making crossing it without casualties impossible.

Did I say sorcerer? My mistake. The Black Heretic is no ordinary sorcerer; he is Grisha.

Grisha is a magical elite. A portion of the population that has umimaginable powers, like controling the elements, healing, manipulating the earth's resources to make powerful metals or killing people with the sheer power of focus. Together they train and practise what is called "Small Science", forming the Second Army, the magical Army.

 The theory of Grisha is complex but the core of it is: "Like calls to like", connecting Grisha to matter. In Leigh Barrdugo's own words:

Quote from the Book: "The grounding principle of the Small Science was “like calls to like”, but then it got complicated. Odinakovost was the “thisness” of a thing that made it the same as everything else. Etovost was the “thatness” of a thing that made it different from everything else. Odinakovostconnected Grisha to the world, but it was etovost that gave them an affinity for something like air, or blood, or in my case, light."

Bardugo's explaination:

"So let’s say that Odinakovost is the essence that all things share. But Etovost is the unique quality that makes a thing itself and nothing else. A Grisha needs a fundamental understanding of both of these properties in order to manipulate matter.

It is Etovost, that unique quality, that determines which types of matter a given Grisha can manipulate—something within that Grisha shares the same unique quality, recognizes it, is attracted to it. Basically, “like calls to like” speaks to this attraction.

(The inspiration came from a verrrry loose interpretation of quiddity and haecceity, and the idea of molecular “preference” in chemistry.)"

The point is, Grisha are powerful. And they are led by the Darkling, the most powerful Grisha of all, the most powerful man in all of Ravka, second only to the king. The Black Heretic was a Darkling, who lived centuries ago. He made the Shadow Fold as some kind of experiment. But then he couldn't control it. So intead of using it to bring Ravka to power, he only brought the country to its knees.

Alina

Alina is a mousy girl, innocent and naive who looks only to belong, to fit in. 

She grew up in an orphanage, where she was described quite and odd, with her best friend, Mal.

In the beginning of the book she is in military service with Mal. She serves with the First Army (that's the normal army). Then, when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her childhood friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free.

So, suddenly, she whisked away to the royal court, to train as a Grisha, to be Ravka's salvation. You see, her power is unique, and it could be the very thing to unravel the Shadow Fold itself.

"Did you tell him what I showed you in the dark?"

Alina may be supposed to be "naive", and justifiably so, considering her orphan status and relatively introverted character, but she's also honest to the point of being rude, smart and brave. She makes for an awesome protagonist, a relatable character and a girl who doesn't let the sparkle and grandour of the Palace corrupt her.

The Darkling

Oh, the Darkling. He doesn't even qualify for a real name and still he is the most beguiling character in the book. Handsome, dark and intelligent, manipulative and audacious, alluring in his power and darkness, he threatens to capture Alina's own heart. Although he looks misleadingly young, he still is the Darkling. The more powerful the Grisha, the longer the life it leads and this Darkling has been around long enough to be ancient next to the seventeen year old protagonist.

But, well, vampire fiction has long since cured readers of feeling that a 120 year old guy kissing the teenaged protagonist is weird.

Mal

Alina's childhood friend. Comparing the two in the first few chapters, they look as different as Night and Day. Where Alina is quite, brooding and eternally tired, Mal is cheerful, calm and energetic. He fits in easily, adapts quickly and makes friends effortlessly. So, of course, he doesnt really see her. He doesn't realise that she's been in love with him forever, doesn't comprehend that he's her only real friend.

And then she's snatched away from him, as the Darkling throws her in his carriage and leads her to the palace to learn to control her newfound power.

Sankta Alina & her Darkling

Plot etc

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's all about world- building. A book can be fun, a heroine can be relatable, a love interest can be swoon worthy. But if it's all contemporary and character-driven then how memorable can it be? The Winner's Curse, An Ember in The Ashes, Shadows, even Dan Brown's best sellers, describe a world that is comlex, intriguing and borders on magical, a world different from the one we live in. And as they steal readers away to a unique, magical reality, they manage to get into their hearts and stay there. 

Shadow and Bone's world-building is carefully constructed, thought-through and memorable. The countries, the wars, the corruption, the Grisha, the Smal lScience, even the map! Leigh Bardugo has gone and made a world from scratch, with loose connections to real life Russia and inspiration from Chemistry (I love that part!). And so she's made it impossible for the reader to abandon the series just  after the first book, not just because the reader wants to find out about Alina's adventures, but because he's also thirsting to read more about the Grisha, the powerful Darkling and the future of all Ravka.

All in All

Definetely recommend. It only just lost the five star rating - completely subjectively - because the love interest was not the one I fell in love with.Which, all things considered, was totally justifiable...

PS Song: Broken Promise Land - Claire

PSS The Guardian wrote about the Darkling!!!!!! And very aptly indeed:

I knew that the more powerful Grisha were said to live long lives, and Darklings were the most powerful of them all. But I felt the wrongness of it and I remembered Eva’s words: He’s not natural. ― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

The Darkling is just about as bad as it gets before crossing that line into pure-evil-territory. He is the mysterious and fantastical force that leads the Grisha, which makes him ancient, extremely powerful and definitely dangerous. He’s got a dark Phantom-of-the-Opera vibe, and is definitely the sinister edge of a very potent love triangle, which includes Alina, and her safer choice, Mal. On the surface, the Darkling is sociopathic and lacking in morals but he happens to be other things too: charismatic and magnetic, and in Alina, he seems to encourage a passion that has been missing from her life. Hints of the Darkling’s goodness emerge throughout the Grisha trilogy, though admittedly, the reader may have to dig deeper than usual to uncover the redemptive qualities in this particular bad boy.

XOXO

Aggie Pearson