King of Scars
YA High Fantasy; By Leigh Bardugo (Nikolai Duology #1)
~ “No one wants to look closely at another person’s pain” ~
Letter Grade: A (88%)
Years after civil war tore through Ravka and destroyed the hope and trust of the people, King Nikolai Lantsov has accepted the challenge to bring his country back to its former glory. But he’s not just competing with the memory of his tyrant father, or the rumours of his illegitimate conception…No, Nikolai has his own literal demon to fight. As it plagues him and reminds him of the war, the demon’s growing strength is set to rip Ravka apart…again. Unless Nikolai and his most trusted friends can find a way to stop it all.
After the Six of Crows duology and the Grisha Trilogy, having a series focused on Nikolai Lantsov should have been a no brainer. It was wonderful to be back in this world of magic and thievery, of politics and myths. If you haven’t read Six of Crows but have finished the Grisha trilogy, you’ll know that Nikolai’s story was left open ended. And I’m so incredibly glad that readers have been privileged to get to know him, as well as reacquaint themselves with Tolya, Tamar, Genya, David, Nina, and Zoya. This crew of characters was fantastic and blended really well together. The page-turning moments may have put plot on the back burner for me, but it’s all good because I got to see how Nina and Adrik and Genya and Zoya were fairing.
And with this world…you can truly do no wrong! Leigh’s magical writing style is a perfect way to get out of a reading slump – and to exercise your finger muscles, since you’ll be turning page after page after page without stop in sight. King of Scars follows Nikolai, Zoya and Nina’s stories as they journey figuratively and literally. Nikolai has sent Nina on a reconnaissance mission in Fjerda to help Grisha-in-hiding, as well as give her time to grieve [insert tears of sadness here]…Matthias. Still not over his death, you guys. And Nina’s grief shows it. It’s real. It’s painful. And it does seem to dissipate once she meets Hanne. Many may not think it realistic, but I’ve known grief, and sometimes, that’s what does happen. Someone comes into your life, romantic or not, and just whisks you away. Which is ironic because I feel that’s exactly what happened with Zoya and Nikolai. She had already been in his life for years, but you really get to see this relationship from the inside, and it was so informative and insightful and just…real.
And I think Leigh has done something beautiful in crafting Zoya’s character this way. She’s mean and cruel and a monster to most…but we get to understand why. It’s not a cop-out to hide a sad story, imo, even though it seems that way. Leigh shows that anger is a very real emotion that sometimes has to be expressed. Cunning is a feeling that we shouldn’t be ashamed of – get what you want and be proud doing it (shoutout to my Slytherin friends out there – sincerely, a Ravenclaw). But truth be told, I don’t know if Zoya and Nikolai will openly express their feelings like Nina and Matthias did. I think their commitment to Ravka and impending doom will keep things professional of the more Kaz-Inej variety. I think their romance will be very subtle and not full-blown, leaving the future up to the imagination of the readers.
Speaking of relationships, even Nina and Hanne seem up in the air for me. Don’t get me wrong, I ship these girls real hard! I just don’t know if Nina will feel comfortable entering such a relationship so soon after Matthias. She may be tempted, she may kiss Hanne…but I think she’s going to need time. I feel like that time could be explained away if Book 2 has a slightly big time jump. But either way, I love the idea of Nina and her Fjerdan queen, and how she was the major catalyst for Hanne’s development – giving her the tools to be who’s she always openly wanted to be. But let’s not forget that this is Leigh Bardugo: I was totally surprised about the Jarl Brum revelation relating to Hanne. I couldn’t believe it! More awkward dinners coming your way, folks!
The only think I didn’t really like about the book? I found the plot a bit weak, and kind of all over the place and not expressed. I didn’t see a full goal. There was a lot of internal conflict for Nikolai, sure, and the book was very clear about it. Nikolai had to find a way to get rid of the demon before it ruined everything he had worked Ravka to be – BUT, the way in which it came to fruition was really out of nowhere for me. Like, first they want all the world leaders in Ravka in Os Alta and then he’s gallivanting to find a cure for his demon because wannabe-priest Yuri says he knows things?
And then next thing you know Nik and Zoya are trapped in the Fold and Yuri and Elizaveta are off betraying people one by one while this new guy has to be a stand in for Nikolai’s political games? It just felt…out of order, like I didn’t see the progression. I had to mentally remind myself why Nikolai and Zoya were on this mission. But I have hope for the next book. Hopefully motives will be clearer…
AND THAT ENDING OMGHCKBEHQCFLRFBH! I was not expecting that! I mean, you kind of suspect something’s going on if the Darkling’s powers are partially stuck in Nikolai…but not this! I wonder if he’ll ask about Alina…and if Alina and Mal might not make a short appearance after barely being mentioned in this. I’m personally on the camp that didn’t really stick with the Darklina romance angle – I felt pity for Aleksander but ultimately I think he chose to be a bad person, so idk how malevolent his role will be in book 2. BUT OMG HE’S BAAAAAACCCCCKKKK!
Myth and legends become reality in Nikolai’s journeys after the Ravkan civil war…but maybe some myths should stay myths. Reality is at Ravka’s doorstep with the Fjerdans moving to get their Lantsov pretender in the game while Nikolai and Zoya deal with the Darkling’s return and their own respective feelings…Here’s to Book 2!
taliareadsbooks 