Shadow And Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Sep. 1st, 2013 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.
Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite – the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?
The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?
Friends since childhood, 17-year-old orphans Alina Starkov and Malyen Oretsey work for the Ravkan army – Alina as a cartographer and Mal as a tracker. Their regiment has been assigned to cross the Shadow Fold, a huge area of darkness populated by volcra (carnivorous flying monsters that attack all travellers) that separates Ravka from its ports, leaving it weak.
When the volcra attack, Alina somehow summons light to scare them away, which brings her to the attention of the Grisha – magicians led by the Darkling (a man able to summon darkness) who believes that Alina can banish the Fold forever and restore Ravka’s power. Whisked away to the Grisha’s headquarters, Alina is taught how to harness her gifts but struggles to fit in due to the other Grisha being jealous of the attention that the Darkling lavishes on her. But although Alina is attracted to the Darkling, she’s upset that Mal isn’t returning her letters and is becoming suspicious that the Grisha are keeping secrets from her – secrets that threaten Ravka’s very future …
Leigh Bardugo’s debut YA fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has a fascinating world inspired by 19th century Tsarist Russia and Alina has a strong first-person voice. However the character relationships are less well defined and key revelations lacked sufficient set-up. I was also disturbed by the importance placed on being beautiful while the inevitable YA love triangle was unconvincing given the lack of interaction between Alina, the Darkling and Mal. Despite this however, the setting and the ending were interesting enough to ensure that I will read the sequel.
Alina has a strong first person voice and I liked the way Bardugo uses her to describe the world of Ravka and particularly the Grisha and their abilities. However Alina never really interacts with anyone long enough to believe in the relationships that she forms and while I enjoyed her scenes with the Darkling, there weren’t enough of them for me to buy her attraction (ditto with Mal). Consequently key revelations about the Darkling in the final quarter lacked set-up and punch but also saw him Darkling turn into a more stereotypical villain, which left me disappointed.
I disliked the emphasis placed on being beautiful and wished that Alina had been a little less passive. However the ending is intriguing enough for me to want to read the sequel.
The Verdict:
Leigh Bardugo’s debut YA fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has a fascinating world inspired by 19th century Tsarist Russia and Alina has a strong first-person voice. However the character relationships are less well defined and key revelations lacked sufficient set-up. I was also disturbed by the importance placed on being beautiful while the inevitable YA love triangle was unconvincing given the lack of interaction between Alina, the Darkling and Mal. Despite this however, the setting and the ending were interesting enough to ensure that I will read the sequel.
SHADOW AND BONE was released in the United Kingdom on 6th June 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.
Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite – the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?
The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?
Friends since childhood, 17-year-old orphans Alina Starkov and Malyen Oretsey work for the Ravkan army – Alina as a cartographer and Mal as a tracker. Their regiment has been assigned to cross the Shadow Fold, a huge area of darkness populated by volcra (carnivorous flying monsters that attack all travellers) that separates Ravka from its ports, leaving it weak.
When the volcra attack, Alina somehow summons light to scare them away, which brings her to the attention of the Grisha – magicians led by the Darkling (a man able to summon darkness) who believes that Alina can banish the Fold forever and restore Ravka’s power. Whisked away to the Grisha’s headquarters, Alina is taught how to harness her gifts but struggles to fit in due to the other Grisha being jealous of the attention that the Darkling lavishes on her. But although Alina is attracted to the Darkling, she’s upset that Mal isn’t returning her letters and is becoming suspicious that the Grisha are keeping secrets from her – secrets that threaten Ravka’s very future …
Leigh Bardugo’s debut YA fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has a fascinating world inspired by 19th century Tsarist Russia and Alina has a strong first-person voice. However the character relationships are less well defined and key revelations lacked sufficient set-up. I was also disturbed by the importance placed on being beautiful while the inevitable YA love triangle was unconvincing given the lack of interaction between Alina, the Darkling and Mal. Despite this however, the setting and the ending were interesting enough to ensure that I will read the sequel.
Alina has a strong first person voice and I liked the way Bardugo uses her to describe the world of Ravka and particularly the Grisha and their abilities. However Alina never really interacts with anyone long enough to believe in the relationships that she forms and while I enjoyed her scenes with the Darkling, there weren’t enough of them for me to buy her attraction (ditto with Mal). Consequently key revelations about the Darkling in the final quarter lacked set-up and punch but also saw him Darkling turn into a more stereotypical villain, which left me disappointed.
I disliked the emphasis placed on being beautiful and wished that Alina had been a little less passive. However the ending is intriguing enough for me to want to read the sequel.
The Verdict:
Leigh Bardugo’s debut YA fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) has a fascinating world inspired by 19th century Tsarist Russia and Alina has a strong first-person voice. However the character relationships are less well defined and key revelations lacked sufficient set-up. I was also disturbed by the importance placed on being beautiful while the inevitable YA love triangle was unconvincing given the lack of interaction between Alina, the Darkling and Mal. Despite this however, the setting and the ending were interesting enough to ensure that I will read the sequel.
SHADOW AND BONE was released in the United Kingdom on 6th June 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
