King of Scars

King of Scars Duology, Book 1

By: Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Face your demons...or feed them.

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war - and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried - and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Enter the Grishaverse with this new novel from number-one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo.

"Deadly clever political intrigue, heart-stopping adventure, memorable characters, and several understated, hinted-at romances (how will we wait?!) come together in one glorious, Slavic-folklore infused package. Bardugo's star continues to rise." (Booklist, starred review)

©2019 Leigh Bardugo (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Whether listeners are coming to this universe of demons and saints for the first time or the sixth, [narraotr Lauren] Fortgang is the perfect guide through a fictional countryside full of hard-to-pronounce places in the snowy north of some alternate version of Eastern Europe. The accents range from Russian to Czech to American. Fortgang's linguistic gifts trick listeners into thinking this book has multiple narrators. As the characters unearth their inner darkness and inner light, Fortgang's narration drips with both sorrow and love. The breathtaking ending begs those who are new to the universe to start at the beginning and those who have returned to start again." (AudioFile Magazine)

Expected more from the story.

The story was dragging at the beginning and, maybe, during the middle parts too.
But, lo and behold, that ending was redeeming.

Amazing addition to this literary universe

I am actually upset that I started listening to this the day it was released, because the wait until the next book will be excruciating. Amazing narrator, well-crafted story, and enough exposition for someone who read all of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, but skipped the Six of Crows dualogy.

Another great story

Really has it all; great story and great narration. Loved the different POVs from all the characters and seeing glimpses of old friends from past stories.

A smarter person than me would wait until the full series is released so I don’t have to wait for the next one, but as you might be able to guess patience is not my strongest virtue.

Seriously if you are reading this you probably already know and love these stories. If you are new to the Grisha, then stop reading this and dive in (but I would suggest starting with the earlier series)

love it

hard to understand the transition lines at first, but ties together soon enough to keep your attention. amazing performance read. really brings it to life

Ummm what the what just happened?

I have no words. None. Speechless. Loved everything about this book and then some. Wow!

Great story expanding on Six of Crows

I enjoyed the varied narrators for Six of Crows more, but this story still gives split perspectives. I love that we still get to hear from Nina, and get backgrounds on some of the secondary characters from Six of Crows.

Excellent

I loved it (as always). I loved the characters and the story. I hate that I have to wait until march for the next one. The narration was excellent also.

Love love love!

Fantastic! I breezed right through the book and I already can’t wait to start the next.

Excellent

A nice continuation of the series. I am enjoying all the new twists! Looking forward to watching the show.

Bardugo knows what I like and Fortgang delivers!

Returning to the world of Grisha is always a good time. Leigh Bardugo's descriptive imagery and her character development are intoxicating and Lauren Fortgang just brings the story to life even more.

This is not my favorite of the Grisha world, but it does spend a lot of time with two of my favorite characters, exploring them in a way that I didn't realize I wanted.

Nikolai is explored in a more sentimental and deep way that wasn't as focused on in previous installments. He embraces the parts of him that are less than perfect, and it's good development of character, albeit a tad predictable.

Nina's reign of bi-energy and badassery continues and I WILL NEVER tire of this beautiful and chaotic soul.

The story felt a bit meandering, but I'm a slag for character development. The ending was underwhelming - but I'll still read the other half of the duology - because duh.