Six of Crows

De: Leigh Bardugo

Narrado por: Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, Tristan Morris

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.

A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction - if they don't kill each other first.

©2015 Leigh Bardugo (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

New characters, new adventure, same world...

Not YA age but listen to a lot of YA. First I absolutely loved the Grisha trilogy and it would be hard to beat so if you are considering Six of Crows, I highly recommend reading the Grisha trilogy first. However, I think you can still enjoy Six of Crows on it's own. Going to Leigh Bardugo's website can help fill in information on the Grisha orders and the layout of the world the story takes place in.

Formula for Six of Crows will feel familiar, unlikely group pulled together for a crazy, impossible goal. Leigh does a great job of developing each character as the story goes on. By the end of the story you are attached and invested in all of them and aren't ready for it to end. Which is good because this is the first book in a series.

Different than the Grisha trilogy, Six of Crows is written in multiple character viewpoint style which can be a challenge for audio production. For me this was no exception, I found 7 narrators a bit distracting. I think it could have easily been done with one really good female and male narrator. Maybe that can change for the next book...

Overall all wonderfully written, fun action packed story. Can't wait for the next in the series.

Good story, if a little raunchy

Great character development and a good plot will suck you into this great story. Just be prepared for a little language and and a bit of raunchiness, but can you expect from a book about a criminals and outcasts.

Perfectly balanced epic fantasy, action, and magic

I really enjoyed the Grisha trilogy by Bardugo and was very excited to see that she had come out with a new fantasy series set in that same world. This was an amazing book that reminds a bit of Ocean’s Eleven but with really cool magic and a much more interesting world.

Kaz Brekker (aka Dirtyhands) makes a living running scams and performing crimes and he is very very good at it. Then he gets a job offer he can’t resist. A job that will leave him with all the money he needs to get his revenge and then start over somewhere new. It’s an incredibly risky and deadly job and to pull it off he will need five others with very specific skills to help him.

Enter the Six of Crows. You have Kaz, the leader and general logistical genius. Inej (aka Wraith) who is Kaz’s ghost and informant; Kaz has a special place in her heart and she owes her life to him so she readily agrees. Then there is Jesper, Kaz’s right-hand man and a sharpshooter who has a gambling problem and needs a way out of it. Next is Nina a Heartrinder who needs a favor from Kaz and is willing to help on this quest in exchange for Kaz’s help. The last willing member is Wylan, the son of a wealthy merchant who is very good with explosives. Wylan is unknowingly part of the crew and a hostage all in one! Lastly there is Matthias, a former resident of the Ice Court who is intimately familiar with the White Island and its prison. Matthias is not happy to help in this heist, but he feels a debt to Kaz and is eager to get the promised pardon should they succeed in their mission.

The story is told from the POV of all of these characters and it works absolutely beautifully for this story. I am usually not a huge fan of multiple POVs (more than two of three), but all of these characters are so amazing that it is just pleasure to read about all of them. Not to mention how wonderfully Bardugo blends all these POVs to make an amazing story.

This is one of those perfectly balanced stories that has something for everyone. There is a lot of action, mystery, excellent world-building, some romance, nifty magic, and political maneuvering. Everything is balanced really well and paced just perfectly. This was an absolutely amazing story.

I loved all of the characters too. Although I will readily admit Kaz and Inej were my favorites; they both have mad skills and their respect and unrequited love for each other was endearing and at times maddening. Nina and Matthias were an equally awesome potential couple; they have that whole star-crossed thing going on and there is sooo much anger and passion between them. Wylan and Jesper were just as complex and interesting as the others too.

The story was amazing and intricate and had lots of awesome twists and turns. It really reminds of an epic fantasy Ocean’s Eleven; it also reminds a bit of Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series (will we ever see the next book in that series?!) It was perfectly paced, absolutely engaging, and actual had me physically aching to read more when I was finished.

Overall this was one of the most amazing books I have read this year (I am at 250+ books so that is saying something). It was a perfectly balanced epic fantasy which lots of action, mystery, romance, world-building, magic, and intrigue. The characters are incredible and the story was completely engaging and impossible to put down. I am hooked and am dying to read the next book in this series. It would help to read the Grisha trilogy before this one to understand the world a bit better, but it’s not absolutely necessary. I actually thought this book was a million times better than the Grisha trilogy and am so so excited to read the next one.

Excellent book, odd narration choices

I love everything I have read by the talented author. I loved the books so much, I had to get the audio versions too. Although Leigh Bardugo's works are categorized as "YA" they are definitely not typical YA books at all. The stories and characters are complex and detailed. Bardugo's world building is extraordinary.

What I did find very odd in the audio versions is the use of multiple narrators, each of who also voices all of the other characters but apparently without any coordination of the character's backgrounds. So sometimes Jesper sounds British, sometime southern, sometimes a little Aussie depending on who is reading him. Since each narrator ended up doing all of the various characters it makes no sense as to why the decision was made to use multiple narrators. It didn't ruin the listening experience, it was just distracting.

Narration Completly Ruins A Great Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Six of Crows to be better than the print version?

No!!!!!!!!!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Inez.

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

NO

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

Any additional comments?

The multiple narrators made this book jarring and out of sync. It was a bad idea to for them to use multiple narrators.