A Review about “The Shadow and Bone Trilogy” by Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Macmillan USA
Published: 5th of July 2012 (this Box Edition 14. November 2017)
Length: about 400 pages per book + bonus material
Genre: Youn Adult, Fantasy
Price: 20,99€ on Amazon
What is it about?
In this world there are people existing who have different magical powers like bending the wind, controlling the water, and creating fire. They are called Grisha and in most countries, they are feared for their powers, isolated from society, or even hunted down. Only in Ravka they are protected by the King and serve in his army to fight a common enemy “the Fold”. It is otherwise known as the Unsea because it’s like the void of the ocean, but also not at all and it harbors all kinds of creatures, and everything that enters their world is their prey. Even the famous Grisha are not powerful enough to keep them at bay until a Sun Summoner is found. Her light is the only weapon capable of destroying the darkness… or is it?
Review:
Like many others, I have been led to reading this book series by its Netflix adaptation named after the first book “Shadow and Bone” which came out on Netflix this year. This actually lead me to be pretty disappointed when I realized that some aspects and stories from the show, don’t actually appear in the books. I will try and keep this review spoiler-free, but if you want to know exactly what they have changed from the books you can read about it on my other post *here*. And if you have not watched the series yet and want to know more, you can also read my review about it 😉
Having to fight my way through book one was totally my fault since I just had the wrong expectations and also because I pretty much knew every single thing that happened in the books from the series. It may speak in favor of the Netflix series as a great adaptation that the books are not much more detailed, but it may be something you want to consider before starting to read the series. But reading books two and three was actually much more fun and entertaining and even though the web series was renewed for season two, if you can’t wait until then, reading the books it’s based on might be the right choice 😉
Not having the other storylines from the Netflix series compete with Alinas quest to save her country is actually helping it. Yes, she is still a “Marry Sue”-like character, the one from the prophecy which is nothing new. But her character is genuinely interesting, her relationship with Mal feels very real, and exploring the world and its mechanics through her is still very fun. I have heard people comparing the series to Harry Potter, but it’s more like the Anime Avatar: The Last Airbender, with less spell casting and more nature taming. I really like the idea of it and their explanation of the so-called “Small Science”.
When asked about what genre her book falls in, the author started jokingly called it tsarpunk, “it takes its inspiration from the aesthetics, culture, politics, and social structure of early 19th century Russia.” It does really make a difference since most fantasy worlds are often inspired by medieval Europe and having this be more connected to Russia makes it stand out and more unique.
If you want to read more about Bardugo’s takes on her own stories, I can highly recommend going for the box edition I bought on Amazon. Each book had a bonus section with an Interview with the author herself and some specials like a letter written by Mal. And the designs on the cover are awesome, the only problem I have is that there is a Netflix sticker, referring to the show, which is printed onto the cover, you can’t take it off. But if you don’t care about that and might only be placing the books inside the box on your shelves, it will still look pretty great.
Final Verdict:
From the perspective of coming to these books after the show, it was a bit disappointing at first, and reading book one was a bit boring to me. But books two and three hooked me in again and that’s why I actually don’t want to blame the author for me watching the series first. The story itself is pretty interesting, the tsarpunk aspect makes it very unique and you have a nice set of characters to accompany you on your journey. It’s a nice story about magic, power, love, and responsibility. And since they already changed some aspects of the story in the series, they might change the ending as well. So if you want to know what the original author intends for the story or if you just want to dwell a bit more in this awesome world, pick up the books, they are worth it. And if you want to display the books(especially the ones I am reviewing here), keep the Netflix sticker in mind, but also think about the bonus stuff inside this edition 😉 All in all, I would say I loved the story, would not necessarily compare it to Harry Potter, but recommend it to everyone who wants to read something magical and different. I rate this trilogy a 4 out of 5 rating.
