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ninetalevixen 's review for:
King of Scars
by Leigh Bardugo
content warnings:
rep:
"If we don't dream, who will?"
It's almost a shame that this draws more from the Grisha trilogy than SoC/CK, because I didn't make it through the former while I really enjoyed the latter. So I kept putting this one off because I wasn't sure how I would like it. And going into this, I was really only familiar with (and attached to) Nina Zenik — but it's hard not to be won over by Nikolai's charisma and Zoya's terrifying competence. (Though it does mean I wasn't overly impressed by the ending twist, wherein.)
It also means I'm not totally sure which characters are brand-new and which are returning or upgraded from guest star to series regular. But I do like the cast overall: both as individuals and for the way they challenge and complement each other.
Thankfully, there's enough recap of past events to get you up to speed (or remind you if you've forgotten), but not so much that it overshadows the narrative at hand. In large part this is accomplished by giving some context but focusing on the lasting effects on the characters: their trauma, guilt, grief, fears, hopes for the future.
My main complaint would be that the narrative felt a little unbalanced especially at first, switching between the POVs that it did, mainly because. But each narrator has a distinct personality and set of values/motives, and brings something different to the story.
There is a lot of banter; while some of it made me laugh, some of it just made me roll my eyes and wish certain characters could just take things seriously for once. And an overabundance of quotable lines, including quite a few echoed from previous books and other characters in this 'verse.
Fans of Bardugo's other work likely won't be disappointed with this one, and I know I'm looking forward to the sequel. It's consistent with the preceding books, with all the pros and cons that entails.
[Note: There are definite romantic arcs in this, but they're not at all a focus of the plot so I'm still shelving this as minimal romance.]
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CONVERSION: 11.15 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
Spoiler
past major character death, post-war trauma & guilt, grief, major character death(s), on-page murder-suicide, bullying, mention of being burned alive, impalement, mention of being drawn & quartered, mentioned torture, on-page gutting of a fish, cancer, ableism, fat-shaming, on-page killing of wolves (self-defense), blood, corporal punishment, infanticide in the face of starvation, past sexual assault, selling a child into arranged marriage, mention of scalping, repeated forced impregnation, mention of miscarriages and stillbirths, addictionrep:
Spoiler
bi/pan fat MC recovering from addiction [Nina], amputee secondary character [Adrik], WLW secondary characters [Tamar & Nadia], Asian-coded secondary characters [Tamar & Tolya], secondary F/F relationship [Tamar/Nadia], diverse minor characters incl. Asian-coded [Shu]"If we don't dream, who will?"
It's almost a shame that this draws more from the Grisha trilogy than SoC/CK, because I didn't make it through the former while I really enjoyed the latter. So I kept putting this one off because I wasn't sure how I would like it. And going into this, I was really only familiar with (and attached to) Nina Zenik — but it's hard not to be won over by Nikolai's charisma and Zoya's terrifying competence. (Though it does mean I wasn't overly impressed by the ending twist, wherein
Spoiler
the Darkling returnsIt also means I'm not totally sure which characters are brand-new and which are returning or upgraded from guest star to series regular. But I do like the cast overall: both as individuals and for the way they challenge and complement each other.
Thankfully, there's enough recap of past events to get you up to speed (or remind you if you've forgotten), but not so much that it overshadows the narrative at hand. In large part this is accomplished by giving some context but focusing on the lasting effects on the characters: their trauma, guilt, grief, fears, hopes for the future.
My main complaint would be that the narrative felt a little unbalanced especially at first, switching between the POVs that it did, mainly because
Spoiler
Zoya and Nikolai are always in the same plot arc, experiencing almost all the same thingsThere is a lot of banter; while some of it made me laugh, some of it just made me roll my eyes and wish certain characters could just take things seriously for once. And an overabundance of quotable lines, including quite a few echoed from previous books and other characters in this 'verse.
Fans of Bardugo's other work likely won't be disappointed with this one, and I know I'm looking forward to the sequel. It's consistent with the preceding books, with all the pros and cons that entails.
[Note: There are definite romantic arcs in this, but they're not at all a focus of the plot so I'm still shelving this as minimal romance.]
-----------
CONVERSION: 11.15 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5