/r/Fantasy Discussion Group discussion

Let's discuss the first half of the book! Share what you think of the characters, worldbuilding, and anything else that's going on. What's working, what's not working, what you think will happen going forward.

Feel free to discuss plot elements from the first half of the story (up to and including Chapter 19), but please avoid any spoilers for the second half.

Some talking points to spark discussion:

1) What do you think of each of the characters, their relationships, and the group dynamic as a whole? Any favorites?

2) What has been your favorite scene so far?

3) What do you think of the world and magic?

well I ended up reading through the whole book and now can't remember what has happened by 19 and what happened after that point do I will just try to be vague to make sure I'm not talking about later points.

group dynamic was pretty fun to read as you seem to have different character types different reasons for doing what they are doing the things for so that was fun to read about.

the world and magicwas okay. this is the first book in this world as I'm guessing the other books also take place in it. but based off of just think book I thought the world building was okay. nothing to special but served the story and the magic hasn't been a huge part of the story.

but overall the story was good enough to keep me reading by the halfway point that I finished the book and moved onto the second one.

I also finished the book, but i won't include any spoilers. Also, I listened to the audio version so I'm guessing at how the names are spelled.

The characters were pretty great. All of them feel pretty fleshed-out and no one is one dimensional, though Wylan and Jasper feel like they haven't had as much development as the others. I like the use of flashbacks a lot. I don't think Jasper got any and we haven't seen any Wylan POVs yet, so this could be why they feel a little lacking. I also appreciate that every member of the team is going on the mission with different goals. As for relationships, I really like Inej and Kaz. Their conflict with each other isn't as overt as Nena and Matthew, but I like how they both seem to care for each other on some level and just don't know how to express that.

It's interesting that all of the characters are in their teens. I get that it's a YA novel and this is pretty standard, but nothing about any of the characters required them to be so young. This is more just an observation than anything else.

I think my favorite scenes are pretty much any time we get to see Inej in action. Sneaky rogue characters are often my favorites and it's nice to see one where they aren't a thief or a scoundrel. The voice actor for Inej in the full-cast audio book was also very good, which probably made me like Inej even more.

I'm on the fence about how I feel about the magic system. We don't know enough about it to really know what magic users are capable of, but the three classification system is interesting. The magic-enhancing drug is pretty cool, and I appreciate that Bardugo is setting the drug up to have real consequences.

I can agree with most of what you put. I also like the Kaz and Inej dynamic and it also helps like you I enjoy Rouge characters and also those of a mastermind like Kaz.

I read the book so can't comment on the audio book.

and I agree with the age thing. I actually felt like they were better suited to be 20 to 30 year old with the way they act. seems odd for them to be in the 15 to 19 range. so that did pull me out of the story at times but like you said it is a young adult novel. And most the time they age in my imagination until someone points out that they are kids.

I'm not sure what happened - I was loving everything about this book, and then I just kind of ran out of steam. I put it down a few days back and haven't felt any urge to pick it back up again.

I'm indifferent to most of the characters, so perhaps that's part of it. I really like Wylan and Jesper, and I'm very intrigued by their interactions so far - but the Kaz/Inej and Matthew/Nina thing is ... really juvenile feeling to me. I guess that's to be somewhat expected, since it's a YA novel.

My favourite scene so far has been the opening scene, honestly. I loved that inexplicable sense of magic and fear and wtf-ness that sets up the entire story.

I'm not too sure how I feel about the magic system yet, but I think the worldbuilding has been decent. Not a lot of detail, and it's fairly run of the mill for a fantasy-heist story, but Bardugo's included some interesting bits and details that make it feel more fleshed out than not (the gang tattoos, the system around the Grishas and their indentures, etc.)

The characters felt a little too trope-like at the beginning, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy them as I read on. I was skeptical of the different perspectives at first, fearing they might be too redundant, or make the story too complicated. But honestly, the different perspectives were effective. Each of the characters are a little too one-note for me to want to stay in just one of their heads all the time. Ultimately, I ended up really enjoying scenes with Jesper and Wylan sassing each other.

I’d like to say my favorite scene was something exciting or suspenseful, but honestly when Inej and Nina have some time together, singing and recovering, it felt authentic and sold me on their friendship for the rest of the adventure.

I think the flashbacks, while interesting, were hard to swallow in the pacing of the story. I would have liked to learn about backstories through conversation between characters rather than through only introspection. I suppose that would be hard to do with characters who are so invested in keeping their own secrets, but I would have preferred a little more outward interaction.

The magic feels a bit arbitrary to me and I think it bails the gang out of one too many tight spots. I like the idea of certain people having powers with elemental affinities, but ultimately I found the magic a bit too vague and overpowered in the stories. Maybe I’d like it more if I had a grounding the other Grisha books?

I liked Ketterdam the more time I spent there. I appreciated the grittiness and intrigue of a complicated city, especially when paired with some humor from our underdog protagonists. It reminds me of parts I enjoy about the guard stories in the city of Ankh-Morpork in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.

My favorite relationship was by far that of Nina and Inej. Too often in YA I notice undercurrents of jealousy/resentment and one-upsmanship between two leading female characters. It was pleasantly refreshing to see that Inej and Nina genuinely care for each other, like any other healthy friendship.

Now I've finished the book so I can't remember where exactly Chapter 19 begins. But I do appreciate the way the author has brought the city to life, describing the various districts and grottos and more importantly, the people that belong to each. I've tried reading the Grisha trilogy and I think she's definitely gotten better over the Six of Crows series, both in plot development and characterizations.

In a world where magic exists in any form I have a certain respect for people that get by with only sleight of hand, or feet in Inej's case. Overall I'm​ pretty impressed by how she describes the magic system in this series, in comparison with the earlier Grisha books.

I'd big difficulties to connect with the characters at the beginning (which was a surprise after worshipping the Darkling in The Grisha). At this point, I really like Inej. The group dynamic is fine and it's interesting to discover each character's past. I also find some relationships warm, especially when Jesper was involved.

For the memories, Kaz' youth was the most interesting. In the present, I'd a soft spot for Inej's recovery, the song scene was fun to imagine and I also liked the talks when she went outside.

I'm familiar with the world because I already read The Grisha trilogy. I found it merciless with the wars and the hate toward people with powers. It's nice to expend the knowledge of the world with Six of Crows as it's set in new lands.
I liked the magic before, some ideas were good and it was nice to see the various abilities but I was surprised to see Nina uses her powers in other ways. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book with super powered Grisha :)