King of Scars: return to the epic fantasy world of the Grishaverse, where magic and science collide

’ Ravka was many things to him: a grand lady who required constant courting, a stubborn child unwilling to stand on its own, and most often, a drowning man—the more Nikolai struggled to save it, the harder it fought. Having adored the other two series set within the Grishaverse – and being adamant in my desire to read all three series before finally allowing myself to check out it’s adaptation – I was desperate to read the ’King Of Scars’ duology; especially as Nikolai was one of my favourite characters from the initial series. Admittedly my memories of that are hazier than I’d have liked but I was delighted to find myself reacquainted with some of the characters from the first series and thrilled to fall instantly back in love with this world. Firstly I’d strongly advice reading the ’Shadow & Bone’ series and ’Six Of Crows’ duology before diving into this book. It features characters from both of these series – although mostly from the first one – and contains some pretty major spoilers from both story arcs. The storyline also continues on and contains elements from both series and certain aspects of it will make more sense if you’re familiar with them from the previous books. From the very first line of ’King Of Scars’ I was swept back into the world of the Grisha and utterly hooked upon Leigh Bardugo’s talent for storytelling. No matter how much – or little – an individual features in the text she manages to make them come utterly to life. Everybody feels so layered, detailed and fascinating. Every individual that you meet leaves you longing to know more. And the writing itself contained countless segments that I longed to highlight. Getting lost within Bardugo’s world and revelling in her words is always an utter delight. One of the many features that I loved within the ‘Six Of Crows’ duology was how seamlessly the author manages to merge an individual’s backstory into their present timeline; the two unwinding beautifully in a manner that never fails to leave me starstruck. It’s something that happens again here and once again blew me away. These stories also have a true tendency to hollow you out emotionally and make it near impossible not to feel for the characters in question. Although it’s not just these segments that pack an emotional punch; there are heartbreaking and warming moments – along with the occasional burst of humour – throughout. If, like me, you’re a fan of god-like beings in fantasy worlds then you’re sure to find yourself mesmerised by this book. It’s also highly likely to appeal to fans of villainous characters too. And , upon reaching it’s end, leave you clamouring for a copy of it’s follow up. Needless to say I absolutely adored this book and am planning to pick up ’Rule Of Wolves’ as soon as I’ve finished posting this review. If you’re a fan of intriguing fantasy worlds, complexly layered characters, god-like beings and an abundance of danger then this is absolutely the book for you.

Good quality and in good condition on arrival. Excellent story line with twists and turns. Have read and reread this book which basically says it all. Would recommend to all Fantasy lovers with a good storyline.

I'm a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo and the "Grishaverse". The original Shadow and Bone Trilogy is one of my all time favourite reads, and I really enjoyed Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom too. So I was really looking forward to returning to the world, particularly as this first instalment in a new spinoff series promised a return to Ravka and starring roles for some old favourites from both of the previous series. Ultimately, I enjoyed this. Bardugo seems to be a naturally talented writer, but has also grown slicker and more polished over time. The prose is strong, the world is extremely well-developed, and the characters really come to life. The plot is nicely executed with plenty of twists and turns and a good mix of dramatic and more reflective moments, and of scary, funny, and romantic scenes. So there was certainly nothing to really complain about and plenty to be impressed by. All that said, I didn't adore and devour this to quite the extent I was hoping and expecting. I think the main reasons were the POV character choices, the disconnected plot strands, and the lack of clear stakes and narrative drive for large swathes of the book. Character-wise, it's narrated by three people: Nikolai and Zoya from the original trilogy plus Nina from SoC. Nina is one of my favourites from the later series, so I was really happy to see her back. I'm not sure she works quite so well as a standalone character (which she basically was here) instead of as part of an ensemble. Still, no real quibbles with her point of view. I know Nikolai tends to be a bit of a fan favourite, so I'm probably going against the grain here, but I was never a huge fan of him as a character and while he's undoubtedly had some good scenes in both prior series, I think he works better in small doses. Bardugo is absolutely amazing at characters treading a fine line between fairly villainous protagonists (Kaz) and fairly charismatic and sympathetic villains (The Darkling) and compared to them I find Nikolai a little bland and overly perfect. Attempts here to suggest an inner darkness and conflict just didn't come off for me. Zoya was the one who left me really conflicted. I hated her in Shadow and Bone, even after she was fairly thoroughly redeemed, because she was just so pointlessly cruel to Alina in particular and to people in general in the first book. I usually like unlikeable female characters, and she certainly provided some of the moral ambiguity I've suggested Nikolai was lacking. But someone who's previously been horrible to a character you already have an emotional attachment to feels different to a ruthless character you're coming to cold. It was undoubtedly interesting to get some insight into her background and her psyche and her chapters ended up being some of the stronger ones as a result, but I just couldn't bring myself to root for her. And I struggled even more to get behind the hints of a possible developing relationship between her and Nikolai. Plotwise, the Nikolai and Zoya strands are generally covering the same ground as each other, focused on Nikolai's attempts to get used to being a king, repair and modernise Ravka after the civil war, form alliances and see off threats from other countries, potentially find a wife - and defeat the demon that lives inside him thanks to one of the Darkling's last acts. So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on there, which made for some very interesting individual scenes. But until quite far into the book, there wasn't much urgency to any of it or any one aim that was really driving him. Towards the end, it's the demon aspect that starts to dominate proceedings, and this certainly leads to some real tension and high stakes as well as some intriguing revelations. The Nina chapters are completely disconnected from the rest of the story. They could genuinely have been a separate book. She's in Fjerda, rather than Ravka, for a start, and no characters cross from one to the other. Her plot has more of a SoC feel, with scheming and trickery and what amounts to a mini heist, as opposed to the Shadow and Bone vibe of the other two thirds of the book, with its politics and magic and war. I can't decide whether this made for a great best of all worlds combination or too much of a disjointed feel. I'd have liked at least some crossover and ideally, for the two plots to affect each other and/or converge at the end, which wasn't really the case. Her story also took quite a while to get going, with no real sense of urgency or of what she was trying to achieve until quite close to the end, at which point it burst into life. Points to this segment too for introducing probably the one standout new character of the book, Hanne, who was great, both as an individual and in combination with Nina. As I've said above, in the last third or so, the slightly meandering plots really burst into life on both sides. And then, in literally the last few chapters, some absolutely amazing elements were suddenly thrown into the mix, which made me simultaneously frustrated that there hadn't been more of either angle earlier on and unbearably impatient for the next instalment, which I suspect might just address most of my concerns above... To be clear, I'd definitely recommend this to fans of either or both prior series. It's a great read, it just didn't, for me at least, hit quite the heights of either of its predecessors or my own high expectations. Depending on what you like about other Grisha books, you may enjoy this a lot more or a lot less than me, but either way, there's enough objectively good stuff that it's got to be worth picking up.

King Nikolai Lantsov survived the Ravkan civil war with more than just scars. The Darkling turned him into one of his creatures and though the Darkling was defeated, a remnant of the darkness still resides inside him. He fights daily for control but his grip is slipping. Together with his loyal and tenacious General Zoya, they search for a way to rid him of the demon while keeping his secret hidden. Fjerdan armies are readying at the Ravkan borders and threatening to expose his dubious parentage. He may not be a true Lantsov but he is the King Ravka needs. He is inventive, determined and has the ability to make the impossible possible. With weakened defences, depleted finances and a new threat to his Grisha soldiers to contend with, Nikolai must form new alliances if he is to have any chance of keeping his throne and protecting his people. Nikolai must wed to solidify his throne but his affection for Zoya grows daily and he can't bear to be apart from her. Zoya in turn harbours feelings for her King but knows that duty to Ravka comes first and she can never be with him. She must face the scars from her own past in order to find the strength to save the Grisha from those who hunt them. As Nikolai faces down his personal and physical demons, those closest to him must do the same. Will their secrets remain hidden or will the darkness find a way to make itself known and destroy all their hopes for the future? 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. Just when I thought the GrishaVerse reached its peak with the Six of Crows duology, this book shows up and blows my mind. Nikolai is my favourite character from Shadow & Bone so I was delighted to delve into his backstory and see how his story developed afterwards. His flirtatiousness and resilience hasn’t dampened and I loved how passionate he is about life, his creations and his quest to defend Ravka. This book was a rollercoaster of emotion, action and shocking surprises. There was never a dull moment. I adore all these characters but I worry where they will end up in the sequel. Leigh isn't shy about bringing the pain.

King of scars is the latest addition to Leigh Bardugos Grisha universe. While I read and enjoyed the Original series I didn’t love it, a fine read just didn’t entrance. It was the follow up the Six of Crows duology that convinced me that Leigh bardugo should join my must read pile of authors. Set in world heavily influenced by Russian folklore Grisha are born with power alternatively despised or worshipped. The country of Ravka is recovering from a war and the Depredations of the semi immortal leader of the Grisha known as the Darkling now deceased. One of those struggling is Nikolai the King of Scars, the ruler of Ravka who is suffering from a curse one of the last acts of malice from the Darkling. Beset on all sides by enemies there are two main plots running side by side and eventually twinning together. The A plot follows Nikolai and Zoya, ruthless powerful Grisha and General of the 2nd army as they try to find a cure for Nikolai, while the other members of their councils try to hold off there enemies who are Encroaching on all sides. The B side follows Nina a Grisha, undercover in enemy country trying to find the source of an addictive destructive drug known as parem that enslaves Grisha and twists there power in unexpected ways, a victim of it herself from which she gained her new nickname as the Corpsewitch. Suffering the loss of her lover, Nina is caught in a storm of grief and loss looking for vengeance trying to find a way forward. Fast paced, well written this is an excellent addition to the Grisha series definitely wouldn’t recommend this is a jumping off point to start reading this author. There are a lot of cameos and Easter eggs to events the original series and the six of crows series, with Nina’s plot especially tied into the six of crows and having read the original series while not as essential to understand the A plot, Nikolai’s story does make it easier to follow. So in short for those already following the Grisha universe this gets a enthusiastic recommendation for those new go back and read the original series or at least the Six of Crows series. There is a treat waiting for you.

A new fantasy novel from writer Leigh Bardugo. Creator of the 'Grishaverse' series. This is a new duology [a two book series] set in that world. The same one as in her previous five novels. This might actually work as a jumping on point. I say that as I read this six years after the previous one. Although I did see the tv series Shadow and Bone, which was based on them, in the meantime. So maybe that helped. But the point is that even though there wasn't anything to bring you up to speed on previous events, save for some brief references, I had no trouble getting into it. But go and start with book one 'Shadow and Bone' ideally. It's the best way to get the most out of these. This runs five hundred and eleven pages. There's two parts. Divided into thirty nine chapters. A map of the setting at the start. And a brief page long guide to certain things about the magic system of the world. Then you're into the story. Which has three main viewpoint characters: Nikolai. The King. Doing his best to rebuild his country of Ravka. But he has a dark secret that is threatening to consume him. Literally. Zoya. His general. Dedicated to helping him. Her country. and the Grisha. [the magic users]. Nina. She's on a spying mission in the north. She has power. She has grief. She is going to find a few things. These are marketed as young adult books. They are a bit detailed in the writing so I would say thirteen and up. There's some violence in here and some references to people being badly treated. But that's about it for things to be aware of. If you've made it this far with the series though, you'll know what the writing is like so if you're still with it, it will be the right age for you. The three main characters have chapters to themselves as viewpoint characters. This does take a little time to build it's storylines. I didn't mind that though because the writing was really good. After six and a bit years I had forgotten what this series is like in that way, so it was a nice surprise to discover. It really brings it wholly unique setting to life. It's great to get into. Nikolai and Zoya do get a lot of character moments that do give them depth. And after discovering a few things to deal with, their story goes up a gear into some important plot midway through. Meantime Nina's builds and builds. Bringing in some superbly characterised supporting characters along the way. I was after that middle point finding Nina's story more interesting than Nikolai and Zoya's. There is also another storyline going by this point which I won't spoiler, which has an ending you won't forget in a hurry. Nina's does end pretty memorably also. With one chapter that is just ever so good. All this leads to a cliffhanger which will doubtless get sorted in the next book 'Rule of Wolves'. Looking forward to that. All in all, even though as mentioned that one particular storyline wasn't all for me, the rest is so good this is a five star read. Glad I came back to this series, and looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (amazing books btw) in October. Then my friend told me I had to read the Shadow and Bone trilogy to be ready for King of Scars. And I'm so glad she did because I would have been rather confused for most of this book, if I hadn't read the trilogy. So, I would recommend reading both the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology before reading this book. On the whole, this book is incredible! Leigh Bardugo doesn't have to waste any time on world building, which means this book is more plot and character focused. Bardugo's writing is exquisite as always and the plot is full of unexpected twists and turns. I also loved how Bardugo delved deeper into the backstories and childhoods of Nikolai, Zoya and Nina to show how they became who they are now. However, Nina's story felt very disjointed from Nikolai and Zoya's and like it should be in a separate book. I am still very much looking forward to the next book!

🖤📒🖤 5 years have passed since the death of the Darkling, strange occurences are happening across Ravka and King Nikolai is struggling to hold onto his throne. Ooh I really liked this. It was led by the best side characters from the previous series, Nikolai, Nina and Zoya. All hail Zoya, who is fierce and fabulous! Other favourites from the Grisha Trilogy make appearences too such as Adrik, Tamar, Tolya, Genya and David. There's two main storylines, one in Fjerda, one in Ravka which meant the story never got stagnant. The writing is good as always. I really think Bardugo's books are getting better and better. The only niggly point I have is that it is not believable that Nina is 18...after her appearence in Six of crows I had her pegged for at least mid twenties. When did she find the time to train as grisha... (oops almost put in a lot of spoilers for six of crows duology in here-trust me shes done a lot!) and still only be 18?! I loved the six of crows series and this book did not disappoint. Just want more please! 🖤📒🖤 Additional point I bought as soon as i saw the gorgeous golden cover but i think the cover underneath is even better !

I hadn't read six of crows before I read this book and had no idea who the other persons were in this book. Truly recommend reading the trilogy and the duologies before you read this book. But even tho I didn't know some of the characters and learned major spoils for six of crows I loved every second of it. :)

I am totally amazed by this book. I just finished reading it and i was so happy to have read this.... fantasy is one genre which i really like and this book further strengthens my love for this genre... Kings, demons, genral, spy, secret and amazing powers and all the thrilling schemes and action was amazing... That humour used at places really made me love the book more.... The characters are amazing not only the lead three but all the characters are amazing i loved to read about them all... It did take me a bit of time to get used to the names but after getting through some 100 pages i kind of flew through the book... The different twists at the end has left me shocked.. but ofcourse you have to read it yourself to know what it is... And now starts the wait for the sequel, i am so eager to know what all is going to happen in the story ahead... I will highly recommend this book to every one... it has made my time enjoyable and i hope you will enjoy it too... do give it a try... Happy Reading..

I have been so hyped for this book ever since I first caught wind of it. Nikolai was not my favorite character in the Grisha Trilogy, but I did love him and I was very excited to see how his story played out! In case you didn't already know, I am OBSESSED with the original trilogy, but didn't much care for Six of Crows. It felt too different, but King of Scars is a nice blend of the two and it was amazing to be back in Ravka! I'm going to try really hard to keep this coherent, but no promises. First, it's important to point out that, although this is marketed as Nikolai's book, the title is literally Nikolai, and the synopsis is 100% Nikolai, this is not really his book. There is so much more going on here, most obviously that about half the chapters are from Nina's perspective. As I said, I didn't love the Six of Crows duology, but I didn't dislike Nina here. Although I would have been just fine with it if her chapters were left out completely, I do think it was a nice way to bring together the two series. So, let's get to Nikolai. He is the prince/privateer we all remember, but a little more grown up. To me, Nikolai was obviously a bit more mature than he was in the trilogy and I loved seeing this side of him. Of course, he still has the snark and remains full of himself. His journey in this book revolves around purging the darkness put in him by the Darkling and it is a long and fascinating one. I loved his struggle with the demon inside him and the complexity it brought to his character. I also loved his banter with Zoya, who I found myself loving even more than I already did! I definitely ship the two of them. Speaking of shipping, there was not much romance in this book and that surprised me. While not every book needs romance, a Grisha book without anyone to swoon over didn't feel quite right. As I said, I loved Nikolai and Zoya together, so hopefully we get some of that in book two! It also seems possible that there will be a new Nina romance, but I won't say anything else to avoid spoilers. My biggest question about King of Scars was whether or not the Darkling would be back. While it seemed a little impossible, we all know what that word means in the Grishaverse. Here's what I'll say about that: This book does a really good job of solidifying that the Darkling was a BIG BAD. I'll come right out and say he will always be my problematic fave. But there was a LOT of focus on how terrible he was in this book and I assume it may have something to do with how many readers loved him despite his being kind of awful. I still love him. As you can see, the story is quite complex. There are multiple points of view and two to three main storylines happening at any one time. I enjoyed the entire book, but there were most definitely points where it dragged, especially the chapters with Nikolai and his crew. His story should be the most interesting, but there was quite a bit of walking and talking and sitting. At 528 pages, this is a big book and I did love it, but it could probably have been whittled down a little. The only other thing I'll say is THAT ENDING blew me away and took this book from four stars to five in a page! I am going to be throwing one long fit between now and when book two is finally published because I cannot wait to see what happens next. I'll admit, this book was a little different than I expected, but Leigh Bardugo knows how to write a great story and I can't wait to read the next chapter!

The Grishaverse is my home now. And Nikolai my king (although that was always the case). I was really excited about this book because he's one of my favorite characters and I was even more excited when I learned that both Nina and Zoya were going to be main characters in this story. It felt amazing to dive back into this world with the characters I love so dearly. The story was really interesting and I loved how the characters had evolved since we saw them last. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking to see what they have become and the issues they still face after all this time. Leigh's writing is truly addictive, and I much prefer this more adult vibe to the writing in Shadow and Bone. The pacing was excellent and the different plotlines happening at the same time were very well mastered. I had an absolute blast reading this book and the story really blew me away. I did not expect things to take this turn at all. I felt a lot too, because I'm very attached to those characters and everything they went through was very strong for me as well. I cannot wait to read the sequel although I don't want to leave the Grishaverse... I highly recommend if you enjoyed the other Grishaverse books or even if you're new to this! "To live is to grieve." TW: death, violence, demon, blood, murder, torture, assault, abuse

Ho aspettato un po’ prima di scrivere questa recensione per valutare al meglio questo splendido e utilissimo prodotto. La spedizione è stata davvero veloce con Amazon Prime e il prodotto è addirittura arrivato prima del previsto, come sempre Amazon è una garanzia. Il venditore è davvero affidabile e svolge in modo meticoloso il proprio lavoro. L'imballaggio è molto buono, di giusta grandezza, facile da aprire e curato in modo da nascondere il proprio contenuto. Tutti i materiali che compongono il prodotto in questione sono ben realizzati nei dettagli. Tutti i componenti del prodotto funzionano alla perfezione. Il design è gradevole. Sono davvero soddisfatto di questo acquisto che consiglio vivamente per il suo eccezionale rapporto qualità/prezzo. I colori del prodotto corrispondono a quelli in foto. Ero un po’ scettico in fase di acquisto visto che non vi era alcuna recensione dettagliata, ma chi mi segue sa che a me piace rischiare, quindi ho effettuato l’acquisto e devo dire che questa volta sono stato davvero fortunato perché il prodotto è davvero straordinario e molto utile per le mie esigenze quotidiane. 📦 Imballaggio ottimo da nascondere il prodotto all'interno 📦 💲 Ottimo Rapporto Qualità/Prezzo💲 ✅ Consiglio Vivamente L’acquisto Di Questo Valido Prodotto ✅ 🚧 GRAZIE PER L’ATTENZIONE CHE MI HAI DEDICATO!!! 🚧