The Adventures of Dirty Hands and Sturmhond! That would be so much more fun. Kaz and Nikolai together are magic!!!
So, I finally finished, Shadow and Bone through Rule of Wolves. I've been going over stuff in my mind and while I enjoyed the series I have many issues with it. Probably too many.
There will be spoilers.
Things that don't work for me: Mal, Darkling, Nikolai - Alina isn't remotely interesting enough. She just isn't. She's whiny and boring and just ugh. If she wasn't the main character none of these guys would bother. I don't much care for Mal either. What is it about him that supposedly makes him practically every woman's type? I must have missed it. Even later, it doesn't feel like Mal really wants her so much as he wants the ridiculous devotion that she had for him. When she's not entirely his, he's a crybaby. How dare she think of things like helping or even just talking to Nikolai (who is 1,000x more interesting).
How has Zoya avoided getting pregnant all this time? Or anyone else who isn't Alina? I actually liked that the characters aren't the over the top level of chaste that so many other YA series are, but how do they all manage to avoid babies when the queen couldn't manage it, over then we'd lose out on one of the best characters. It's a little thing, but still.
Another thing from the original trilogy I've never understood. Tolya and Tamar were with Nikolai all that time. Trusted him with their abilities. He trusted them with his true identity, but their loyalty was to Alina over him? Tolya is shown as religious, but still that level of trust should be more than a potential saint. Doesn't track.
Six vs. ShadowSo much better. No whiny Alina. No boring Mal. Instead. Scheming Kaz. Fierce Inej. Frenetic Jesper. Wild Nina. Serious Matthias. And sweet Wylan. All growing, all broken, and all wonderful. Only downside was no Nikolai. 😉
King/RuleToo much Zoya. Not enough Tolya and Tamar
"I've come to save your ass, little brother."
"Two minutes!" Tolya.
"You're two minutes older than me."
When in doubt, Tamar!
Genya is left out a lot too. I missed her, especially since so much of her time is either sad or just logistics.
Darkling was boring. Original series, he's mysterious, dangerous, intriguing, charming, not anymore. He did get a little more interesting towards the end.
Killing all the wrong characters. Remember the original trilogy when she didn't have the guts to kill Mal or Alina even though it made sense to kill both? Most who died (their deaths) were more mentioned than seen.
But now, meet Izaak, get attached, and he's dead. David, more adorable than ever What was the purpose of killing him? Especially hours after his ceremony with Genya! David more adorable than ever. Officially married to Genya, beautiful ceremony. Dead same day!
After the Shadow trilogy she went overboard on power.
All the Grisha are over powered for the last books. First series Genya specifically said the tailoring would wear off after a few days. How long did Nina look Fjerdan? By the end she's going to stay that way FOREVER? How? It took Genya hours to make Wylan himself again, and years working on herself. Hanne switches both clothes and faces with prince in what twenty minutes?
Then Zoya even before she became a dragon she was over powered. Lightning? As a dragon she could still feel Nikolai's fear for her. "There has to be more to life, even for soldiers like us." She can hear his thoughts? Everyone else too? 🙄 Then towards the end on their trek with the Darkling The winds that tore through these peaks made flight too risky. What? Is Zoya the greatest squallor ever or not? Seriously.
Zoya's pride. In all her backstory, where did this pride, over-inflated sense of self come from? That is still with her after she finally opens her heart to love?
I know the idea is "girl power" it doesn't really come off as well as it should though. I mean Alina pines for Mal in the first trilogy. She wouldn't show her power as a child because she wouldn't leave Mal. Girl power? Then she uses it save Mal. Girl power? Then she won't use it because she's wating on him to come back. Girl power? Then she finally accepts and uses her power. Girl power, but she totally doesn't believe in herself enough, so she just rolls with the man who wants to make it easier and get her an amplifier. Girl power? Then Mal comes back. They run away together and she's deteriorating from not using her power. He hates her power and would cut it out of her if he could. So they argue, he flirts with Zoya and Alina unsuccessfully flirts with Nikolai. Girl power? Then she kills him to get his power for hers, but he doesn't really die. She loses her power so in the end she gets what she always wanted - a simple life with Mal. Girl power? No seriously, girl power?
The Crow Duology does the girl power theme better with Nina and Inej vs Shadow and Bone. Though I hate that Inej had to be used and abused in a "pleasure" house. Why? She was already strong, that is shown in flashbacks of her training with her family. She didn't need that storyline to be a badass and I would have liked it even better if Bardugo had contrived a better excuse for Inej to have ended up in Ketterdam and as Kaz's "investment." On the whole I prefer the Crows. No whiny Alina. No boring Mal. Instead, scheming Kaz. Fierce Inej. Frenetic Jesper. Wild Nina. Serious Matthias. And sweet Wylan. All growing, all broken, and all wonderful. Only downside is no Nikolai. 😉
Then Soya doesn't really want to be queen. She doesn't try for it. Nikolai semi gives it to her. Still doesn't really like girl power.
The map! How many cities mentioned aren't even on it. North, South, east, west seem turned around. Was I the only one bothered by this?
This was probably too long and my thoughts are a little all over the place. So, if you read this far, thanks.