Review of Six of Crows
Nov. 18th, 2017 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oanjaI thought I'd write a quick note on my goodreads, but then it kind of got long. :D But the short version 3 stars for good writing, it really wasn't my cup of tea and I disliked some of the things in it immensely
I think this book was not really meant for me. I've never been a big fan of heists and in general I think they work best in movies or tv. The most annoying this about reading a heist plot is when characters conveniently won't think about a plot point even though it's important or somehow we miss out on parts of the planning, so that the twist is a surprise to the reader. It was okay the first couple of times, but it kept happening and I just felt cheated.
I also felt like the ending really cheapened the pay-off of the book. I get that the author wanted to create tension for the next book, but having them struggle for the whole plot to pull of the heist only to then have that victory instantly spoiled when they got back home really flattened the thing for me. Not to mention that the damsel in distress ending was not a favourite of mine.
This brings me to Inej, who I found a likeable character but I really disliked the slavery/forced prostitution/rape backstory. Was that really necessary? If you really wanted to have the slavery thing you could have had her sold to some type of circus or a burlesque show if you want to go more sexy with it. Not to mention that I felt like the trauma was really underplayed except for that one scene where she met her ex-owner. She doesn't seem to have any problems with men otherwise and seems like she'd be okay with having a romantic and sexual relationship with Kaz. This is fine of course, a lot of people who have faced sexual abuse go on to have perfectly nice relationships later on, but in the book it's just never even mentioned how she dealt with her trauma and how she overcame it (obviously she's still traumatized from the way she reacted to her pimp and just walking past the brothel or wearing her old costume etc)
Then there's the other pairing of Nina and Matthias which also has serious moments of physical abuse when Matthias almost kills Nina (It also seemed to me he had fantasies/dreams about raping and killing her while in Hellgate)
Then there's the ending where Kaz apparently freed Pekka Rawlins(?) (I listened to the audiobook version so I'm not sure how his name is spelled) and he somehow got back home before our heroes. This undermines the whole story about how the ice-court is the hardest place to break in and out of. I also really didn't get Kaz's motivation about hating him so much. I mean yeah they lost all their money, but it's not like Pekka killed his brother (which I thought he had done until that one flashback)
The more I think about this book the less it makes sense and the more I dislike it.
The whole idea about the magic users not being able to do magic with their hands tied it so contrived and never explained. Is their magic in their hands? If a magic user loses their hands do they lose their magic? What if you lose a few fingers? What if you have just one hand?
I also really disliked how the book started with characters who then just died. What was the point of that? The book could have started with Inej spying on that experiment just as easily. There was a preview of the next book at the end of book one and that book also starts with a random character (yes I know he was at the beginning) but why? Unless he's suddenly going to be a pov character for the rest of the book, why do this?
Then on to Jesper, who was my favourite, but even with him I have a few gripes. It is implied at the start that he has feelings for Kaz and has had them for a while, but then suddenly this is dropped and he never even thinks about how he's gotten over that crush or whatever.
Let's not forget about Wylan and his dad, who hates his son because he can't learn to read... what? Is that even actually possible? I know people can have severe dyslexia etc but this sounded even more absolute than that. It just came from left field to me, did they foreshadow that at all? I had been thinking his dad threw him out because he was gay.
I think this book was not really meant for me. I've never been a big fan of heists and in general I think they work best in movies or tv. The most annoying this about reading a heist plot is when characters conveniently won't think about a plot point even though it's important or somehow we miss out on parts of the planning, so that the twist is a surprise to the reader. It was okay the first couple of times, but it kept happening and I just felt cheated.
I also felt like the ending really cheapened the pay-off of the book. I get that the author wanted to create tension for the next book, but having them struggle for the whole plot to pull of the heist only to then have that victory instantly spoiled when they got back home really flattened the thing for me. Not to mention that the damsel in distress ending was not a favourite of mine.
This brings me to Inej, who I found a likeable character but I really disliked the slavery/forced prostitution/rape backstory. Was that really necessary? If you really wanted to have the slavery thing you could have had her sold to some type of circus or a burlesque show if you want to go more sexy with it. Not to mention that I felt like the trauma was really underplayed except for that one scene where she met her ex-owner. She doesn't seem to have any problems with men otherwise and seems like she'd be okay with having a romantic and sexual relationship with Kaz. This is fine of course, a lot of people who have faced sexual abuse go on to have perfectly nice relationships later on, but in the book it's just never even mentioned how she dealt with her trauma and how she overcame it (obviously she's still traumatized from the way she reacted to her pimp and just walking past the brothel or wearing her old costume etc)
Then there's the other pairing of Nina and Matthias which also has serious moments of physical abuse when Matthias almost kills Nina (It also seemed to me he had fantasies/dreams about raping and killing her while in Hellgate)
Then there's the ending where Kaz apparently freed Pekka Rawlins(?) (I listened to the audiobook version so I'm not sure how his name is spelled) and he somehow got back home before our heroes. This undermines the whole story about how the ice-court is the hardest place to break in and out of. I also really didn't get Kaz's motivation about hating him so much. I mean yeah they lost all their money, but it's not like Pekka killed his brother (which I thought he had done until that one flashback)
The more I think about this book the less it makes sense and the more I dislike it.
The whole idea about the magic users not being able to do magic with their hands tied it so contrived and never explained. Is their magic in their hands? If a magic user loses their hands do they lose their magic? What if you lose a few fingers? What if you have just one hand?
I also really disliked how the book started with characters who then just died. What was the point of that? The book could have started with Inej spying on that experiment just as easily. There was a preview of the next book at the end of book one and that book also starts with a random character (yes I know he was at the beginning) but why? Unless he's suddenly going to be a pov character for the rest of the book, why do this?
Then on to Jesper, who was my favourite, but even with him I have a few gripes. It is implied at the start that he has feelings for Kaz and has had them for a while, but then suddenly this is dropped and he never even thinks about how he's gotten over that crush or whatever.
Let's not forget about Wylan and his dad, who hates his son because he can't learn to read... what? Is that even actually possible? I know people can have severe dyslexia etc but this sounded even more absolute than that. It just came from left field to me, did they foreshadow that at all? I had been thinking his dad threw him out because he was gay.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-19 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-04 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-12-05 01:14 am (UTC)Is it a YA book? That's what I had thought.
no subject
Date: 2017-12-05 10:12 am (UTC)