While I might not have begun the year with the start of a book series (I ended with the conclusion of one... The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman), I was at least sure about what series I wanted to read first this year. The Grisha trilogy has been on my radar for a while now and I picked up copies of the series at the last Manila International Book Fair. It also gave me a chance to get back into the groove of reading printed books, especially now that the little one can be entertained with her own books.
Shadow and Bone introduces us to Alina Starkov, an orphan who grew up to join the First Army as a cartographer. Plain and clumsy, she secretly pines for her fellow orphan who also serves in the army as a tracker, Mal Oretsev. Ravka is a nation beset by constant wars, a situation that isn't improved by the large swath of the Unsea or the Shadow Fold in its middle, where creatures called Volcra await to attack humans and eat their flesh. Alina and Mal are part of a contingent that will be crossing the Unsea to obtain supplies, with attending Grisha to help call the wind for movement or to ward off the Volcra with flames. But their trek through the Unsea proves disastrous when they are immediately beset by the monsters. And when Alina and Mal's lives are in direct danger, a power long hidden is unleased from Alina.
The first in any book series has its own set of burdens... the tone has to be set, the characters established and the world building properly begun. It's a lot of things that you need to get right in order to get people invested enough that they would want to read the next installments. As far as first installments go, Shadow and Bone is a solid effort at establishing those different elements, though let me say up front that people should stop comparing this to Harry Potter (nothing can or should, alright? Judge books on their own merit for cripe's sake).
Ravka makes for an intriguing setting, what with its geographical scar and the dark history of its origins. It has known many hardships in the form of wars against its neighboring countries. The only reason why they haven't fallen into conquering hands or complete ruin, despite being run by a less than adequate King, is because Ravka is the only kingdom that actually doesn't discriminate against the Grisha, individuals who have abilities with magic. The kingdom's Second Army is populated by the Grisha and is led by the Darkling, who sees in Alina the possibility of conquering the Shadow Fold when she reveals herself to be a Sun Summoner in that fateful trip across the Unsea.
Thus, Alina's life as a Grisha begins, which keeps her apart from Mal and the life that she has known. In the Little Palace, she receives lessons on theories and is tutored to harness her powers. She is thrust into the spotlight, with the Ravkans treating her as a possible savior and the neighboring countries wishing to kill her for the power she will lend to her country. She also gains the interest of the Darkling and the attraction is a lot more mutual than she expected, considering her feelings for Mal.
Alina serves as the series's main character and one that you can easily empathize with, despite her penchant to drown in insecurities about herself, her abilities, and pretty much every other aspect of her life. She spends a lot of time feeling sorry or doubting herself, but she does redeem herself admirably well when she becomes more determined or learns to embrace the power she never recognized in herself. And confidence in her powers is important, especially when the Darkling himself tells her that her powers are exactly what he needs to save Ravka.
But happy endings aren't to be expected when you're dealing with the first of a book series, and revelations in Shadow and Bone definitely propel the narrative forward in a more arresting pace than the one set by the everyday training life that Alina experiences in the Little Palace. The stakes are revealed to be far more complicated than just about simply saving Ravka and that's when Shadow and Bone starts to really shine. It's when the breadth of the storytelling scope that author Leigh Bardugo attempts is appreciated, especially when the mythology of amplifiers is introduced in the story.
I suppose what truly captures the reader is the relationship between Alina and the Darkling, one that is rife with opposing symbols. Light and Dark, Student and Master. Every encounter seems to foreshadow a fateful event... where that would lead Ravka or the two of them, however, is up in the air. There's a solid foundation in character and world building in Shadow and Bone that it's not hard to wonder or look forward to what the rest of the series will reveal. While you might have to trudge through some pages of self-doubt on the part of the main character (a prerequisite in YA writing, I suppose), the novel does make for it by giving us an exciting latter half that leads to quite a great battle and possibly questionable moral decisions from parties you expect to always do the right thing.
Do yourself a favor and stop wondering what Shadow and Bone compares to in the fantasy fiction world. I'm currently in the middle of the last volume, Ruin and Rising, and what I've read so far merits praise on its own terms. Sure, it might not be life changing as some titles that come to mind and doesn't quite put you to work like others, but it's more than up to the task of entertaining and surprising readers.
Happy reading!!Labels: Action, Adventure, Book Series, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Leigh Bardugo, Reading List, Romance, Shadow and Bone, The Grisha Trilogy
