Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
By: Jonathan Chen
Warning: spoilers.
Shadow and Bone starts off with a very common trope of having superpowered people within a society. They are called Grisha. While this concept has been used over and over again, Shadow and Bone adds a twist by introducing a character called the Darkling. The Darkling is a powerful entity who controls shadows.
Within the book, there is a shadow fold that separates the coastline from the rest of the world. The main character, Alina, has been drafted to cross over, and that is where the plot begins. It turns out that the main character is the sun summoner, the only person in the world who can end the shadow fold. She is then sent to the place where grisha go to learn and there is essentially a lot of world building as the story progresses. Normally, I would be bored at the aspect of having a training montage, but the explanations for how the world works i.e. how grisha's powers work and slight political aspect keep it entertaining. The main character is relatable except for her romances which I will explain in a little bit. The story keeps the reader engaged by introducing new concepts like amplifiers and placing an intricate plot twist in the end.
Looking at the narrator's perspective, I can tell how out of her element she is. We learn with Alina as she attempts to navigate her world. The main part that isn't relatable is the romance. She is literally in like a love chromosome with Alina as the centromere. There are 4 guys vying for one girl, except in this book only 2 are introduced. It gets worse in the next book. The romance with the Darkling is uncomfortable as he is literally like 80 years older than Alina (the more powerful you are the slower you age). She has no chemistry with Mal, or her childhood best friend that happens to be gorgeous. I couldn't feel a single thing. Why would she like a guy who goes around banging all the girls in a town? Why would Mal go for some shallow person like Alina?
Overall, the book was enjoyable to read. I would have given it 4.5 stars out of 5 if the romance was removed, but alas, it's there. I will have to give the book 3 out of 5. Stop trying to stuff out of pocket romances down people's throats. Thank you.
Great review! I read this book the other year, and I would also say 3 out of 5. Although I actually thought that the plot was super dull and basic, but all of the drama making it entertaining enough to read. Your description of chromosomes and centromeres is spot on. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Siege and Storm.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, great review! I like how you kept it honest with the romance plot of this book, which I agree was super confusing, and no one had good chemistry. I own the entire series of this, and I think it just goes downhill from here. Although, it was still refreshing reading a typical fantasy novel, as they all are always interesting with the different worlds and powers. I would recommend checking out the duo logy that takes place in the same world called Six Of Crows. I enjoyed this series a lot more, so you should check it out!
ReplyDeleteNice post Jonathan! I remember reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo in subbie year. I agree that the love thing is really messed up. Alina was really annoying in the beginning, too. But what happens later does make up for some of the irritating stuff about this book. To be honest, I was never really that amazed or enticed by the plot of the book, but yeah, I guess it works. However, I did like the Grisha idea, which gets more interesting in Bardugo's Six of Crows series (which has a much better plot by the way).
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