Description
Product description
Book Description
From the Publisher
Find her website at www.leighbardugo.com and follow her on Twitter @lbardugo.
About the Author
Find her website at www.leighbardugo.com and follow her on Twitter @lbardugo.
Read from the beginning with this deluxe hardback collector’s edition of the first novel in the worldwide-bestselling Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo! This edition features:
*Brand-new artwork*
*Intricate foil iconography from the world of the book*
*Beautiful endpapers*
*Sprayed edges*
Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold-a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite-and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.
Read all the books in the Grishaverse!
The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising
The Six of Crows Duology
Six of Crows
Crooked Kingdom
The King of Scars Duology
King of Scars
Rule of Wolves
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
The Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic
The Lives of Saints
Praise for the Grishaverse
“A master of fantasy.” –The Huffington Post
“Utterly, extremely bewitching.” –The Guardian
“The best magic universe since Harry Potter.” –Bustle
“This is what fantasy is for.” –The New York Times Book Review
“[A] world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp.” -NPR
“The darker it gets for the good guys, the better.” –Entertainment Weekly
“Sultry, sweeping and picturesque. . . . Impossible to put down.” –USA Today
“There’s a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo’s original epic fantasy that sets it apart.” –Vanity Fair
“Unlike anything I’ve ever read.” -Veronica Roth, bestsellin
Kristie Lee –
This is a great introduction to this series. You can tell the book is pitched at a younger audience at times with the writing style, but the storyline is well developed, paced well and well written.Like most series’ the first book has a lot of world building, describing the who, what & where which at times becomes a little boring. In saying that the characters are engaging, Mel, Alina and the Darkling are dynamic and interesting and the grisha world is fascinating and multi faceted.There is the unrequited love, a love triangle and a cliffhanger ending. I almost hope the Darkling redeems himself and doesnt become the series villain but i think i may be disappointed.Overall a great first book in this series.
Kelly –
Never before have I been so affected emotionally by a character so quickly than by reading Shadow and Bone. I experienced two bouts of emotion for the main character before I’d even finished chapter four! Admittedly I’d had a crap day before I started reading, but truly I put this down to the gifts of an incredible writer. I was dubious of the reviews before I started, but I’m now off to read Book 2 and definitely hooked.The author doesn’t take a long time to do the world building, and doesn’t drag out the storyline unnecessarily. It can be a little difficult at first trying to remember the different Grisha talents and who does what etc, but thankfully the storyline isn’t overly complex so you needn’t get bogged down in trying to memorise each of those details in the beginning.Enjoyable read and highly recommended.
Natalie Baker –
This book is pretty good, a solid, enjoyable read. Perhaps not perfect but good enough.My biggest dislike of this book is that it almost feels her power is handed to her at one point. Like a switch is flicked.it felt…cheap.Also, her ability seems to have no set standard. At one point it is described as strong enough to cover a large area, and later only a few meters. So…that was odd.But otherwise it keeps you guessing, with so many questions and keeping you surprised at every turn.
Chelsea Brady –
Love the world building, got so lost in this series!
Moya Bawden –
The characters in this are deliciously flawed. The baddy is beautiful, magnetic and curiously lonely. The goody is a bit of a grump with a howling self-confidence issue. The love-interest is… complicated. This book is both beautiful and visceral, it will make you laugh and cry – and grab for the next one in the series as soon as you’ve read it.Ms Bardugo plays the human heart and curiosity like a virtuoso violinist. This was a gorgeous, quirky fantasy written with breathtaking skill. I can hardly wait to read it again, just to see how she’s put all those layers together without seams. For the lovers of fantasy – or for those who like a little sass with their imaginary world Ms Bardugo is a rare treat. I highly recommend both the book and the series.
Tony Peck –
Nicely written with a compelling new universe. Interesting characters with nicely imagined powers and abilities. Of course there is good and evil and not always where you expect it. Looking forward to the trilogy then the Netflix incarnation of it.
Ang –
The only reason I picked up this book is so I can have a better context for when I start Six of Crows.At some points, I liked this novel and at others I found myself getting bored. There’s a lot of ‘mundane’ things that were described which could have been left out to move the story along further. The second half of the book did get considerably better and fast-paced. It’s a quick and easy read, I read it in 1 night, and I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy.
s –
good book and good introduction to the grishaversethe one star off is due to the fact the books cover is blemished, which is very disappointing as i did buy this copy primarily for the pretty cove(pictures above)
Dot Urbanik –
I enjoyed it. I did. But after coming from the world of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive I’m not moved, to me this was a grey world.The single POV of young Alina Starkov annoyed me, I wanted to smack her face unlike I wanted with Katniss Everdeen’s.The concept of the Darkling intrigued me and I had hoped to see his development as the villain.Overall, I’m not gonna bang on about it. Not sure if I’ll bother watching the series adaptation…
Tya T –
After hearing at lot of high praises for this series, I had high expectations, but sadly I am sorely disappointed.This is the most boring protagonist. I know this is only the first book but Alina feels one dimensional, brainless and very indecisive, even when she knew what is at stake. Even though the story is told from a first person POV, Alina is like a wooden puppet and I find it hard to connect and immerse myself.The story is full of cliches and all the characters were all mindless and flat, even the supposedly evil Darkling. Even some of the stories on Wattpad written by tweens are more interesting than this.