Into The Crooked Place is predominantly told from the perspectives of the four main characters: Tavia, Wesley, Karam and Saxony, with a couple of other povs to essentially fill the reader in on what is going on back in Creije whilst the team is away.
Based on the summary alone, I very much got Six of Crows vibes, but on the whole the similarities only go as far as ‘criminals’ teaming up to take out and overcome a bigger threat in order to maintain the status quo.
Characters:
Tavia is our first introduction into the busking world of Creije, and it is through her we meet the other three pov characters, and witness the effects of the magic which inevitably leads to them teaming up to stop it. Tavia is the classic example of a character doing what they have to do in order to survive, and she is determined to leave her life in Creije behind as soon as she is able to. In terms of backstory, I feel like by the end of the book we have learned everything we need to know with the big reveal about the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death coming towards the end. If there is one thing I still have a question mark over, it is who her father is and will his identity have any bearing on the story.
Wesley is easily the most well crafted character in the story. It was almost immediately apparent that there was so much more to him than we initially find out through Tavia’s pov. Throughout the course of the book I kept flip flopping between what the bigger mystery of his back story was – specifically around his parentage which we never find out too much about save for the fact that he, unlike the rest of the those in the kingpin’s employ, made a conscious decision to leave his family. At the point where the book finishes, there is still no clear answer, but I have been left with one theory, and I kind of hope I’m right about it.
Karam is firstly introduced to us as Wesley’s bodyguard and an underground fighter, but as the story wears on we find out there is more to her than that. Yes, she is a kickass fighter, and that does serve her well throughout the story, but what drives her is her desire to fulfil her duty as a descendent of historic caster protectors. As her history is revealed and we find out about her childhood, as well as her relationship with Saxony, she becomes more fleshed out as a character.
Aside from her very questionable decision in the opening chapters of Into the Crooked Place, Saxony is an okay character–in all honesty I still cannot fathom why she did it other than for the simple reason that the author needed something to happen which impacts the main characters and drive the plot forward quickly. There are certain convenient things she knows how to do, such as something which has been outlawed for centuries, which leads me to question how and why she knew exactly how to do this–there’s no reasoning given for the crafters teaching this to the next generation. I feel like I’m being a bit nitpicky with this.
Relationships:
The romances between Wesley and Tavia, and Karam and Saxony are good, and I am here for the lgbt representation with the latter. The relationships and the respective histories between each pairing are slowly built up and revealed to the reader, which means at times it did feel like the romance took over the narrative a little bit.
The Magic System:
If I had to name one critique, it would be the magic system. My main gripe with it is that I’m not entirely sure the author did the best job of showing and demonstrating to the reader how the already existing magic is still around. I think at one point it was stated that the magic is recycled, but there is literally no explanation as to how that I recall reading which I feel is something very important for the reader to know, since it is explicitly stated in the early chapters that there is no more new magic being created. I’m really hoping that we get more on how all this works in the sequel.
World Building:
The world building on the whole was very good. I found it quite easy to be sucked into the setting of Creije, and the different locations the main characters visited throughout. I felt that the differing povs throughout the book provided alternative perspectives on the world they live in which can only make it feel more real and immersive. I can’t say I have much to complain about, other than the aforementioned magic system.
Final Thoughts:
The foreshadowing for certain events or revelations was good enough that by a certain point you can have a decent idea of what is going to happen. However the hints are drip fed to you, so there’s a good chance, if you’re like me, you’ll have several ideas before landing on the ‘right’ one.
There is a lot of set up for the next book in the series, and I have a lot of questions, especially relating to Wesley’s arc. I have a theory, based on what we already know (specifically from Saxony’s ‘regret’), but I could just as easily be very very wrong. At the moment, I’m not entirely sure which way I want it to go.
All in all, this is a solid book, and I give it 3/5 stars. It is a read that should be enjoyable for anyone who likes books in the same genre as Six of Crows, nut maybe don’t go in expecting a brand new spin on the genre.
Based on the summary alone, I very much got Six of Crows vibes, but on the whole the similarities only go as far as ‘criminals’ teaming up to take out and overcome a bigger threat in order to maintain the status quo.
Characters:
Tavia is our first introduction into the busking world of Creije, and it is through her we meet the other three pov characters, and witness the effects of the magic which inevitably leads to them teaming up to stop it. Tavia is the classic example of a character doing what they have to do in order to survive, and she is determined to leave her life in Creije behind as soon as she is able to. In terms of backstory, I feel like by the end of the book we have learned everything we need to know with the big reveal about the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death coming towards the end. If there is one thing I still have a question mark over, it is who her father is and will his identity have any bearing on the story.
Wesley is easily the most well crafted character in the story. It was almost immediately apparent that there was so much more to him than we initially find out through Tavia’s pov. Throughout the course of the book I kept flip flopping between what the bigger mystery of his back story was – specifically around his parentage which we never find out too much about save for the fact that he, unlike the rest of the those in the kingpin’s employ, made a conscious decision to leave his family. At the point where the book finishes, there is still no clear answer, but I have been left with one theory, and I kind of hope I’m right about it.
Karam is firstly introduced to us as Wesley’s bodyguard and an underground fighter, but as the story wears on we find out there is more to her than that. Yes, she is a kickass fighter, and that does serve her well throughout the story, but what drives her is her desire to fulfil her duty as a descendent of historic caster protectors. As her history is revealed and we find out about her childhood, as well as her relationship with Saxony, she becomes more fleshed out as a character.
Aside from her very questionable decision in the opening chapters of Into the Crooked Place, Saxony is an okay character–in all honesty I still cannot fathom why she did it other than for the simple reason that the author needed something to happen which impacts the main characters and drive the plot forward quickly. There are certain convenient things she knows how to do, such as something which has been outlawed for centuries, which leads me to question how and why she knew exactly how to do this–there’s no reasoning given for the crafters teaching this to the next generation. I feel like I’m being a bit nitpicky with this.
Relationships:
The romances between Wesley and Tavia, and Karam and Saxony are good, and I am here for the lgbt representation with the latter. The relationships and the respective histories between each pairing are slowly built up and revealed to the reader, which means at times it did feel like the romance took over the narrative a little bit.
The Magic System:
If I had to name one critique, it would be the magic system. My main gripe with it is that I’m not entirely sure the author did the best job of showing and demonstrating to the reader how the already existing magic is still around. I think at one point it was stated that the magic is recycled, but there is literally no explanation as to how that I recall reading which I feel is something very important for the reader to know, since it is explicitly stated in the early chapters that there is no more new magic being created. I’m really hoping that we get more on how all this works in the sequel.
World Building:
The world building on the whole was very good. I found it quite easy to be sucked into the setting of Creije, and the different locations the main characters visited throughout. I felt that the differing povs throughout the book provided alternative perspectives on the world they live in which can only make it feel more real and immersive. I can’t say I have much to complain about, other than the aforementioned magic system.
Final Thoughts:
The foreshadowing for certain events or revelations was good enough that by a certain point you can have a decent idea of what is going to happen. However the hints are drip fed to you, so there’s a good chance, if you’re like me, you’ll have several ideas before landing on the ‘right’ one.
There is a lot of set up for the next book in the series, and I have a lot of questions, especially relating to Wesley’s arc. I have a theory, based on what we already know (specifically from Saxony’s ‘regret’), but I could just as easily be very very wrong. At the moment, I’m not entirely sure which way I want it to go.
All in all, this is a solid book, and I give it 3/5 stars. It is a read that should be enjoyable for anyone who likes books in the same genre as Six of Crows, nut maybe don’t go in expecting a brand new spin on the genre.