The Grisha are still met with suspicion and fear, but there is no immediate threat of violence (in Ravka, anyway Fjerda is a different story). Ravka is on the brink of war, but no one has declared it yet. Nikolai is losing control of the monster, but he is still himself most of the time. There are many looming problems plaguing Nikolai and Ravka, but none of them are instantly recognizable as the most pressing. It rests heavily on the books that came before, and it takes a while to really see where the plot is going to go.

You do not need to have read The Language of Thorns. If you haven’t read all the books that come before, you will miss critical plot, character, and world-building information that King of Scars does not sufficiently recap for newcomers. Here’s the correct order: It’s not like Six of Crows which benefits from but does not require having read the trilogy. The Nikolai Duology is a sequel series to both Six of Crows and the Grisha Trilogy, and you absolutely need to have read all of those books before starting King of Scars. But how can he protect Ravka when he can’t even trust himself to remain himself? Meanwhile, in Fjerda, Nina buries her grief to help smuggle Grisha out of a country that despises them, and discovers a mysterious factory with a horrifying secret purpose.ĭo you need to have read Six of Crows or the Grisha Trilogy to read King of Scars? Nikolai, with his loyal general Zoya, knows that without him, Ravka will fall and that thousands of Grisha will suffer for it.

Hatred for and fear of Grisha is still widespread.

Countries from all sides have demands and gripes. Ever since the battle with the Darkling, he has been cursed at night, he transforms into a hideous, bloodthirsty beast over which he has no control. Ravka is eternally on the brink of war, and King Nikolai’s peace is precarious at best. I do discuss some spoilery developments in King of Scars, but they are clearly marked and separated from the rest of the review so you can read that section or not at your own discretion. There are spoilers for Ruin and Rising and Crooked Kingdom in this review. The fact that King of Scars centers on Nikolai, who is without question the best character from the trilogy (although not the best from the universe as a whole) only made me more excited. I even read The Language of Thornseven though, as a rule, I don’t particularly like short stories. Her Six of Crowsduology is one of my all-time favorites, and I enjoyed the Grisha Trilogy as well, even if I’m not as wildly enthusiastic about it. I discovered Bardugo last year and zipped through everything she’s written. I have been excited to read Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars for a long time.

King of scars