I can’t believe there aren’t any more books in the Grishaverse after this one. I’ve been reading this series for about two months, and I’m really going to miss it.
I originally started reading this series because I saw the trailer for the show on Netflix, and I knew it was something I would get a lot of enjoyment out of watching. But because I knew it was a series of books, I couldn’t watch it while possessing that knowledge. I bought all the books and planned to watch the first season after I had finished the first book. But when I started watching the first episode and realized that there were characters being introduced that were not in the first book, I knew that I would have to read a lot more before I could begin. For anyone who likes to read before they watch, I will say that you need to read the trilogy and then Six of Crows before you start the show. I won’t divulge any more spoilers than that.
Now for the book itself. If you read my last review you will know that I found Nina’s chapters to be incredibly dull in King of Scars, probably because she was deadly depressing for most of them. Whereas in Rule of Wolves, I couldn’t wait to see what she was up to. We get back the original vibrant and clever Nina we met in Six of Crows. She has infiltrated the Fjerdan Ice Court once again, performing some very deep undercover work for Ravka. She is also trying to figure out where her future stands with Hanne. Will Hanne choose to remain loyal to her nation and her family, even though she has always been miserable living under the strict rules placed upon Fjerdan females? Or will she leave with Nina when her time as a spy comes to an end, to live in Ravka where she can have freedom and live without fear of using her powers? Will Nina ever be able to show Hanne her real face, the one she has been wearing since before she met Hanne many months ago, or will Hanne only ever know the face of Mila? I don’t know if I could live forever with a false face, Nina certainly misses the one she was born with. But I guess it’s different if you don’t feel comfortable in your own body, which we see a lot where Hanne is concerned. There are a lot of allusions to transgender issues at play here, and I think it was very well written and fit into the story perfectly.
We finally learn a lot more about Zoya’s upbringing and training as a young Grisha. We get to see why she often comes off as cold, sometimes even nasty. She has her reasons, I don’t think they entirely justify her overall personality, but now we at least know why she keeps her distance from people and refuses to form close relationships of any kind. However, her sensibilities are put to the test as the pull between her and Nikolai becomes even stronger in this final book. I tried to imagine them as a couple, and I found it difficult. I can’t remember hoping for them to get together at any point during the story. I just don’t know if I find them suitable for each other.
There was one character death that absolutely broke my heart. I exclaimed, “No!” very loudly when it happened. I was hoping it would turn out to be a mistake or they would find a way to bring this person back but it didn’t happen and I am still very upset about it. There was also one plot twist that I also screamed out loud in reaction to that I really did not see coming. It was a really excellent surprise. I am kind of bummed that unless there are more books in the future we won’t see any sort of redemption or character growth from this individual and I think that they had a lot of potential to become someone great. There was also the potential for a lot of conflicts of interest, questions of morality, and the breaking of promises to oneself that would have made for great writing. Maybe some bold fanfiction writer will see the potential I saw and write a piece about those characters one day. I won’t say who these characters were, but I will say that they are currently in Fjerda.
I’m trying to figure out if the author brought back old characters because she wanted us to be with them one more time before she puts this series to rest. Or, if the ending of this book hints at, she has more planned for this universe in the future. It has only been about four years since Rule of Wolves came out, which is a short period of time when you consider how many years we have been waiting for Winds of Winter or The Doors of Stone. I don’t believe there are any rumors floating around, but I would love to hear anything regarding a continuation of the series. I would love to go back to Ketterdam and see what the Dregs are up to, especially Inej, since we barely got a glimpse of her in Rule of Wolves. Kaz is young and I know he will have more money making schemes in his future. I could probably do without Alina and Mal, who are enjoying their relatively peaceful life running the orphanage. Unless there is another matter in the future that would require them to be brought back into the fold. I will just have to look for the next adventure series that will have me raving about it in my future reviews.
Nonfiction and Nonsense 