It's a sad reality that cover art has a lot to do with a book's success. It's awful when a book with enticing cover art doesn't live up to the promise of its wrapper, but then, why should it? It's not like anyone is going to deliberately put a bad design around a book as a quality statement. Generally, if it gets published than somebody must of thought it was a worthwhile read.
This is a little off point. I bring up cover art because Bardugo's books have excellent cover art and long before the Netflix show I was enticed to pick up some book in the series over and over again. I'd read the back and note the price and put it back down. I put it down because even used the prices tended to be up over $10 which certainly indicates an enduring demand. As a general rule, I try to keep my book purchases under $10. With a reading habit like mine, it can add up quick and I don't tend to splurge on a book unless I have a compelling reason to suspect that I will like it.
It wasn't until Netflix release their adaptation that I finally relented and bought them. I'm glad I did. The whole trilogy is excellent.
Most fantasy worlds are built around a vaguely European model, usually quasi British to be specific. The Grishaverse is interesting partly because it's built around a Russian base. The rulers are modeled after the tsars and tsarinas and the religion is reminiscent of the Eastern Orthodox church with it's saints and icons. There's even a crazy political mystic that is vaguely reminiscent of Rasputin in the character of the Apparat.
The story follows Alina Starkov, a mousey military cartographer in the Ravkan first army. She discovers in book one that she's a grisha, specifically a Sun Summoner. Grisha all have magic-type powers. Some of them have elemental abilities, some can affect the human body, and some can manipulate materials. There are many grisha and their powers are uncommon but not rare. Except for the darkling who can summon shadows and the sun summoner who can summon the light - in each case there's only theoretically one of each of those which makes Alina very, very special.
Additionally, Ravka is divided into two by the fold, a magical accident that cuts across the entire country. It's a magical darkness inhabited by the nightmare volcra that prey on humans who venture into the darkness. The only way to cross is on a sand skiff powered by Squallers (grisha who control air currents).
In Shadow and Bone, Alina's power is discovered while crossing the fold. She's whisked away to the small palace for training where the story quickly turns into a court intrigue. Alina pines for her childhood friend Mal, and she struggles to access her power. The most powerful grisha in Ravka, the Darkling, seems to be making overtures. Something is wrong however, and Alina is not destined for a romance.
By the Siege and Storm, the second book, Alina and Mal are on the run. All they want is a simple life away from the politics of the Ravkan court and Second Army (the Grisha army). The Darkling can't let Alina's power go though and when he finds her, she is forced back into the fray.
By the Ruin and Rising, the people are calling Alina a saint. It's not how she views herself, but she'll do just about anything to consolidate her power and confront the Darkling. The price will be high though. Everyone has an agenda, everyone wants to make use of the Living Saint.
I don't want to give too many spoilers so the reviews are skimpy but its a fascinating, richly imagined world and I'll looking forward to hunting down the spin-off duology. (They also have really compelling cover art :-P )
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