Ruin and Rising
Fantasy, High Fantasy, Young Adults
Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone Trilogy, Book # 3
Square Fish
June 17th 2014
Paperback
417
English
May 25, 2021 May 28, 2021
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The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.
About the book
“Last” book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It has been two months since Alina has lost her power and is locked underground along with the Apparat, Mal and all of her followers. Only a few Grishas survived and Nikolai has disappeared. The Dark One now reigns over Ravka along with his Grishas and Alina’s only chance to defeat him is to find the ultimate amplifier. But she cannot do that if she is locked underground and the Apparat treats her as someone that is incapable of everything.
So Alina must flee but cannot do so without the consent of her followers because she knows their support could be crucial to winning the final battle.
What I think
As for the second volume,the story convinced me more than the first. I liked how everything is structured and how it ends. I am happy that there is so little of the Darklin and perhaps it is his fault that I did not like the first book that much. I don’t see him as someone who needs to be redeemed and I agree on the ending. I find it perfect. Maybe because I wanted this ending, I also liked the book more than others who wanted a different ending, but honestly, the other endings wouldn’t have satisfied me. And there are two others, at least, or even three that might fit with the book.
Characters
Alina grows a lot throughout the trilogy, at the beginning she is so naive, but given her age and how she lived, perhaps she cannot be blamed. The fact that she is a bit of a martyr bothers me but I can understand her reasons for this.
Mal is my favorite character and I almost cried at the end (almost because I was my shop and I couldn’t cry in front of my customers). His speeches are profound and her knowledge is immense.
I would erase the Darklin from the trilogy. I know without him there would be no Fold and therefore not even a book. But you understand me, don’t you? I don’t like as a villain, it doesn’t convince me as a possible character to be redeemed and I repeat, thank goodness it ended like this. I don’t know… he just doesn’t convince me.
We didn’t see Nikolai that much, or rather the story is carried on by Alina, Mal and the Grisha. But I see him as King of Ravka.
Now the “Fold” and this is a translation problem. I know that in English it is “Fold” and that making it into Italian is difficult but it was actually translated with “fault” so I always thought it was… I don’t know… a fault! You know? A crack in the earth and not a piece of land on the same level as the rest. But that has nothing to do with the actual story, but thank goodness I watched the TV series and understood what it was like. Yes, I watched the series just for that.
Conclusion
So, I liked the series, I recommend reading it and reading this trilogy first and then the Six of Crows duology and not the other way around as I did. Also I know there are other books after The Crooked Kingdom, but I don’t know if I will read them. Let’s see if Oscar Vault brings them first in Italy because I have to say that the 5 books are quite beautiful in my library.
