Book Review - Leigh Bardugo's Rule of Wolves
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Imprint
Publication Date: March 30th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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The time for diplomacy is at an end, the time for war is nigh. But Nikolai, the too-cleaver fox, is never one to limit his options, so why not do both? Why not enter marriage negotiations with the Shu while stealing vital materials from the Kerch? Why not give the Kerch what they want while secretly allying Ravka with Novyi Zem? Why not have secret agents working in the heart of Fjerda while your general becomes a dragon? Why not negotiate with the greatest evil ever while trying to stop the west from seceding? He will try everything and anything to save his country, even leave it if that is what's best. Because once his country knows about the darkness within him, he's sure they will turn on him and jump at the chance to have a real Lantsov on the throne. And the Fjerdans have proof he's not a Lantsov as well as a few true Lantsovs laying about. But he's more worried about his people learning that the Darkling has returned, and not just that, but that he escaped and his powers have returned. That's not something to be taken lightly. But this is Ravka, nothing goes according to plan and a win is almost unheard of. Yet through Queen Makhi's own machinations she might have overreached and inadvertently set Shu Han onto the path of aiding Ravka. But it will take exposing her to her own family and hoping they do the right thing. As for what they are doing with regards to Fjerda? Nina is now ensconced in the household of the head of the Drüskelle, a man she has been dreaming of killing since she was a young student at the Little Palace. So while seeing him among the living gives her no joy, the fact that she's stealing his secrets and passing them onto Nikolai brings her great joy. She is also trying to seed a groundswell of religious fervor for Grisha by making Fjerdans view them not as demons but as the favored children of their God, Djel. Though she, like Nikolai, might have to choose between her heart and her homeland. But what's a little sacrafice for the greater good of their people?
And so the Grishaverse comes to a close until the inevitable third book in the Six of Crows series. Rule of Wolves has some problematic end of series issues, mainly the tropes of killing off someone vital and getting all the characters together for one last hurrah. Alina, really!?! You're smarter than this. But as you reach the last few pages the pros outweigh the cons and you realize just how much you're going to miss this world and the characters you've grown to love. And surprisingly I've grown to love Zoya. She has developed the most over time from an out and out bitch to a fearless leader, who I can't help but relate to. I also kind of want to give her a huge but I know neither of us would enjoy that. We're both to prickly. I also can't help thinking Zoya was written in such a way to make up for George R.R. Martin's failure to Daenerys Targaryen, but maybe that's just me. But despite a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day I still have this feeling that the crucial question posited by the book wasn't answered. It's all about the old world and Grisha versus the new world and war machines. It's like progress is the way of the future but one dragon comes along and progress grinds to a halt. So is Bardugo saying that myth and modernization can live side by side or not? I feel like maybe even she doesn't know. And this leads to my least favorite aspect of the book, war and weaponry. Yes, the drums were heard for a long time now and I knew the reckoning was coming, but I just felt there was too much hand-wringing with regard to building bigger bombs. It's like with the creation of jurda parem, if the technology exists someone will create it, so someone will create these bombs therefore it should be the good guys right? It all felt too heavy-handed with all the allusions to WWII and the creation of nuclear weapons. The whole "what have we wrought" of it all got to be too repetitive and boring. Yes, the question needs to be raised, but so many times? It was like a broken record. State your objections, move on, and maybe bother to answer the bigger question; the dragon of it all.
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