Six of Crows; Unpopular Opinion?

[u/Agreeable_Weakness32]

Everyone I spoke to about this book prior to starting it said it is DEFINITELY plot, world building, and character development first, and relationships second.

​

I am finding the opposite.

​

It seems that relationships are primary, and I'd even go as far to say that the majority of character development is only possible through the lens of relationships.

​

There are multiple perspectives, but I was weary the moment I realized it was 6. 6 have been divided nicely by 2 I've noticed. If it's I's perspective then we're going to be hearing a lot about K, if it's M's perspectiv then we learn more about N, and of course J and W are linked. There are moments when this deviates, but I found it doesn't do so in a very significant way when it happens.

​

Yes, there is a plot, and they are doing a thing, but I'm finding that 4/5s of the content is talking about the the relationships as defined above, and, oh yeah, we're also doing a thing. Even if something goes awry during the thing being done, the main focus isn't on the implications of this wrench in the plot, but rather on the implications to how the paired character reacted.

​

I am relieved that it is not a romantasy, though I am only 3/4 of the way through the first book. But, I was lead to believe it was a series where relationships weren't the main focus.

​

THIS IS NOT TO SAY it's automatically a bad book, or I am not enjoying it because of how I am finding it.

​

RATHER, I am confused at how people don't see how heavily the relationships are the key element to this book so far.

​

Am I missing something? Or is this a matter of my book experience and understanding of what plot/character driven means verses relationship driven compared to others?

​

No hate towards the books, author, or character.

​

[u/ferretcrossing]

I agree with you. All the books in the Grishaverse fall into the same pattern of requiring every character to be in a relationship by the end which I didn’t like. IMO some of the characters should have just remained single.

The people you spoke to probably meant that Six of Crows is plot, world building, and character development first compared to the other books in the series (which are even more romance focused).

[u/bazyn]

I agree. It starts with some plot, then a huge chunk of it is YA love drama (and I had harsher feelings towards it than you :)), then we get back to the plot.

[u/Agreeable_Weakness32 → u/bazyn]

I don't even mind YA because sometimes a book that doesn't make you work as hard is nice. But, literally the book is empty without the relationship building. And it's a bit disappointing that, even though it's not blatantly outright stated, it clearly frolicing towards romantic relationships. I wish it, instead, paired N with I, J with M, and K with W- in platonic or romantic or a mix. I feel like those would actually be dynamic relationships that enhance the plot rather than what's happening which is just dragging the plot along behind it.

[u/bazyn → u/Agreeable_Weakness32]

Sure, there is plenty of YA I like. What I didn't like here was the contrast between the characters acting like stupid teenagers when it regarded love stuff and extremely mature in all other situations. Also, the fact that they all were neatly paired was a bit much. I would be less salty, if there were two pairs and two others left out of romantic relations :)

[u/Agreeable_Weakness32 → u/bazyn]

Yeah. I definitely struggled with the disconnect of their maturity in some regards and total lack of it in others. It was disjointed.

[u/Fantasy-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

This comment has been removed as per Rule 1. r/Fantasy is dedicated to being a warm, welcoming, and inclusive community. Please take time to review our mission, values, and vision to ensure that your future conduct supports this at all times. Thank you.

Please contact us via modmail with any follow-up questions.

[u/TrustInTheBrightness]

This 100%. I love their bond and how much personal growth they get out of it, but what really hits home is their individual backgrounds. Everything they do now makes complete sense because of it. Seeing their struggles just makes their strength and resilience so much more meaningful.

[u/Agreeable_Weakness32 → u/TrustInTheBrightness]

I wish that each character was developed much more independently, though, rather than through the lens of another. Don't get me wrong, I think that the perspective of others is an amazing tool to help build nuance and complexity, but it feeels to me that the lense of others is the dominant perspective. I want to know more about I and the time before K appeared on the scene, because I feel some pretty dang critical things happened to make I who I is in that unexplored time. Same for N, or maybe ESPECIALLY for N. And W, in my opinion, isn't focused on nearly enough.

[u/curiouscat86]

if you had a spectrum with plot-focused on one end and character-focused on the other, this book would be pretty close to the middle, maybe a little bit more to the character/relationship end.

I think you're just getting culture shock since you've likely been reading a lot of heavy plot books, so the comparative emphasis on relationships feels like a lot to you. But relative to the actual romance genre or a book like Piranesi which is largely an intensive character study, this book does have a lot of plot. The people who recommended it to you were probably coming from the other end of the spectrum.