A pesar de los esfuerzos de Alina y Mal para huir de Ravka, y no caer en las trampas que se le presentaban a cada paso del camino, no se dieron cuenta de que era imposible escapar de su destino. Por más de que intentaran negarlo, la oscuridad estaba empecinada en perseguirlos hasta el fin del mundo. ⠀
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Cuando menos se dieron cuenta, los dos fueron atrapados y llevados a la fuerza a un barco en donde se encontraba The Darkling. Él no quería matarlos en ese momento, pero sí necesitaba su ayuda para encontrar a un ser mitológico que lo haría más poderoso.⠀
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Alina tiene dos opciones, escapar y dejar que todo se derrumbe por culpa de The Darkling, o asumir sus responsabilidades y enfrentarse a los miedos que la torturaban. ⠀
Uf, qué decirles… tenía tantas ganas de amar este libro, pero no fue así. No sé qué me pasa con esta historia. Sí les puedo asegurar que me encantó el final pero el resto me aburrió. La idea es genial y también los personajes, pero se me hizo muy lento todo. ⠀
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Una de las cosas que más me gusta de este universo es la ambientación, es imposible no sentirme allí. En esta entrega podemos conocer un poco más de Ravka, y lo que está a su alrededor.⠀
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Me pareció muy interesante cómo la ansiedad de Alina está planteada en la historia. Su inseguridad y miedo a expresar lo que realmente piensa hace que tome malas decisiones. Espero que el próximo libro se expanda más sobre el tema.⠀
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No tuve problemas con los demás personajes, aunque me gustaría saber más de ellos. Ah, me encantó Nikolai. Me pareció encantador y que le dio frescura a la trama.⠀
The pond was small, the color of sage, but reflected the sun as it shone above. Its alcove covered by heavy yields of trees; every one different. Their barks bending or white, leaves turning from green to an alluring array of autumn shades.
The cove was the color of the golden sun.
From the distance he kept, Aleksander reveled in the silhouette of you.
It was only a matter of time… #shadowandbone #теньикость #алинастаркова #дарклинг #алина #grishaverse #fanart #darkling #darklina #alina #alinastarkov #дарклина #artblog #artist #art #artworks https://www.instagram.com/p/CX0I-mEKxlM/?utm_medium=tumblr
It was only a matter of time… #shadowandbone #теньикость #алинастаркова #дарклинг #алина #grishaverse #fanart #darkling #darklina #alina #alinastarkov #дарклина #artblog #artist #art https://www.instagram.com/p/CXkRiAgqjDE/?utm_medium=tumblr
Beyond the realisation that I can draw sheer fabric using a layer effect on my app, this drawing was inspired by the heavier topics that SoC addresses, so only proceed if you are okay with the content. (CW: s*xual ab*se, f*tishisation)
One of the things I really appreciate from SoC is how Leigh wrote in the issue of fetishisation and exoticism of cultures and how harmful it is to the person of that identity. Beyond the abuse Inej endured in the Menagerie, it also broke her connection to her culture. Inej stayed away from silks after the Menagerie, even if it was part of her Suli identity. This made me wish for more insight on her relationship with her culture now after surviving the Menagerie, as sexualised stereotypes have always been very harmful and often seen when portraying female POC characters in the media.
Although my culture has yet to be fetishised in Western media (probably cuz it never appeared anyway lmao) this maltreatment exists in my own country against the women who don our own TRADITIONAL CLOTHES. They censor the exposed skin that traditional clothing cuts give in the name of “decency”, when our culture gave very similar clothing shapes for both male and female wearers. It’s all so disturbing, so I’m glad that Leigh addressed such a big topic that is still prevalent today, even if it isn’t as blatantly racist or sexist as it was before.
So! Shadow and Bone came out - og book fans will know it depicts the story of the first instalment of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, along with new unseen prequel content for Six of Crows. Some things are intentionally shifted around, especially in terms of timeline and who meets who, but if I had to quickly summarise my thoughts: THAT WAS SO GOOD! Sorry in advance if this review is absolutely incomprehensible!!!
Part 1: Characters
Alina - making her more assuredly half-Shu seemed to work, though I can’t speak on the topic as I am a pasty bitch. Otherwise, Alina remained largely the same and I’m here for it - she was already a pretty interesting protagonist imo. Nothing but love for Jessie’s performance, I loved seeing Alina’s growing confidence though I wish there were more training scenes.
Mal - they made him so much more interesting. Archie brought a lot to the character, and even though seeing Mal get fucked up every episode was a tad repetitive, I think it made him far more sympathetic and actually showed us that awful suffering he mentioned in the first book. Seeing his close friends die was just an incredibly powerful scene, and Malina feels a lot stronger with Mal being a more rounded character.
The Darkling - just because I dislike Darklina doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the Darkling as a character. While I dislike that he revealed his true name so casually, that he and Alina seemed to fall for each other so quickly (I liked it better in the book because she had more training scenes, indicating more time had passed for their relationship to develop), and that they removed “the problem with wanting is that it makes us weak” line, I do enjoy Ben’s portrayal of the character. He was rendered a little pathetic by the Crows, but I do love the Crows so I’ll excuse it. Where his character really shined is with the flashback scenes and his interactions with Baghra. I’m very interested to see what they do with him next.
Kaz - a lot of people have said Kaz is a lot softer than we’re used to. I agree, but it makes sense. Kaz was that mean but well meaning leader at the start of Six of Crows - he was only made harsher as he was forced to confront his traumas, and go on a difficult heist. Also, I think it gives a bit of context to why he and Inej end up having feelings for each other. We know in the books that they worked closely together for a long time, but actually seeing those moments makes all the difference. Freddy did an amazing job showing Kaz’s rough exterior battling his inner demons.
Inej - amazing, 10/10, can’t applaud Amita enough. I’m not sure about the choice to give Inej a brother? It could cause more grief later but it’s another weirdly jarring difference from the book. However! Inej was done perfectly in the show in my opinion. We see her stealth, knife and acrobatic skills, we see her initial horror at taking her first kill (amazing scene) and her motivations and religious beliefs are not ignored in favour of pairing her off with Kaz immediately. I do wish they kept Kaz gifting her that knife instead of Alina though. I always wanted to see that scene.
Jesper - DID YOU MEAN STAR OF THE GOD DAMN SHOW? Normally a comedic relief character has me rolling my eyes, but it makes all the difference that Jesper actually has troubles and flaws and motivations and HILARIOUS DIALOGUE. I love him. Kit Young did such a good job, he played Jesper perfectly and I also love the foreshadowing of Wylan’s appearance! Love love love Jesper. A+. Also he is bisexual look at him go!!! Representation!!!
Others: NINA AND MATTHIAS ARE AMAZING!!! ENEMIES TO LOVERS A+ EVEN IF THE TIMELINE IS ALL WEIRD. David and Genya. My loves. Perfect. A+ as well. Nadia, amazing. Very gay. Not sure why they killed Marie off like that. Pekka is scary but why did they make him kinda hot? Milo is my hero. I would die for Fedyor. ZOYA?? That is not my Zoya. Why did they make her say something racist to Alina when she herself is mixed race. Zoya would never. But all the actors did a great job even if the characters were a little different.
Part 2: Plot
The rest of these parts should be shorter. So, the plot is mostly the same in terms of Shadow and Bone, but the stuff for the crows is all new and some parts of the story were changed to include them. While the crows on their own were amazing, I think the parts where they interacted with the Shadow and Bone cast felt forced and added some good moments at best, or actively damaged other characters at worst. For instance, Inej witnessing Alina was amazing. But Kaz outsmarting the Darkling, while it made sense, just lessened the Darkling as a threat. Otherwise I think everything was really good! The new Crows stuff was brilliant on its own, even if Nina and Matthias’ story was moved forward I still adored it, and Shadow and Bone stayed loyal enough to the books in terms of plot to remain engaging.
Part 3: Worldbuilding
My main concern about the show was how they would handle the language differences, but they did a great job. Like, they had Fjerdans speak in their own language, they made a new alphabet for Ravkan? I think they know what they’re doing. Seeing the Crows and the Shadow and Bone cast communicate in the same language didn’t really make sense but that’s just a nitpick.
Also, all the settings look amazing. Not much to say, they’re just great.
Part 4: Effects
Music, perfect, visuals, great (the volcras look amazing but Alina’s light power looked a little…fake), costume design and props, best I’ve ever seen. Enough said.
Part 5: Final thoughts
When a book is adapted into a show or film, I usually just assume that it will serve its purpose, maybe be a little frustrating or terrible at worst, and go. Shadow and Bone though, it adapts the books faithfully while still including worthwhile changes. It isn’t perfect, but it comes close. I imagine show-only watchers will like it a lot.
Alternative take: Jesper and Milo carried the whole thing. Goodbye.
I finished Rule of Wolves and it pains me to say it wasn’t that good. I had looked forward to it so much and even though I had concerns with the way KoS ended, I told myself it would all make sense once RoW came out.
Hahahahahahahhahahahaha.
I didn’t hate it. Mostly I was bored and a bit exhausted by the whole thing. Too many random plots. Too many appearances of other characters that were only there for fan service. Too many pov chapters. Not enough actual plot.
Also the Darkling didn’t need to return. His whole plot actually detracted from the main story because he didn’t even end up being the big bad. So it felt like she just brought him back to show Darklina shippers how bad he is. And I am far from a Darklina shipper, I find the ship ridiculous, but people can like what they like. An author shouldn’t bring a character back just to spite fans, and it’s so clear that’s what she did.
I got what I wanted from the book in the end at least with one ship, so I’m ready to accept that it wasn’t the book we deserved and move on.
I have definitely lost respect for LB though because this was chaotic and lazy.
I’ve never really been a Darkling fan but he was done so dirty in ROW. He has so much potential but he was hardly there. I wish he either hadn’t been in the book or it had been a trilogy where all the different stories could have been explored propperly. I sound like I hated it but I actually liked the book. Not loved it, but there were some good moments.
So here is my appreciation for that scene where the Darkling winks because it is everything!
I have some metallic prints and bookmarks in my shop now - they’re printed on this gorgeous cardstock that has a glittery shimmer, and it’s almost impossible to take good photos of them, but I love them.
“Bluebird, Bluebird, Darkling said, I’ve come to steal your crown. With all the fury by my side, I’ll tear your kingdom down, I’ll tear your kingdom down.
Darkling, Darkling, Bluebird said, My crown you’ll never steal, when love and persistence are the altar where I kneel, the altar where I kneel.
Bluebird, Bluebird, Darkling said, you don’t know a thing. Hopelessness is everywhere, and cynical is king, cynical is king.
Darkling, Darkling, Bluebird said, I reject your wretched fear. My battered wings may fail me, but I’ll always be here, I’ll always be here.
Bluebird, Bluebird, Darkling said, my wicked ways are true. I’ll steal your gold and glory crown, and I’ll be the death of you, I’ll be the death of you.
Darkling, Darkling, Bluebird said, I’m not afraid of thee. I’ll fly beyond your shrouded cage to the jubilee, to the jubilee.”
