When he does appear, he dispenses irony with the wry observational voice of an immortal. And the Darkling, Bardugo’s most compelling villain, literally back from the dead and making everyone nervous, is underused through much of the novel’s long middle. Soldiers subjected to military experimentation are deprogrammed with relative ease. Heists are interrupted, then proceed smoothly. The point of view rotates from chapter to chapter, allowing the story to run in multiple lanes, though momentum builds slowly.īardugo excels at exploring the elaborate derring-do that allows her characters to achieve any goal, but many obstacles are never fully realized or knocked down nearly as soon as they’re set up, allowing slack in the narrative tension.

Much of the book is a prologue to war with all the attendant politics and maneuvering. Their spy, Nina, lives in disguise among the enemy, risking everything, dancing on the razor’s edge of discovery. His general, Zoya, armed with “beauty and general air of murderousness,” hesitates to explore the new depths of her power for fear of the emotional toll it will take. This story picks up the threads that 2019’s “King of Scars” left so captivatingly loose: roguish King Nikolai contends with doubts about his claim to the throne and a very real demon while trying to fund and fight a war.

“Rule of Wolves” might be best enjoyed after a full Grishaverse reread to situate the particulars of previous books at the top of your mind. The essential weight of that canon adds up over time. With each new book, Bardugo stretches the horizons of her universe, creating an increasingly rich and expansive setting for her characters. The newest release in Leigh Bardugo’s blockbuster YA fantasy series, “Rule of Wolves” brings a satisfying resolution to the latest chronicle of the Grishaverse.īardugo’s multi-series saga, the inspiration for the upcoming Netflix show “Shadow and Bone,” revolves around Grisha, soldiers with exceptional abilities to injure, heal, summon storms and control tides.

The grishaverse