Shadow and Bone is a fantasy adventure and debut novel written by American autgor Leigh Bardugo.
Piblished by Macmillan Publishers on June 5, 2012, the novel is narrated by Alina Starkov, a teenage orphan who grows up in the Russia-inspired land of Ravka before her entire life changes when she unexpectedly harnesses a power she never knew she had to save her best friend.
lt is the first book in the Grisha trilogy, followed by Siege and Storm.
A TV series adaptation, Shadow and Bone,premiered on Netflix Friday, April 23, 2021.
Shadow and Bone
First edition cover
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Audio read by: Lauren Fortgang
Cover artist: Rich Deas
Country: United States
Language: English
(Series: Grisha trilogy(Book1
Genre: Fantasy, young-adult novel
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
Publication data: June 5, 2012
:Media type
Print (hardcover and paperback),audiobook,e-book
Pages: 358
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9459-6
Followed by: Siege and Storm
Plot summary
Aline Starkov is a teenage girl who grew up with Malyen Oretsev at an orphanage in Keramzin in the Kingdom of Ravka. The story begins as they march through the Unsea (also called the Fold), a perpetually dark, barren, strip of land cutting most of Ravka off from the sea. Periodic expeditions sent acroos the sea to transport goods and bring back imports are often plagued by monsters called volcra that inhabit the Unsea. During their crossing, the volcra attack, and, while saving Mal, Alina displays an extraordinary Grisha talent. The Grisha are people with the ability to manipulate the elements to use as weapons, e.g. to call fire, to summon wind, to stop hearts. Aline can summon light.
The leader of the Grisha, the Darkling, rushes Alina to the capital Os Alta, saying her power is unique and valuable which makes her an assassination target by enemies of Ravka. She struggles to fit in with other Grisha and to have confidence in her own abilities as she begins rigorous training. She feels a strong attraction to the Darkling, which he seems to reciprocate. During two encounters they kiss, and Alina is confused by her reactions to the kissas.
After demonstrating her power to the king and his court, Alina is told by her tutor Baghra that she must flee, that the Darkling is using her, that the Darkling created the Unsea, and that he intends to enslave her and use her Grisha power to conquer the world. Baghra also reveals that she is the Darklings mother. Two weeks into her flight, she is nearly captured, but is saved by Mal who has a nearly supernaturl ability to track and wes sent to find her. lnstead of turning her in, he helps her escape.
They decide to hunt a magic stag in the far north. If Alina kills the stag and makes a necklace of its antlers, her powers will be greatly amplified. After much time and effort, Alina and Mal find the stag, just as they realize how much they love each other. She refuses to kill the stag, and the stag acknowledges this. At that moment the Darkilng and his minions appear. The Darkling kills the stag and forces the antler necklace on Alina, making her his absokute slave, unable to disobey him in the slightest.
They quickly return south to the major crossing point of the Unsea. The Darkling forces Alina to protect the ship during the crossing. Near the other side, the Darkling extends the Unsea, causing great death and destruction. He then throws Mal off the ship, onto the Unsea, to be devoured by monsters. In desperation, Alina finally realizes that her act of mercy, sparing the satg, gives her the possibility to break free of the Darkligs enslavement. Her love of Mal grants her the strength she needs. Alina breaks free, leaps out of the ship, saves Mal, and destroys the ship.
The book ends with Mal and Alina taking passage across the True Sea, escaping from Ravka and the Darking.
Development
Shadow and Bone is Bardugos first novel. When Entertainment Weekly questioned Bardugo about her inspiration for the series, she explained, "In most fantasy, darkness is metaphorical; itś just a way of talking about evil (darkness falls across the land, a dark age is coming, etc.). I wanted to take something figurative and make it literal. So the question became, 'What if darkness was a place?' What if the monsters lurking there were real and more horrible than anything you 'd ever imagined beneath your bed or behind the closet door? What if you had to fight them on their own territory, blind and helpless in the dark? These ideas eventually became the Shadow Fold."
Bardugo was inspired to model her fantasy world, Ravka, after the Russian Empire of the earla 1800s. When asked why she chose this particular setting, Bardugo explained, "l think thereś tremendous power in the images we associate with Russian culture and history, these extremes of beauty and brutality that lend themselves to fantasy. And honestly, as much as l love broadswords and flagons of ale_and believe me, l do_l wanted to take readers someplace a little different. Tsarist Russia gave me a different point of departure."
Bardugo progressed through the steps of querying agents to accepting reprsesentation to being offered a three-book deal in 37 days The Grusha series went to auction on Decrmber 1 ,2010 and was sold to Henry Holt and Co./Macmillan on Decrmber 3, 2010.
Shadow and Bone, the first book in the trillogy, was published in June 2012.
Reception
Publishers Weekly commented that "Alinaś angst and passivity are a bit of a letdown, but Bardugoś storytelling and world-building more than compensate."
Kirkus Reviews noted "The plotting is powerful enough to carry most readers past flaws and into the next book in the series."
Sequels and related works
Its sequel and second book in the trilogy, Siege and Storm, was published in June 2013. The final book in the trilogy, Ruin and Rising, was published in June 2014.
Also set in the same world as the Crooked Kingdom(2016) duology; the standalone short story collection The Language of Thorns; and the King of Scars (2019) and Rule of Wolves (2021) duology, which features characters from both the original trilogy and Six of Crows.
#Shadow and Bone
#مسلسل الظل والعظام
