First installment in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy, Shadow and Bone introduces an alternate tsarist Russia, called Ravka, where people are called to serve their country either by displaying some affinity with magic (those are called Grisha) or by enrolling in the military.
Because not only does darkness threaten to envelope their world while creatures crawl out of it to snatch a bite, Ravka is at war with other countries, too. Magic and monsters. Makes for a good incipit, don’t you think? Continue Reading