The last decade has been a great time for fantasy books, as many incredible additions to the genre have hit shelves during that period — and 10 years ago, a modern YA classic emerged in Six of Crows, which set itself apart by defying one beloved trope.

All of Leigh Bardugo’s books are must-reads for fantasy lovers, but Six of Crows holds a special place in many readers’ hearts. As it celebrates its 10th anniversary this September (complete with new Dregs editions of the books), it’s a great time to reflect on why the 2015 novel and its sequel are so successful.

In part, it’s because of the book’s fantasy heist narrative, which sends its six POV characters on a seemingly impossible mission. The whole thing is so well-structured that it’s difficult to put the book down. However, I’d wager the characters themselves are the bigger draw. And Bardugo herself masterfully pinpointed why.

Six Of Crows Became A Must-Read YA Fantasy Book By Defying The Chosen One Trope

Six of Crows is a spinoff of Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy, but it diverges from the prior story in one noteworthy way: it doesn’t follow a “chosen one.” Shadow and Bone‘s Alina Starkov fits into the classic fantasy trope seamlessly. However, Six of Crows shifts its focus to a band of misfits doing their best to survive, despite being dealt unlucky hands.

None of Six of Crows perspective characters could realistically be described as your typical fantasy hero, and that’s precisely why the story lands as well as it does. Bardugo herself pointed out the strength in this, discussing it during an event in Washington D.C. (via TikTok). The author explained that she “wanted to write a story about people who were not chosen, who were disregarded, who were considered expendable.“

This sort of fantasy cast is less of a rarity now, but as Bardugo noted, it wasn’t as common when Six of Crows first came out. On the heels of stories like The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments, and Throne of Glass, the YA genre was full of “chosen ones.” Whether they were fated to be great or had greatness thrust upon them, it was hard to find main characters who didn’t fit that archetype.

And many readers flock to fiction, especially in the fantasy genre, for that reason: because we want to believe there’s more out there for us. Bardugo admitted to wishing for some Princess Diaries-esque bloodline reveal as a child, but she emphasized that this doesn’t happen to the vast majority of people:

“I think that’s very normal, to want to believe that you have this sort of secret thing that someone is going to see in you and then acknowledge. But I think most of us who have lived some life know that there are not a lot of magical mentors, that it’s very rare that somebody will see a gift in you and cultivate it. That lies with us. That we actually have to keep believing when the world doesn’t have an interest in us developing that talent.”

She’s right that Six of Crows’ characters are more relatable because of this. And I’d argue that’s the reason readers are still thinking about them, 10 years after the book’s publication. Subverting this expectation set them apart, and that only made them more memorable — and more difficult to replace.

Six Of Crows’ Characters Are The Reason It Remains So Iconic, 10 Years Later

I will unabashedly admit that I’m one of those people still thinking about Bardugo’s duology a decade later (and not-so-secretly hoping she’ll decide to write a Six of Crows 3). And her reflection on the story rings true: the characters are the biggest appeal because they’re forced to forge their own destinies, going against all odds to do so.

Six of Crows highlights that even underdogs and misfits can come out on top and claim happy endings, a surprisingly uplifting message from a book that starts out as a revenge story. Hearing Bardugo speak about her approach, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite Inej quotes from Crooked Kingdom. It perfectly captures the idea that non-chosen ones must choose themselves:

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.”

Seeing these flawed characters step into their power, with only each other to lean on, is what makes Six of Crows such a compelling read. Ten years later, that’s only gotten truer, as time has made it harder for many of us to see the magic and possibilities in the world.

There’s a reason I’m still searching for the perfect Six of Crows replacement, and it’s because there’s nothing else quite like it. There are plenty of great fantasy heist novels out there, but they don’t capture that same message that Six of Crows delivers simply by following the characters it chooses to. That’s why it remains so iconic — and will likely stay that way for years to come.

Source: TikTok