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[skygiants]

I really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows, in which A Crack Team Of Magical Teen Criminals Break A Scientist Out Of Magical Russian Prison, but I did spend a lot of that book going 'this would all make a lot more sense if all cast members were in their twenties....'

But now that I have read the sequel, Crooked Kingdom, I sort of take it back, because the best thing about Crooked Kingdom is when the least-angsty teenager's thoroughly wholesome parent shows up looking for him and all of the skilled, ruthless, tragic-backstory-laden smooth criminals who are currently in the process of holding an entire city to ransom suddenly remember that they're teenagers and are like 'oh shit, A Dad!'

Crooked Kingdom, A Summary, Through The Eyes Of Jesper's Dad

JESPER'S DAD: Son why are there so many guns in your life now, this is Too Many Guns

JESPER'S DAD: Son I'm not mad you dropped out of school and joined an elite gang of criminals and put the family farm up as collateral for a gambling debt, I'm just a little disappoint

JESPER'S DAD: Son who is this nice boy, is he your boyfriend? If not then why isn't he your boyfriend? Son please get your life together enough to be a good boyfriend to this nice boy

(A sidenote: I think Leigh Bardugo wants her fantasy novel to be set in a world where there is no homophobia and everyone is cool with queer stuff, but did not really do the worldbuilding to support it? Like, three protagonist-y teenagers out of seven are gay or bi and nobody bats an eyelash, but every adult is married to someone of the opposite gender and every house of prostitution we see is full of women and patronized by men. So, on the one hand, the thinking on this feels a little lazy to me; on the other hand Jesper/Wylan is a perfectly cute romance and I'm A-OK with the non-existence of gay angst in a storyline which already has PLENTY going on between evil dads, good dads, long-lost moms, disability-related disinheritance, secret magical powers, gambling addiction, and face-swapping.

This is, for the record, by far the least dramatic & angsty of the three romantic storylines. As I have mentioned, these teenagers have a lot going on. That said, another thing I like is that the character with a sexual abuse backstory and related physicality issues is in a romantic pairing with someone who has JUST AS MANY IF NOT MORE trauma-related touch/physicality issues. It's very equitable! Congrats on your eventual awkward hand-holding, kids.)

Anyway, I found Crooked Kingdom overall a very satisfying conclusion to the first book and would recommend the duology as a complete set!

Comments

[sovay]

Anyway, I found Crooked Kingdom overall a very satisfying conclusion to the first book and would recommend the duology as a complete set!

Does Jesper's Dad end the series less disappoint?

[skygiants]

He does! His son has a Nice Boy and a Good Situation and the family farm is out of hock, Jesper's Dad is content.

(Jesper, conversely, spends a lot of the book deeply disappoint in all his friends for constantly turning his perfectly nice, not at all criminal father into a key element in their heists.)

[musesfool]

because the best thing about Crooked Kingdom is when the least-angsty teenager's thoroughly wholesome parent shows up looking for him and all of the skilled, ruthless, tragic-backstory-laden smooth criminals who are currently in the process of holding an entire city to ransom suddenly remember that they're teenagers and are like 'oh shit, A Dad!'

Ahahaha, it's funny 'cause it's true.

Congrats on your eventual awkward hand-holding, kids.

Everything about their fraught romance pleases me.

[alias_sqbr]

a world where there is no homophobia and everyone is cool with queer stuff, but did not really do the worldbuilding to support it? Like, three protagonist-y teenagers out of seven are gay or bi and nobody bats an eyelash, but every adult is married to someone of the opposite gender and every house of prostitution we see is full of women and patronized by men.

This seems to be a common hole in the worldbuilding of well meaning stories. (yes I am looking at you Bioware)

[skygiants]

The presence of an actual responsible adult changes everything!!

Yeah, I was curious how she was going to work that/how much she was going to resolve it after the first book, and I am quite happy with where she ended it up.

[skygiants]

IT'S TRUE. 'It's totally cool to be gay, it just never happens to non-protagonists so our society has not bothered to incorporate any structural cultural support for it!'

Though at least Bioware has some non-protagonist or buddies-of-protagonist queer relationships that pop up throughout the storyline, so I think it may in fact be a step ahead here.

[lacewood]

Jesper's dad made everything EVEN BETTER, it's weird and yet somehow true?? The scene where he breaks up the Jesper/Kaz fight by Dad Yelling at them was THE BEST. I spent half the book worried he was going to die for Plot/Angst but then the plan fell apart, they ran away to hide in his room and eat waffles and I subconsciously decided it PROBABLY wouldn't happen.

And the fraught romance! I can see exactly what Bardugo is doing and yet my ID loves it, yes please awkwardly and significantly hold hands while building/destroying criminal empires 4EVA.

[jadelennox]

I adored Jesper's dad; I thought that plot line works so well.

In general I find that most stories that take place in happyqueerworld don't grapple with the world building. Occasionally you'll see one set of queer parents but in general they all tend to have exactly the problem you describe. I'm still grateful they exist, at least.

[ceitfianna]

I love your summary through Jesper's Dad, he was amazing and really pulled the story together in a great way. Now I want to reread it.

[sovay]

(Jesper, conversely, spends a lot of the book deeply disappoint in all his friends for constantly turning his perfectly nice, not at all criminal father into a key element in their heists.)

I'm glad he survives this plot arc!

[skygiants]

I LOVED THE DAD YELLING SCENE SO MUCH. "Everyone go to your rooms in the absurdly expensive hotel you have rented for me as part of your heist and think about what you've done!"

Yeah, I mean, I feel like Bardugo's whole tactic with the romances here is like "I'm going to have something for EVERY ID, please enjoy your fraught hurt-comfort with small significant touching!"

[skygiants]

Jesper's dad was so great!

I think I got spoiled by the Elemental Logic books and how they actually worldbuilds an entirely different cultural attitude to family structure in order to encompass its happyqueerworld -- admittedly it's one I don't fully understand, but.

Though I think part of the reason this stood out to me here as well is because there are multiple different cultures represented in-story, who all have different attitudes towards gender roles and sexuality, but not towards homosexuality I guess ...? Like I would IMAGINE that cultural attitudes are different in Fjerda than in Ketterdam but WHAT DO I KNOW.

[skygiants]

It was just so pleasing to have a sympathetic character who was ... a confused and mildly disapproving adult ......

[alias_sqbr]

I think someone had a talk with the writers around the time Mass Effect 3 came out about how maybe some of the literal planets full of bisexual feminine presenting aliens should date girls. And I for one am glad of it!

[evewithanapple]

Yeah, I mean, I feel like Bardugo's whole tactic with the romances here is like "I'm going to have something for EVERY ID, please enjoy your fraught hurt-comfort with small significant touching!"

The bathroom scene murdered me dead, so can confirm. (Although I was less pleased by the fact that she gave me a happy stable relationship stuffed with hurt/comfort and then killed one of them off for shock value. Leigh! Why? I thought we had something good here!)

[skygiants]

THE BATHROOM SCENE WAS SO GOOD.

(Yeah, I mean, if she was going to kill someone, I guess I would rather Matthias than anyone else? But it would have been OK not to kill anyone, it really would've!)

[evewithanapple]

The bathroom scene demonstrates to me the difference between what people think erotica is and how it actually works; it's not about what body parts are touching, it's about the tension. And hoo boy, the tension in that scene!

(If we're working on a baseline of "don't kill any of the nonwhite, female, or LGBT characters-" which is a good baseline to have - that basically left her with Matthias and Kaz, and Kaz was too close to the hero of the story to kill. But it was so unnecessary! And nothing in the narrative up to that point supported a tragic ending- let alone such a senseless, pointless one- which meant it's not just a tragedy, it's an unearned tragedy, which is my least favourite kind. It's the difference between catharsis and irritation.)