Demon in the Wood

[cornerofmadness]

Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have a weird relationship to the Grishaverse as in I've started both series but never finished either. I like them well enough but apparently not enough to remember I want the next book so maybe take this review with a grain of salt.

This is a prequel to the Darkling storyline, meeting him as a young man on the run with his mother, constantly changing names and identities because a) magic users are hunted and b) their magic is super special and feared by other magic users.

There is a certain amount of pathos in this story. Eryk, as he's called at the moment, wants what most teens want, a safe home and a place to fit in. He has neither. What he hopes to gain from their current winter encampment is a few friends. He might find one in a girl his age but the chief's son is a bully and both he and she are after a magical bear to use its bones as magical amplifier.

Obviously things are going to go sideways because if they didn't, would he have grown into being the Darkling (as you can imagine probably isn't a happy character)? I liked the storyline. It was engaging and the art is very nice. It's got clean lines and good coloration (instead of that sloppy muddy stuff I see far too often any more). I'm glad I got to read this.



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