King of Scars

King of Scars
Information
Author	Leigh Bardugo
Release Date	January 29, 2019
Series	Nikolai Duology
Pages	528 (hardcover) 480 (Kindle edition)
Publisher	Imprint
Chronology
Preceded by	Crooked Kingdom (in Grishaverse)
Followed by	Untitled sequel

King of Scars is a novel by Leigh Bardugo, set in the Grishaverse and focused on the character Nikolai Lantsov. It was released on January 29, 2019 by Imprint.

Summary

Face your demons... or feed them.

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself.  But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Known Information

• The first four chapters of the book, along with the new Grishaverse map illustrated by Sveta Dorocheva, have been released as a preview on the Grishaverse website.
• King of Scars will be told in multiple-POV third-person narration, similarly to the Six of Crows duology.
  • Nikolai Lantsov will be a POV character.
    • He will have a love interest in King of Scars.
  • Zoya Nazyalensky will be a POV character.
  • Nina Zenik will be a POV character.
    • She will have a potential female love interest in King of Scars, most likely a Fjerdan named Hanne.^{[citation needed]}
• Several characters from previous Grishaverse books will return in King of Scars.
  • Genya Safin, David Kostyk, Tamar Kir-Bataar and Tolya Yul-Bataar will be integral characters.
  • Nadia and Adrik Zhabin from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, as well as Leoni, a character briefly mentioned in the Six of Crows duology, will appear.
  • While Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa will not appear in the book, they will be mentioned by other characters.
• Five of the new characters who will be involved are the young monk, Isaak, Hanne, Count Zerov, and Count Kirigin.
  • Yuri, the "young monk," who is not a POV character, will be travelling with Nikolai and Zoya and will play an important role in the story. He was part of the Cult of the Starless Saint, that aims to have the Darkling officially recognized as a saint. Before the release of the book, The name of the monk was not revealed due to the fact that Leigh Bardugo may have changed it during the editing process. His ethnicity, nationality, and all other information were also withheld for unknown reasons.
• The events of the book will occur about six months after the events of the Six of Crows duology.
• The book will have a romantic subplot; Nikolai and Nina are confirmed to have love interests.
• The audiobook of King of Scars will be narrated by Lauren Fortgang, the narrator of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, The Language of Thorns, as well as Inej's POV chapters in the Six of Crows duology.
• The elements on the book's cover, most notably the bees and roses in the upper left corner, have significant ties to the events of the story.

Editorial Reviews

• “Deadly clever political intrigue, heart-stopping adventure, memorable characters, and several understated, hinted-at romances (how will we wait?!) come together in one glorious, Slavic-folklore infused package. Bardugo’s star continues to rise.” —Booklist, starred review