A lowly orphan and military cartographer in a war-torn world discovers she may be the key to her country's survival in Shadow and Bone, a new Netflix series based on young adult author Leigh Bardugo's bestselling "Grishaverse" novels. Those YA roots are mostly hidden in this lavish, entertaining adaptation, which boasts strong performances, terrific production design, and compelling mythical storytelling. Think Cursed meets The X-Men, with embellishments from Doctor Zhivago.
(Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)
As we've reported previously, Bardugo published Shadow and Bone, the first of a trilogy, in June 2012, followed by Siege and Storm in 2013 and Ruin and Rising in 2014. She told Entertainment Weekly in 2012 that she deliberately avoided the usual medieval fantasy motifs and drew inspiration for her fictional kingdom of Ravka from the Russian Empire in the early 1800s. In 2015, Bardugo published Six of Crows, followed by a sequel, Crooked Kingdom, the following year. This duology is set in the 17th-century equivalent of the Dutch Republic, a town called Ketterdam. Ravka is also bordered to the north by the Scandinavian-inspired Fjerda and to the south by Shu Han (inspired by Chinese and Mongolian cultures).
For those who haven't read the books: the Grishaverse gets its name from the "grisha," people with special abilities who practice what is known as the "Small Science." It's technically magic, although, as the powerful grisha known as The Darkling sees it, grisha manipulate the "stuff" of the world around them; they don't create something out of nothing. The Darkling views the latter as true magic, and he has a point. Nonetheless, the grisha are hated, feared, and even hunted down and killed or enslaved because of their powers.
There are several different orders of grisha, depending on their abilities. Corporalki are the Order of the Living and the Dead and include Heartrenders and Healers, both useful on the battlefield because they can manipulate critical body functions. This order also includes Tailors, rare grisha who can change people's appearances. Materialki are the Order of Fabrikators, essentially chemists and material scientists. Durasts can manipulate solids, while Alkemi specialize in chemicals and gases. Etherealki are the Order of Summoners, able to manipulate the elements. Squallers can harness the wind; Inferni can create and command fire from a mere spark; Tidemakers can manipulate water. Rarest of all grisha are the Shadow Summoner—who can create and command darkness—and the Sun Summoner, who can call forth light.