King of Scars - Leigh Bardugo

The first in an intricate, fantasy duology from #1 New York TimesDbestselling author Bardugo, set in her familiar Grishaverse. After his country's bloody civil war, young king Nikolai Lantsov must find a way to top a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army. Yet every day, a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. 1/8. \nA 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST! See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now! Discover what comes next for daring rogue Nikolai in King of Scars, the start of this captivating new duology from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo. [Bardugo] touches on religion, class, family, love -- all organically, all effortlessly, all cloaked in the weight of a post-war reckoning with the cost (literal and figurative) of surviving the events that shape both people and nations. --NPR The story exists at an intersection of past and future selves, and in the dawning understanding that what you most fear may be what you most need. --Washington Post Face your demons...or feed them. The dashing young king, 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, Nikolai 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 general, 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. Read all the books in the Grishaverse! The Shadow and Bone Trilogy \n (previously published as The Grisha Trilogy) \n Shadow and Bone \n Siege and Storm \n Ruin and Rising The Six of Crows Duology \n Six of Crows \n Crooked Kingdom The King of Scars Duology \nKing of Scars \nRule of Wolves The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic \nThe Severed Moon: A Year-Long Journal of Magic \nThe Lives of Saints