Netflix, to make things extra confusing for readers, also appears to be combining characters and storylines from across the various book series, with season 1 drawing both from Alina Starkov’s story across the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the exploits of Kaz Brekker and the crow gang, characters from the Six of Crows duology. The Grisha books do stick to a relatively close chronology, though some duologies appear to stand alone. So if the Netflix series piqued interest in Ravka (modeled on Russia and 16th century Dutch Amsterdam), the Fold, Fjerda, or any of the Indo-European settings-and, trust us, you’re going to need a map for the first season-perhaps it’s time to dive into the books.Īs with any Tolkien-like encyclopedic fiction, however, not every book is directly related to the last. Still, the world-the “Grishaverse,” named after its pariah power wielders, the Grisha-remains complete unto itself.

Behind the novel stands a robust fantasy tradition, and so even fantasy fans unfamiliar with Bardugo’s world will recognize throughout the Netflix series tropes of the genre. Shadow and Bone was written just a decade ago, the book first appearing on shelves in 2012.

There is no dearth of source material for a series that may run several seasons. Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone may only be the first of a fantasy trilogy-the Netflix series, much like HBO’s Game of Thrones, choosing the first book’s title as the series title-but the “Grishaverse” extends across more than seven novels.

Grisha series