Siege and Storm is the second novel in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It continues the story of Alina and Mal and their escape from the Darkling. How far will they get and what adcentures will they be dragged into this time. Keep reading to find out!
Siege and Storm: Summary
Alina and Mal have left Ravka behind and are aboard a ship. They are leaving everything they know behind and want a new start. But some things you cannot escape. The Darkling finds them (as he always does) and Alina is a prisoner once more.
Bardugo takes her second novel to the sea as the Darkling and his Grisha aboard a ship with his regular prisoners. As revealed in the first novel, Alina was given Morozova’s stag. That increased her power but not enough to defeat the Darkling. And he has new powers so he has become much stronger.
Hidden inside a children’s story are images of Morozova’s other amplifiers. A Grisha can only have one amplifer but that rule goes out the window in this novel. The Darkling pursues another amplifier for Alina with the help of an infamous pirate named Strumhond.
With Ravka divided after the Darkling’s plan failed, the Grisha and the first army are in a dire situation. Alina will need to learn to lead and bring change to the empire. And where does Mal fit in all this? It is up to her to figure it all out and stop the Darkling before everything is destroyed.
Commentary
Writing a plot summary for a trilogy is hard when talking about a sequel. I don’t want to spoil anything major in the first novel for readers who haven’t read the first novel yet.
Now, back to the novel and what it gets right. Mal gets much more attention in this novel and that is good. I will say, the twist with Mal in the third book seems too obvious. There are hints and I may be wrong but I doubt it.
In Siege and Storm, we see a lot more internal conflict with Alina. What is her identity and can someone that is not a Grisha truly understand her? The funny thing about this novel is that a lot of the drama between Mal and Alina would be solved if they just talked about it. But then we wouldn’t have a novel, would we?
As the plot picks up, so does the stake. Before it was destroying the fold but that is mostly forgotten. Now, the future of Ravka is on the line and Alina seems to be the one who will determine the country’s future.
Conclusion
This was a good follow up to Shadow and Bone. The pacing is a bit better but we get too much sitting around and not doing much besides waiting for the Darkling to show up. The big battle is worth it and overall, the battles in this novel are good even if they are few and in between Alina’s self-identity crisis.
If you enjoyed Shadow and Bone, then this will be a reward of sorts. I do not like the constant exception to the rule but Alina is special so that is to be expected. The battles are bigger and we get more Ravka history. I’ll be finishing this series next week and can’t wait for what’s in store!
This second volume is far and away my favorite, for some of the reasons you cited––I really enjoy the battles, and I really connected with Alina’s Identity Crisis™––but I’ll be curious to see how you fare with Ruin and Rising (especially concerning your predictions!). I think it’s an enjoyable departure from these past two books: bigger in scale, some really memorable settings, and there are some more good scenes of conflict to come!
I like bigger in scale and I would like to see how Bardugu ends this series and what they will do after the dust settles. Looking forward to it!