Warning: This list contains mild spoilers for Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows book duology.

The Six of Crows duology is a vital component of the literary universe started by Shadow and Bone, and includes many amazing quotes that capture the characters’ resilience. Six of Crows follows the exploits of Kaz Brekker and his criminal crew, who undertake an impossible heist with the promise of an unimaginable reward. Their mission: To infiltrate the impenetrable Ice Court and retrieve the scientist who has recently created a dangerously addictive drug that will enhance a Grisha’s power.

Many of the best quotes from Six of Crows and its sequel Crooked Kingdom are said by Kaz, whose skills as a criminal mastermind and harsh worldview drive the story. His right-hand woman Inej Ghafa also espouses many impactful lessons as she decides who she wants to become after escaping slavery. However, Six of Crows is overall one of the best fantasy book duologies because of its entire cast of characters and their arcs, summed up by the best examples of the books’ prose.

10

“I’m The Kind Of Bastard They Only Manufacture In The Barrel.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

Kaz is a character warranting a darkly dramatic introduction; in the first chapters of Six of Crows, he outwits another gang in a turf dispute that should have ended in the Crows’ deaths. Per Haskell is officially the leader of the Dregs, but Kaz is the mastermind behind it. However, Geels and the other Black Tips still look down on Kaz and think they can eliminate him. Little do they know that Kaz uncovered their plan to bribe guards to assassinate him during their meeting and blackmailed them to his side.

After affirming their territory, Geels is clearly terrified of Kaz and tries to regain ground by saying something is wrong with him. Kaz only cooly remarks that Geels must be from the suburbs because he is “the kind of bastard they only manufacture in the barrel.” The comment establishes several things that will be important to the story: The gritty setting of the Barrel that turns out hardened survivors, as well as Kaz as a person who cannot easily be tricked.

9

“We’re All Someone’s Monster, Nina.”

Said By Matthias Helvar

The meaning of monstrosity is a running theme in the Six of Crows books. At one point, Kaz states: “When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.” He refers to the reputation of fear he has carefully crafted that allows him power in the city. However, Matthias also tells Nina that they are all “someone’s monster” as an analysis of the hatred between their two countries in a melancholy moment in the subplot of Nina and Matthias’ relationship.

Matthias is from Fjerda, where people believe that all Grisha are evil monsters and ruthlessly kill them, supposedly as a form of self-defense. For Grisha like Nina, Fjerdan soldiers like Matthias are a terrifying way she could meet her end simply because of the power she was born with. As Matthias comes to accept Nina and forms a new philosophy about Grisha, he realizes that the way of the world is that everyone will always fear someone else.

8

“The Easiest Way To Steal A Man’s Wallet Is To Tell Him You’re Going To Steal His Watch.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

Kaz occasionally sheds some light on his thought processes to the rest of the Crows and the reader. Over time, they all learn from Kaz, becoming more skilled criminals and rising to be revered as the most powerful people in Ketterdam. Kaz poses a kind of thought experiment to the others in Six of Crows in the following conversation:

Kaz leaned back. “What’s the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet?”

“Knife to the throat?” asked Inej.

“Gun to the back?” said Jesper.

“Poison in his cup?” suggested Nina.

“You’re all horrible,” said Matthias.

This discourse is how Kaz presents the concept of misdirection, the bread and butter of his operations. Everyone soon learns that what Kaz initially appears to be doing during a job can rarely be trusted. When the enemy expects him to show up in one place, he is always somewhere else. He allows them one victory so he can secure the more important one. The discussion about how to steal a man’s wallet is actually representative of a bigger theme in Six of Crows, where the Crows can achieve anything despite the few resources they have.

7

“The Heart Is An Arrow. It Demands Aim To Land True.”

Said By Inej Ghafa

“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to the land true” is a Suli proverb that Inej recalls when she thinks back on her childhood. The clearest interpretation of it is that one needs a goal and a sense of direction in life to achieve anything. It is a phrase that Inej recalls because it has implications for her present-day life, where she is not sure what her personal goals are. Beyond paying off her contract so she is free to leave the Dregs, Inej does not have a plan.

However, the quote also seems to have some implications for the romantic elements of the story. Kaz and Inej are drawn to each other but neither is completely sure they want a relationship with the other. Additionally, the Shadow and Bone TV show uses “The Heart Is an Arrow” for the episode when the Crows’ plan goes awry, due to conflicting interests. It is only in the next episode when Kaz admits that Alina’s power is real, and they can create a new plan based on what they each want that the Crows can move forward.

6

“She’d Laughed, And If He Could Have Bottled The Sound And Gotten Drunk On It Every Night, He Would have. It Terrified Him.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

Few things can unsettle Kaz, but Inej is definitely one of them. Kaz and Inej’s relationship is complicated and evolves gradually during the two books, but they trust each other more than anything. To some degree, Kaz does not want to be dependent on anyone because it is a kind of weakness, and he knows Inej has every reason to leave Ketterdam when the heist is over. He respects her as a fellow Dregs member because she is more dexterous than anyone else he knows, but falls in love with her against his “better” judgment.

The description of Kaz’s reaction to Inej laughing is a beautifully written line that showcases a lot about their relationship. The metaphor of him “getting drunk” is interesting because Kaz is someone who never lets his guard down. It is followed up by the expression that the feeling terrifies him because he is not sure if he can be the man Inej deserves or what power he would lose from being with her.

5

“No Mourners, No Funerals.”

Said By The Crows

“No mourners, no funerals” is the often repeated catchphrase of the Crows and the namesake of both Shadow and Bone season finales. The books describe how it is a kind of “good luck” statement to say before any mission. It refers to the fact that there will be no mourners or funerals for any of them if they are killed because they are all poor criminals, most of them without any family.

However, there is a sense of camaraderie and irony in this statement. The Crows are connected by the fact that they are criminals with nothing to lose if nothing else. However, as they discover at Crooked Kingdom’s bittersweet ending, there will be mourners for any one of them because they would mourn each other. Every Crow says this at least once; it is uttered multiple times in the TV show as well due to its thematic significance.

4

“We’ll Be Kings And Queens, Inej.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

Kaz tells Inej that they will become “kings and queens” when he first proposes the Ice Court heist to her. Literally speaking, he is just saying that they will be rich enough to do whatever they want and that no one in Ketterdam will be able to control them. However, the phrase symbolizes more when it comes back around in Crooked Kingdom as the subtitle of part five of the book.

The Crows get their money, but they also become the terror of anyone who wronged them in the past. Kaz becomes the most powerful gang leader in the city; Inej viciously hunts the slavers like the ones who kidnapped her; Wylan and Jesper claim the fortune of Wylan’s cruel father. The quote is a turn of phrase referring to how they become the rulers of their own worlds, through nothing but their own ingenuity and grit.

3

“I Came Here For The Killers. The Hard Ones. The Hungry Ones. The People Like Me.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

Kaz stages a truly epic coup in Crooked Kingdom that Shadow and Bone season 2 partially adapts but eliminates the more detailed circumstances surrounding it, undermining its impact. In the book, Kaz sneaks into the Dregs’ headquarters through an upstairs window and dramatically descends into the bar downstairs, perfectly explaining that Per Haskell is weak and everything the Dregs have achieved is because of him:

“I didn’t come here looking for friends. And I’m not here for the washed-up cadgers and cowards or the losers who think Barrel owes them something for managing to stay alive. I came here for the killers. The hard ones. The hungry ones. The people like me. This is my gang,” Kaz said, starting down the stairs, cane thumping against the boards, “and I’m done taking orders.”

Kaz’s words refer to a main theme of the duology of the characters all surviving through sheer determination, unlike the older residents of Ketterdam who prop themselves up on other people’s work. He is successful in rallying most of the Dregs, who turn against Per Haskell and aid the Crows in their final heist.

2

“She Was Not A Lynx Or A Spider Or Even The Wraith. She Was Inej Ghafa, And Her Future Was Waiting Above.”

Said By Inej Ghafa

In Six of Crows, Inej has a heartbreaking revelation about the trauma she has lived through and what her next steps are — while she is climbing up an incinerator shaft during the Ice Court heist. It is an amazing scene that would have been very difficult to adapt because it is all an internal monologue. Inej reflects upon being taken from her family and forced to work in a brothel before Kaz bought her contract. However, when rain starts to fall on her down the shaft, she experiences a kind of catharsis.

Inej then realizes that what she wants is to become a force of nature that will destroy the slavers and free other people like her. The final lines of the chapter illustrate how this will allow her to reclaim her identity. She does not want to be a spy and assassin anymore, something she became out of necessity, but to have a life of her own making. In a way, this self-determination is what all the Crows are looking for.

1

“When You Can’t Beat The Odds, Change The Game.”

Said By Kaz Brekker

At one point in the books, Kaz actually says that because the Crows “can’t beat the odds,” they need to “change the game.” However, it is also used as a slogan for the series’ marketing, emblazoned on the cover of the second book. In the final act of Crooked Kingdom, Kaz manages to usurp, frame, or threaten into submission everyone who would oppose his power. The book stresses that no one would have bet on him, but he is inherently too smart to ever be defeated.

Like several other popular quotes from Six of Crows, this captures the entire story. At the beginning of the second book, the Crows are down on their luck, hunted by everyone in the city. However, they have a criminal mastermind, a silent acrobat, a perfect sharpshooter, a soldier, a Heartrender, and a demolitions expert. Their own skills will be enough to rewrite the rules and take back what is theirs.