66 'Six of Crows' Quotes: Discover the Criminal Underbelly

Young Adult novel "Six of Crows" is filled to the brim with adventure, romance, and crime; get a taste of this world by reading the 66 quotes below.

Leigh Bardugo's novel "Six of Crows" is part of her "Six of Crows" duology. It centers around the leader Kaz Brekker and his fellow criminals attempting to pull off a massive heist for a hefty payday.

Brekker's crew consists of a spy Inej Ghafa, a Ravkan Grisha Heartrender named Nina Zenik, sharpshooter Jesper Fahey, a Grisha-hunter going by Matthias Helvar, and the intelligent Wylan Van Eck. Brekker himself is a criminal mastermind well-versed in the art of thievery.

Read the 66 quotes below to learn more about these characters and the author who mapped out their lives.

Kaz Brekker’s quote: “Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.” | Image: AmoDays

Kaz Brekker Quotes

"When everyone knows you're a monster, you need not waste time doing every monstrous thing." — Kaz Brekker

"I'm going to get my money, and I'm going to get my girl." — Kaz Brekker

"The easiest way to steal a man's wallet is to tell him you're going to steal his watch." — Kaz Brekker

"There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken." — Kaz Brekker

"The brain is just another organ." — Kaz Brekker

Kaz Brekker’s quote: "Suffering is like anything else. Live with it long enough; you learn to like the taste." | Image: AmoDays

"A man doesn't need a bet to get ideas, Nina." — Kaz Brekker

"Nina is fine. Jesper is fine. Everyone is fine except for me because I'm stuck with a gang of hand-wringing nursemaids." — Kaz Brekker

"I'm a businessman. No more, no less." — Kaz Brekker

"No, little brother. No one is stronger." — Kaz Brekker

"Money like that is more curse than [a] gift." — Kaz Brekker

Kaz Brekker’s quote: "No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever." | Image: AmoDays

"You've cheated death too many times. Greed may do your bidding, but death serves no man." — Kaz Brekker

"And that's what destroyed you in the end: the longing for something you could never have." — Kaz Brekker

"I want you to stay. I want you to—I want you." — Kaz Brekker

"What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?" — Kaz Brekker

"I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting." — Kaz Brekker

Kaz Brekker’s quote: "You've cheated death too many times. Greed may do your bidding, but death serves no man." | Image: AmoDays

"No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever." — Kaz Brekker

"Suffering is like anything else. Live with it long enough; you learn to like the taste." — Kaz Brekker

"Barrel boys don't have parents. We're born in the harbor and crawl out of the canals." — Kaz Brekker

Inej Ghafa Quotes

"The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true." — Inej Ghafa

"Greed is your God, Kaz." — Inej Ghafa

Inej Ghafa’s quote: "Men mock the gods until they need them, Kaz." | Image: AmoDays

"Thank you for keeping me in this world when fate seemed determined to drag me to the next. I owe you a life debt." — Inej Ghafa

"The trick is in getting back up." — Inej Ghafa

"I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all." — Inej Ghafa

"Better terrible truths than kind lies." — Inej Ghafa

"Men mock the gods until they need them, Kaz." — Inej Ghafa

Inej Ghafa’s quote: "Agreeing with me. Sure path to destruction." | Image: AmoDays

"Give me a reason to stay." — Inej Ghafa

"You can't spend his money if you're dead." — Inej Ghafa

"Agreeing with me. Sure path to destruction." — Inej Ghafa

Nina Zenik Quotes

"Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return." — Nina Zenik

"I'm fine. You're the one who got stabbed. I don't know what's wrong with me." — Nina Zenik

Nina Zenik’s quote: "Do you have a different name for killing when you wear a uniform to do it?" | Image: AmoDays

"She wouldn't wish love on anyone. It was the guest you welcomed and then couldn't be rid of." — Nina Zenik

"I wouldn't trust you to tie my shoes without stealing the laces, Kaz." — Nina Zenik

"She'd shown him in a thousand ways that she was honorable and strong, and generous, and very human—maybe even more vividly human than anyone he'd ever known." — Nina Zenik

"Do you have a different name for killing when you wear a uniform to do it?" — Nina Zenik

"She was tall and built like the figurehead of a ship carved by a generous hand." — Nina Zenik

Nina Zenik’s quote: "She wouldn't wish love on anyone. It was the guest you welcomed and then couldn't be rid of." | Image: AmoDays

"I expect you'll see a change." — Nina Zenik

"Wherever he's hiding out, once you find him, letting him live would be the most outrageous kind of irresponsibility. My answer is no." — Nina Zenik

Jesper Fahey Quotes

"Maybe your tutors didn't cover this lesson, but you do not argue with a man covered in blood and a knife up his sleeve." — Jesper Fahey

"Every man is a safe. A vault of secrets and belongings." — Jesper Fahey

"If only you could talk to girls in equations." — Jesper Fahey

Jesper Fahey’s quote: "Facts are for the unimaginative." | Image: AmoDays

"Gun to the back?" — Jesper Fahey

"Stop being dense. You're cuter when you're smart." — Jesper Fahey

"Oh, Saints, you are something. The mark, the pigeon, the cozy, the fool you're looking to fleece." — Jesper Fahey

"Nina might not be able to put you back, you know. Not without another dose of parem. You could be stuck like this." — Jesper Fahey

"If Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost." — Jesper Fahey

Jesper Fahey’s quote: "Stop being dense. You're cuter when you're smart." | Image: AmoDays

"Facts are for the unimaginative." — Jesper Fahey

"It really was a shame they were all probably going to die tonight." — Jesper Fahey

Matthias Helvar Quotes

"Trickery is not my native tongue, but I may learn to speak it yet." — Matthias Helvar

"I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept from this oath." — Matthias Helvar

"The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive." — Matthias Helvar

Matthias Helvar’s quote: "We are all someone's monster, Nina." | Image: AmoDays

"It was the vow of the druskelle to Fjerda. And now it was Matthias' promise to her." — Matthias Helvar

"You're all horrible." — Matthias Helvar

"The life you live, the hate you feel—it's poison. I can drink it no longer." — Matthias Helvar

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost." — Matthias Helvar

"We are all someone's monster, Nina." — Matthias Helvar

Wylan Van Eck Quotes

Wylan Van Eck’s quote: "Nations rise and fall. Markets are made and unmade. When power shifts, someone always suffers." | Image: AmoDays

"He's smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you." — Wylan Van Eck

"Nations rise and fall. Markets are made and unmade. When power shifts, someone always suffers." — Wylan Van Eck

Leigh Bardugo Quotes

"If your god is so delicate, maybe you should get a new one." ― Leigh Bardugo

"Six people, but a thousand ways this insane plan could go wrong." ― Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo’s quote: "A good magician wasn't much different from a proper thief." | Image: AmoDays

"None of us move on without a backward look. We move on, always carrying with us those we have lost." ― Leigh Bardugo

"Though he'd trusted her with his life countless times, it felt much more frightening to trust her with his shame." — Leigh Bardugo

"She liked that word. Us. A word without division or borders. It seemed full of hope." — Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo’s quote: "A secret's not like a coin. It doesn't keep its value in the spending." | Image: AmoDays

"They were twin souls, soldiers destined to fight for different sides, to find each other and lose each other too quickly. She would not keep him here. Not like this." — Leigh Bardugo

"A good magician wasn't much different from a proper thief." — Leigh Bardugo

"A secret's not like a coin. It doesn't keep its value in the spending." — Leigh Bardugo

Inej Ghafa’s quote: "Better terrible truths than kind lies." | Image: AmoDays

"Six of Crows" received widespread praise, many nominations, and wins. This included the 2016 Missouri Gateway Readers Award. TIME also listed it as one of the best 100 Young Adult Books of all time.

Netflix has also released a "Shadow and Bone" series based on the "Six of Crows" duology and the author's "Shadow and Bone" trilogy. The streaming service has announced season two, although no release date has been set in stone.

If you enjoy stories about the criminal underbelly, you should read these quotes by bounty hunter slash ex-criminal Spike Spiegel.