So, after dipping my toe into the Throne of Glass world with the novellas of The Assassin’s Blade, I’ve completed the first book. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It was a great blend of scene-setting and action and dropped plot-crumbs in all the right places to develop the story of legendary teenage assassin, Celaena Sardothien.
Opening sentence: After a year of slavery in the Salt Mines of Endovier, Celaena Sardothien was accustomed to being escorted everywhere in shackles and at sword-point.
Meet Celaena Sardothien
As you can see from the above opening sentence, we’re thrown straight into the action. Celaena is rescued / taken from essentially a prison by Prince Dorian Havilliard and Chaol (the narrator pronounces this ‘Kay-All’) Westfall, Captain of the Royal Guard.
Celaena is taken to Rifthold, where the glass castle/throne of the title is. If she wants her freedom, she must take part in a contest, a series of tasks against other contenders to become the King of Adarlan’s personal assassin.
We learn more about Celaena’s past and drive here (she’s definitely hiding a few secrets…) and you’re rooting for her as she tackles the tasks.
There was something great and deadly concealed within her, and he didn’t like it.
Along the way, she befriends Princess Nehemia and has an encounter with a long-dead Queen that sets her on a new (secret) mission to find out where the King really gets his powers.
There is also a tantalising love triangle with the aforementioned Chaol and Prince Dorian (and Celeana) which I wasn’t expecting and added an extra (not spicy, very PG) element to Celeana’s story.
On that note… I do know that Throne of Glass was the first book that Sarah J. Maas wrote as a teenager (although I believe that the published version is a re-write) so in areas you can see that.
Unlike her other series (ACOTAR and Crescent City) this is marketed as Young Adult and feels quite YA fantasy and definitely not romantasy. For example, exclamation marks are used a lot to convey both annoyance and excitement, and given the spicy reputation of Sarah J. Maas books in general, there is nothing like that here. No spice at all just FYI.
I’m also reading Throne of Glass with the knowledge and history of the other two series and so it’s fun to pick up on all the links and breadcrumbs as I read. For example… there are references to the now extinct Fae, they talk about magic being outlawed and there are names that feel familiar like the Ruhnn Mountains and the first King of the Fae, Brannon (also the name of Lydia’s son in Crescent City). Love all the inter-series links.
Overall, I found Throne of Glass to be a great start to the series. Loving the story-threads that are being set down here and keen to see how they develop in book two, Crown of Midnight.
(Side note, I had this Britney song looping in my head while writing this review.)
