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kebcyx 's review for:
Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a long review and it's entirely for my own benefit, more of a diary entry/record than a review. I have a lot of thoughts/feelings about this series. Indirect spoilers for my views on the entire series throughout, so proceed with caution, though direct spoilers will be covered by this .
Backstory
For full context, I'm re-reading this because I never actually finished the series. I read everything up to Kingdom of Ash and got several chapters in before ultimately putting it down one day in 2018 and never picking it back up. I remember being a little lost while reading it; it was nearly 1,000 pages, there were so many characters, relationships, settings, main plots and sub-plots to keep track of, and to be honest I was very tired of some of the tropes in the later books(specifically mating bonds, explosive sex scenes that made me grit my teeth and handsome Fae warriors who I personally never found very interesting) . I basically knew I would need to re-read the other books before I could properly enjoy KoA and considering that meant re-reading 7 books and over 4,000 pages (yes I checked)... Yeah, I wasn't rushing into that.
Last year I decided that it was finally time, even though I'd heard a couple of spoilers about how the series ends (which don't sound like something I'll enjoy, by the way). So there is my 10-years-in-the-making task: re-read the entire series (in publication order, naturally), finally read Kingdom of Ash, and complete the series.
Why bother re-reading a huge series, knowing that you probably won't like how it ends?
That's easy - Celaena Sardothien. Next to Hermione Granger, I'm pretty sure Celaena is the most game-changing, influential female character I've ever read. You know that moment in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy steps outside and her world goes from black and white to technicolour? That's what meeting Celaena was like. I simply didn't know a character could be like her. She was brutal, cunning, secretive, snide, lethal, dangerous, powerful, clever, cutthroat - a long list of traits that I had never encountered before in a heroine. It fascinated and thrilled me. These days it's not so revelatory for a female character to be both good and merciless, but in 2015 that was a whole new world to me. Throne of Glass opened my eyes, expanded my understanding of what a female character could be. There is a piece of Celaena in every single story that I write, an echo in every heroine I create, whether they live in a fantasy world or work in a small town English book shop. Like Hermione, she is foundational to me. Ultimately, I am here for Celaena; I want to see her story through to the end.
Throne of Glass: first impression?
I've done the maths and this is at least the 4th time I've read Throne of Glass. The first time was in late 2015, midway through my first year at uni. I'm pretty sure I borrowed it from the library. I remember being unimpressed - a little bored, not really sure what the hype was all about, unsure if I'd continue on with the series. I can't remember what compelled me to keep going but I'm glad that I did - book 2 was definitely better, and book 3 kind of blew my mind.
Throne of Glass: what did I think this time?
This is a story that rates better upon re-reading because you can appreciate how Throne of Glass is just the tip of the storytelling iceberg. It's a debut novel, seemingly straightforward on the surface, but actually trying to achieve a lot of things. I think that's the reason it drags a little in the middle and feels dry at times - there's more happening than the reader realises and consequently things get kind of muddled. The Kaltain chapters feel superfluous, the interactions with Elena baffling and initially random. It doesn't feel like it's setting up a huge saga, it just feels like a simple tournament story; the bigger picture isn't really there yet. A re-reader can appreciate exactly what's being set up.
Overall, it was a 3.5 star read - enjoyable but mostly for nostalgic reasons/because I know where the story is going. I am very keen to pick up Crown of Midnight soon as I think the best way to make sure I get through the whole series is to keep up momentum, so I might pick that up this weekend.
Thoughts on characters:
Nehemia
Spoilers for TOG only.I think using Nehemia as a red herring was a stupid idea. It's not convincing - nobody is going to suspect Nehemia when Cain is right there, clearly doing evil shit. Then again I know what I'm like and if she had suspected Cain from the start then I probably would have thought Nehemia would secretly be the villain... I'm always looking to spot a plot twist before it can get me, even though I love being shocked by a story - it's one of my reader sins. Nervertheless, suspecting Nehemia felt like a flimsy choice. I get that it's driven by Celaena's insecurities and the events of The Assassin's Blade, but meh, I think it wasn't executed well. There wasn't enough fuel to fire Celaena's suspicions. If SJM had just written in some more sus moves on Nehemia's part, it would have been more convincing. With that being said - I do think the reveal that Nehemia had secretly been battling off with Cain over the ridderack, and that she had drawn the Wyrdmarks under Celaena's bed repeatedly for her protection, very fun. I really liked that.
Spoilers for the whole series.On my earlier read of the series I remember being a little baffled by the depth of Celaena's grief over Nehemia as I hadn't really felt like they developed that deep a friendship. At some point in ToG Nehemia calls Celaena her 'greatest friend' or something similar, and I was kind of like... really? You sure? Already? So their relationship continuing to develop is something I'll be paying close attention to on this read to see if my opinion changes. Nehemia's death is such a huge catalyst for Celaena's actions, it needs to feel legitimately painful enough to do that.
Also - Nehemia already knows Celaena is Aelin, right? Or does she figure it out in the next book? Hmm, I don't know. See? My memory of this series really isn't fantastic.
Dorian
We all love a dark haired, blue eyed prince. Dorian's introduction is fine, a bit fun and also a bit meh, but there is so much room for his character to grow.
Spoilers for the whole series. Knowing what's ahead for him I literally just want to reach into the pages and wrap him up in cotton wool to protect him from the pain. I don't think I ever rooted for Dorian to be the one for Celaena, but I've always rooted for his character as a whole, and one of the things I am most looking forward to in the re-read is seeing his relationship with Manon evolve and - hopefully - see them getting together.
Chaol
Okay, so one of the things I remember most clearly from the first time I read this book is that I badly misprounounced Chaol's name, which I thought was more like CHOW-L, as though it has an East Asian influence (you know, like Chao), and I consequently mentally cast him as East Asian. I also thought he was really, really grumpy and uninteresting. Sorry Chaol!
Spoilers for series as a whole.I think SJM does a great job of setting up the relationship between Chaol/Celaena in this book. Chaol challenges Celaena in ways that Dorian never would and I think that's why I was always happy to root for them over Celorian (is that the shipping name? I don't even know). Dorian serves as a great first distraction while CxC's feelings begin to develop and, towards the end, deepen. That scene at the end where he's stretching his fingertips to the edge of the chalk circle and willing her to keep going? Beautiful stuff. I think I remember rooting for them hard over the next couple of books and I'm more than happy to do it again. They have a really interesting dynamic that I'm going to be paying super close attention to.
Kaltain
Spoilers for series as a whole.I don't remember great detail about Kaltain's arc other than she is gonna go through some real shit. I really hope she gets to be the one to kill Perrington in the end and if she isn't, I'll be fuming.
The King
Spoilers for the series as a whole.I don't think I have a lot to say at this stage other than that I really like the detail that he's just The King, no actual name provided. Unless that changes somewhere in the series but from memory I don't think it does.
Some quotes/passages that stood out to me on this re-read:
Backstory
For full context, I'm re-reading this because I never actually finished the series. I read everything up to Kingdom of Ash and got several chapters in before ultimately putting it down one day in 2018 and never picking it back up. I remember being a little lost while reading it; it was nearly 1,000 pages, there were so many characters, relationships, settings, main plots and sub-plots to keep track of, and to be honest I was very tired of some of the tropes in the later books
Last year I decided that it was finally time, even though I'd heard a couple of spoilers about how the series ends (which don't sound like something I'll enjoy, by the way). So there is my 10-years-in-the-making task: re-read the entire series (in publication order, naturally), finally read Kingdom of Ash, and complete the series.
Why bother re-reading a huge series, knowing that you probably won't like how it ends?
That's easy - Celaena Sardothien. Next to Hermione Granger, I'm pretty sure Celaena is the most game-changing, influential female character I've ever read. You know that moment in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy steps outside and her world goes from black and white to technicolour? That's what meeting Celaena was like. I simply didn't know a character could be like her. She was brutal, cunning, secretive, snide, lethal, dangerous, powerful, clever, cutthroat - a long list of traits that I had never encountered before in a heroine. It fascinated and thrilled me. These days it's not so revelatory for a female character to be both good and merciless, but in 2015 that was a whole new world to me. Throne of Glass opened my eyes, expanded my understanding of what a female character could be. There is a piece of Celaena in every single story that I write, an echo in every heroine I create, whether they live in a fantasy world or work in a small town English book shop. Like Hermione, she is foundational to me. Ultimately, I am here for Celaena; I want to see her story through to the end.
Throne of Glass: first impression?
I've done the maths and this is at least the 4th time I've read Throne of Glass. The first time was in late 2015, midway through my first year at uni. I'm pretty sure I borrowed it from the library. I remember being unimpressed - a little bored, not really sure what the hype was all about, unsure if I'd continue on with the series. I can't remember what compelled me to keep going but I'm glad that I did - book 2 was definitely better, and book 3 kind of blew my mind.
Throne of Glass: what did I think this time?
This is a story that rates better upon re-reading because you can appreciate how Throne of Glass is just the tip of the storytelling iceberg. It's a debut novel, seemingly straightforward on the surface, but actually trying to achieve a lot of things. I think that's the reason it drags a little in the middle and feels dry at times - there's more happening than the reader realises and consequently things get kind of muddled. The Kaltain chapters feel superfluous, the interactions with Elena baffling and initially random. It doesn't feel like it's setting up a huge saga, it just feels like a simple tournament story; the bigger picture isn't really there yet. A re-reader can appreciate exactly what's being set up.
Overall, it was a 3.5 star read - enjoyable but mostly for nostalgic reasons/because I know where the story is going. I am very keen to pick up Crown of Midnight soon as I think the best way to make sure I get through the whole series is to keep up momentum, so I might pick that up this weekend.
Thoughts on characters:
Nehemia
Spoilers for TOG only.
Spoilers for the whole series.
Also - Nehemia already knows Celaena is Aelin, right? Or does she figure it out in the next book? Hmm, I don't know. See? My memory of this series really isn't fantastic.
Dorian
We all love a dark haired, blue eyed prince. Dorian's introduction is fine, a bit fun and also a bit meh, but there is so much room for his character to grow.
Spoilers for the whole series.
Chaol
Okay, so one of the things I remember most clearly from the first time I read this book is that I badly misprounounced Chaol's name, which I thought was more like CHOW-L, as though it has an East Asian influence (you know, like Chao), and I consequently mentally cast him as East Asian. I also thought he was really, really grumpy and uninteresting. Sorry Chaol!
Spoilers for series as a whole.
Kaltain
Spoilers for series as a whole.
The King
Spoilers for the series as a whole.
Some quotes/passages that stood out to me on this re-read:
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.
(9/10, great first line.)
Something was brought to life and laid to sleep in his gaze.
He wasn't sure if he could survive Endovier, let alone during the winter months. He'd never been whipped, never seen anyone die. He'd never been cold and starving.
Celaena laughed at something Dorian said. She'd survived Endovier, and yet could still laugh.
She blinked at the blade, and slowly raised her face to look at him. She found the rolling earthen hills of the north in his eyes. It as a sense of loyalty to his country that went beyond the man seated at the table. Far inside of her, he found a golden chain that bound them together.
"No matter what happens," she said quietly, "I want to thank you."
Chaol tilted his head to the side. "For what?"
Her eyes stung, but she blamed it on the fierce wind and blinked away the dampness. "For making my freedom mean something."
His fingertips stopped just at the edge of the white line. "Celaena," he breathed, his voice laced with pain - and hope. This was all she had left - his outstretched hand, and the promise of hope, of something better waiting on the other side of the line.
"Magic calls to magic."
"You could be different," Elena said quietly. "You could be great. Greater than me - than any of us."
Celaena opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Elena took a step toward her. "You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if you only dared And deep down, you know it, too. That's what scares you the most."
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail