Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)

by Sarah J. Maas

The first book in New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas's sweeping fantasy saga - now available in hardcover with a new look to match the series!

When magic has gone from the world, and a vicious king rules from his throne of glass, an assassin comes to the castle. She does not come to kill, but to win her freedom. If she can defeat twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition to find the greatest assassin in the land, she will become the king’s champion and be released from prison.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. And a princess from a foreign land will become the one thing she never thought she’d have again: a friend. But something evil dwells in the castle—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying, horribly, one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the source of the evil before it destroys her world.

Reviewed by ladygrey on

3 of 5 stars

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I'm far too critical of this book and I don't know why. But from the very first pages all the little inconsistencies and gaps in logic that normally don't bother me were glaring. The whole thing was just so obvious.

And I don't mean from a plot or mystery stand point (though the mystery was completely obvious also). It felt like it lived in very small YA boxes so of course that would happen and of course she can do that. Then, when I reached that end and read [a:Sarah J Maas|3433047|Sarah J. Maas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1269281353p2/3433047.jpg]'s bio it said she wrote the first draft when she was 16 it made more sense. Of course it's been edited and revised since them but it still has sense that she wrote it a certain way because that was all she knew at the time. I don't know how better to describe it than really obvious.

And it's also overwritten. Everything is all ebony and mahogany and it doesn't have the linguistic style to support those kind of descriptions. It comes across as trying too hard.

That being said, it isn't a bad book by any means. The characters are fun (even when the dialog doesn't quite line up) and the world is very imaginative. There were too many pieces in the story that all came into play but didn't quite feel developed. But the relationships evolve really nicely and realistically and were fun to read.

I don't think Maas is a bad author at all. I just think this would be a much better book with a stronger editorial hand.

"We all bear scars,... Mine just happen to be more visible than most."

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 August, 2012: Finished reading
  • 19 August, 2012: Reviewed