Author: Sarah J. Maas
 |
| via Amazon |
I was frustrated with the book in the beginning. Maas employs a detail-dump approach whenever she
introduces a new character or setting. I get that imagery is important to a lot of readers. I just prefer a bit more subtlety. Throne of Glass is rarely subtle.
Despite my early misgivings, I got caught up in the story. Celaena Sardothien was the most notorious assassin in the kingdom until she was captured and sent away to a slave camp. One day, the crown prince springs her out of her misery with the promise that if she wins a competition back at the castle, she will eventually gain her freedom. Meanwhile, there is a mysterious evil afoot. The other competitors are being gruesomely murdered, one by one.
There aren't a lot of plot twists. Pretty much everyone turns out to be who you expect them to be. The most interesting narrative developments come in the evolving relationships between characters. The people don't change much but the way they see each other does. Celaena herself is a bit puzzling: an effective but not entirely cold-hearted killer. There's romance along the way, too: a love triangle between Celaena, the prince (Dorian) and the captain of the guard (Chaol).
Even with the lack of subtlety, there is occasional elegance in the language. The story is absorbing and it reads quickly. The world building is admirable: languages, races, religions. Overall, I'd rate the book above Percy Jackson but below Diana Wynne Jones's Howl series. Daughter tells me the second book is better so I'm intrigued. After all, I don't even know the saga well enough to understand the quote on her phone case yet. There's a TV show in production, too, air date TBD.
I've heard of this book but haven't read it. I can deal with an info dump as long as it's interesting.
ReplyDeleteEverything should serve story. If all of the minute details are going to be important later, it's okay. But often, I feel the writer just wants to dump his/her notebook on the reader because s/he can. Tell me too much upfront and I know I won't remember it all - but it won't really matter if I forget, either. Just give me enough for a general impression.
DeleteIt's not a deal breaker with this book. Like I said, I enjoyed it anyway. It just annoyed me in the beginning.
I almost got the first of these for my daughter 2016 Christmas but ended up passing over them. I'll have to look at them again.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to go so far as to say it's the best fantasy series ever but it's fun.
DeleteI read the first one or two of the throne of glass series, but couldn't really get into it (seven is just too many in a series for me.)
ReplyDeleteHowever, i LOVED her other series - a court of thorns and roses.
I don’t think the girl has tried the other series yet. Actually, I don’t think she’s quite finished TofG.
DeleteI've heard of this series and really want to give it a try, but for me, YA tends to be hit or miss. Glad you found some merit to it. Makes me feel it really might be worth a read.
ReplyDeleteI could have sworn that you reviewed this book at some point but I guess not.
DeleteI enjoyed it more than I expected to. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, too.