Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - A Flights of Fantasy Book Review

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is one of the best young adult fantasy novels I've ever read.

Similar to Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games and Garth Nix's Sabriel, Maas's novel features a strong young female protagonist. Betrayed and imprisoned, the feared assassin Calaena Sandorthien is given an unexpected chance at freedom. Defeat twenty-three other deadly killers in a competition, and she will be allowed to serve as the King's Champion. Then, she can earn her freedom after four years of service. 

Unaware of her true identity, her fellow competitors believer her to be nothing more than a petty jewel thief. Her plan is to remain inconspicuous by pretending to be mediocre and only revealing her true strength at the very end.  However, complications arise when her fellow competitors begin dying one by one. Their bodies are torn to shreds; their brains are sucked dry. A supernatural evil seems to dwell in the castle, but how can that be when all forms of magic had already been purged from the Kingdom of Erilea? 

Then there's the Crown Prince and the Captain of the Guard, two handsome gentlemen vying for her affections. She is drawn to each man for different reasons, and is torn between them. But does she even have the right to choose, when she's nothing but a criminal and an assassin?

What I Liked:

Calaena Sandorthien is a lady of contradictions. On the one hand, she is a skilled and ruthless assassin. On the other hand, she is a kindhearted person who values friendship and love. Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard describes her very romantically, early in the story as "a lovely girl gazing at the story, and the stars who gave back."

Despite being a known enemy of the nobility, she is fond of the finer things in life, including reading literature, playing the piano, and dancing. "Libraries were full of ideas--perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons," she thinks to herself at one point in the novel. "The stone castle has a library with over a million books, and only the king and prince are allowed to read these books or grant permission to read them. I could live in such a place forever and die in bliss too!" I agree with her wholeheartedly.

More than the competition (more along the lines of archery, knife throwing, wall climbing, and potions mastery rather than actual combat), it was the more personal, artistic scenes like Celaena playing the piano alone in her bedroom, which really moved me in this novel.

I like how magic (in a magic symbols enabling and disabling demons from entering the real world from the netherworld kind of way) was firmly introduced by the end of the novel. It's so Sabriel! And it's making me want to read the Abhorsen trilogy (plus Clariel!) again! I'm really excited to see how the magic aspect develops in the next novel. Good thing I already bought a copy.

Some Concerns:

On the romantic side of things, I didn't find myself caring whether Celaena ended up with Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard or Captain of the Guard Chaol Westfall. They both seem like good guys in their own ways, so it's pretty hard to decide. Oh my gosh! I'm just as confused as Celaena. But I am siding with the more loyal and humble Chaol because I like rooting for the underdog (he's never going to get the girl!) and I identify with him more.  

My Rating: