Game of Thrones or Hunger Games? - Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas was a book I knew absolutely nothing about but was everywhere on Tumblr. Before I even knew the what the book entailed, I was mesmerised by the cover art of the main character, Celaena Sardothien. They say don’t judge a book by its cover but, dammit, it was a pretty compelling cover.

Throne of Glass has a Hunger Games-esque feel to it, as it surrounds our young heroine fighting against unknown competitors to become her nations ‘champion’. However, it is a very unique story. Celaena is taken from a prison camp to compete in a series of challenges. The prize for the victor; the honour of becoming the king’s personal assassin. When Celaena’s opponents start dropping dead, she must avoid being killed herself while unraveling the mystery.

When I describe Celaena, I wouldn’t call her an ‘unreliable narrator’ but she definitely isn’t a character that I completely understand by the end of the book. She makes comments and statements that seem almost unnecessary but they give hints to her mysterious past. This makes her character that more enticing, as her blunt and sarcastic personality draws us in and her odd and intriguing past keeps us interested.

This novel is the first in a fairly long series. Following the first novel is Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, the prequel The Assassin’s Blade (a series of novellas) and soon-to-be-published Empire of Storms, with another novel in the works to be published in 2017. If you are going to read the first book, be prepared for a long journey. If you can’t handle it, ask the Percy Jackson fandom for advice. They’ve been holding strong for, like, 11 years.

It’s been a few weeks since I read this book but I still would give it an 8 out of 10. The end can be quite confusing if you don’t concentrate carefully but the rest of the novel plus the development of character cancel out the confusion. I’d say this book to be good for any young adult who loves fantasy worlds and for basically anyone who has a Tumblr account.

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