By Sarah J. MaasAvailable August 7 from Bloomsbury
Review copy courtesy of Lyndsey of Strangemore
You've probably already heard the story behind THRONE OF GLASS. The first draft was posted on FictionPress as QUEEN OF GLASS by S.J. Maas. I read that version, although it's been a long time now. It was taken off the net in December 2008, when I was eighteen, but I never reread it after the last chapter was posted in April 2007, shortly after I turned seventeen. I do remember loving QUEEN OF GLASS. But do I like it as much now that I'm not sixteen?
It's hard to compare the two. Sarah J. Maas revised quite a bit between the first draft and the published version. I remember there being less of a love triangle since QUEEN OF GLASS was a high fantasy retelling of Cinderella and Celaena Sardothien, the heroine, was clearly going to end up with Prince Dorian Havilland of Adarlan. All that's left of the Cinderella plotline are lots of fancy dresses. There was a tournament of assassins in the original, for those decrying THRONE OF GLASS as a HUNGER GAMES clone. But I suspect there is a difference in how I read Celaena.
Celaena seems very young. Her stated age is eighteen, and she went to the salt mines as a slave when she was seventeen - not like she learned any social graces there. But she is very, very bad at subtlety, a trait you would think went hand-in-hand with being the best assassin in the land. Celaena is arrogant and vain. The prince retrieves her from the salt mines to serve as his champion in a tourney to become the King's Champion. To compete, Celaena must hide her true identity and skills. It is almost beyond her not to be recognized as the greatest assassin ever, despite the fact assassins aren't known for their braggadacio. I did love that Celaena is a girly-girl. She's tough but still loves frilly dresses, which isn't a type represented in books much.
The aforementioned Dorian is a bit of a playboy, but he longs to escape his father's control. Somehow, Celaena winning the tournament will allow him to do so. Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Guard, is in charge of keeping her under control and in the palace. As he helps her train and regain her strength, respect and romance blossom. Also key is Nehemia Ytger, Princess of Eyllwe, a country conquered by Adarlan. She's rumored to be part of her country's resistance and quickly becomes friends with Celaena when she's sent to the palace. She might be an ally or an enemy, but she's definitely a forceful, clever woman. (Celaena could take some lessons in deception from her.)
As far as the plot goes, there is a lot to take in. In addition to the tournament, the champions are being gruesomely murdered. In addition to the mystery plot, Celaena is discovering some of the magic thought to be banished from Adarlan. And of course there are hints that all of the characters are pawns in a bigger plot involving the fate of their countries. All the action kept me reading; I finished THRONE OF GLASS in a single evening.
I've heard mixed things about THRONE OF GLASS, which truly worried me since I was a fan of the original. (My taste at sixteen was more questionable than it is now.) But I thought Maas's debut was a good read. I'm eager to find out what happens next for Celaena, Nehemia, Dorian, and Chaol. And okay, okay, since I love fairytales I'm a little disappointed the Cinderella aspect is gone.
I really wish I read it when it was Queen of Glass so I could compare. Glad you liked this overall.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd saved a copy of Queen of Class so that I could compare better - I barely remember the original, just that I liked it a lot.
DeleteI did't know the origin story of this book...so that was intersting to learn. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. Sounds the heroine coud use a little help in growing up though.
ReplyDelete-lauren
It is a cool origin. I'm glad people from fictionpress are getting published.
DeleteI haven't gotten very far in this one--I was so thrown by the fact that the physical effects of a year's harsh labor in the salt mine were so relativly neglible--no scurvey, or other vitamin deficience, for instance. If only she had been given about two months to recover in isolation, doing gentle exercises and such, before riding off to a comptetition, I would have been happier!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. It mentions several times that she's super thin, but that's about it. I've never been good at noticing medical stuff, although I've been trying to get better at it.
DeleteFinally I know what this book is about!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because I don't usually read review before I read a book, because I am always scared of spoilers - because I usually want to start a book without knowing what it's about. And then sometimes I wonder what some books are about, but I don't want to read any review or synopsis and believe me it's pretty creepy lol :P
BUT I'm happy I've read yours! :) It's really good, and I think I'll give a shot at this book in the future ;)
I try to avoid spoilers myself, so I always mark them if they happen in a review.
DeleteAs for knowing nothing about the book, it's hard to know which books are best completely cold and which you need to know something about. But as with spoilers, I try not to give anything away that I think would mess with the experience.
Hello! I've read your review for the story Queen of Glass. I have the unfortunate time of not reading the original draft as I have found the story when it was nearly taken down from the site. If I had made it earlier I could have read the original. If you got any chance of remembering the ending of the orignal can you at east give me some spoilers..? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have read your review for the original, Queen of Glass. I had read the first few chapters of the original but had the unfortunate time of realizing it was taken down for publication. And I had been looking for the ending of such story. I was glad that finally, such a wonderful story is going to be published and seeing it on the bookshelves made me extremely happy. Though like you, I wish I have a copy to give comparisons between the two.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I love spoilers, it just fuel my desire to read what happens next and to know spoilers makes me more excited. If you have any chance of remembering even a few bits especially the ending with who ends up with who, please give me a message. :D