Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas
I find Sarah J. Maas’ work solidly enjoyable in the way I used to find fanfiction enjoyable (or still would, if I read much of it). It’s wish fulfilment — the beautiful, utterly capable assassin who has her pick of love interests; the decadent surroundings; even the books she has access to and the friends she makes. Let’s not forget that she’s also an accomplished musician, dancer, etc, etc. And that’s great. I enjoy reading this series, and I enjoy the whole idea of Celaena and the fact that she exists.
I’ve never really understood people who expected great literary merit from these books, or even a consistent approach to who Celaena wants to date, sleep with or throw off a cliff. I was alerted to that pretty early on in the instant switches between Chaol and Dorian, and from knowing that neither of those appears to be her ultimate love interest. (Sorry, Chaol fans. But it’s true.)
It’s fairly typical fantasy, with a kickass heroine, magic, Fae, a bit of mystery, a wicked king… It’s fun because it’s pretty unashamed about being that. I know people didn’t enjoy the latest book as much as they hoped, but me… I’m not getting my hopes up. I’ll just enjoy whatever Maas serves up — and stop if it takes a turn I dislike. Same as I would a fanfic.
Before anyone protests, this isn’t about disparaging Maas’ writing. There are some amazingly well-written fanfics and some amazingly badly written original novels. But the feeling of energy and creativity and fun I get is one I associate more with writing for fandom.
When I read the first book, I really didn’t understand the hype. But I will say that they get better – more detailed, plot oriented, fantastic. This last book, the fifth in the series, has changed the game into something that mirrors LOTR in so many ways. It’s really, really great. And I’m an old fart. I say – keep reading! 🙂
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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I… very much doubt I’m going to find it on the level of LOTR, but we’ll see!
Everyone seems to love this series, and for some reason I just seem to have stayed away from it for that reason. I own all the books, but I haven’t read any of them yet. There’s just so much hype around it, and I never get along well with super hyped up books.
Kelly @ Here’s to Happy Endings recently posted…Review: The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla
I wouldn’t say I love it, but I find it enjoyable. I try to ignore the hype with it and just enjoy it for what it is.