Prove trustworthy,
become my Champion,
and wealth and glory
will be yours eternal.
 |
| sarahjmaas.com |
If you were the world’s most deadly assassin, and the only
way you could escape your life’s prison sentence was by entering a competition of
skill to become the tyrannical King’s Champion—royal slang for hit man—would
you do it?
I cannot say yes enough. I think it’s safe to say every
person secretly wishes he or she could lead badass lives. However, wanting a
badass life is one thing, but actually living vicariously through a character
for one is another. Some may say this is pathetic, but clearly I have no shame.
Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas definitely
provides the right amount of fantasy, fighting, and badassery that can make any
reader wish themselves right into the plot.
Harkening back to a time of medieval castles where people
dressed like characters from Game of
Thrones, Celaena Sardothien, the most lethal assassin in the land of
Adarlan, receives a dose of freedom when she is invited to compete against
twenty-three other hopeful criminals-turned-contestants for King’s Champion.
Entering the arena under the alias of Lillian Gordaina, a proper lady with a
penchant for some ferocious jewel thieving, Celaena must suppress the need to
eye roll at such a degrading cover, and keep her true identity a secret or else
risk the wrath of her competitors. With the lady-lovin’ Crown Prince sponsoring
her and his cautious second-in-command guarding/keeping her from slaying the
competition, Celaena must abide by their rules and win or else risk
re-imprisonment and a lifetime of mining salt. As the contest continues, a mysterious
string of murders among the participants not only marks Celaena as a natural
suspect, but also the next target. With help from her supporters and an ancient
magic once thought forgotten, Celaena will need more than her lethal skills to
survive the competition and win her freedom.
First off, if you do not enjoy reading about a strong female
heroine who either a) has the ability to fight in self-defense or kill for
money, b) has a silver-quick snark that can own even the wittiest man, or c)
has bigger goals in mind rather than settling for the happily ever after, then
this book isn’t for you. So much of what I love from this book came from what I
admire in Maas’s spunky Celaena Sardothien. She is part Katniss Everdeen from
the Hunger Games and part Rose
Hathaway from Vampire Academy—in
short, a girl noted for fighting and killing fiercely to survive, but at the
same time, carrying an arrogance and clever personality that balances the
seriousness. Some readers may brand her as an infallible Mary Sue—an
infuriating female character with no flaws or bad qualities—but for me that
wasn’t the case. Just because she was described as attractive does not
automatically make her perfect. Her overconfidence and unconventional manners
made her more likable to me than some of the over-modest, insecure, and
pessimistic heroines authors usually hide behind. For me, Maas’s character was
a different kind of heroine, and a fun one to read about.
Another fun fact about this book was that it was first
written on the FictionPress site when Maas was just a teenager. After years of
hard work and a steady fan base and readership that soon followed her and her
story, she finally published the fantastic book to reach a wider audience. I
know I go on about how much I love characters and plot developments and every
little detail, but sometimes my most interesting finds come from the author’s
stories. Hearing tales of their journeys to publishing should give all fellow
WLPs hope for our future projects or current works. Just because they are published
authors now doesn’t mean they weren’t once struggling college students like us
before. My recommendation is not only to read this book because it’s awesome,
but to look on the author flap of the cover jacket of your next read. Look up
his or her name. You never know when you’ll find an author bio that will strike
you the most and prove that publishing is always possible if you know you have
a good story.
Written by Janella Angeles
