Sarah J. Maas achieved her breakthrough as an author with the series “Throne of Glass”. We’ll tell you the perfect order of fantasy books – for maximum reading pleasure!
Do you love romantic fantasy books with strong female characters, unique worlds and surprising plot twists? Then she could “Throne of Glass” series by US author Sarah J. Maas about the assassin Celaena Sardothien from Adarlan, the heir to the throne Aelin Galathynius of the neighboring kingdom of Terrasen and the fight against dark forces. At the beginning of the story, Celaena is given a special task that not only turns her own life upside down, but could also have consequences for the entire kingdom and the world beyond.
The young adult series “Throne of Glass” consists of nine books in total. Seven of these make up the main series, which is supplemented by an anthology of short stories about the protagonist Celaena Sardothien and an accompanying book.
“Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas: That’s what the fantasy saga is about
The story is (very) loosely based on the fairy tale “Cinderella”. The Assassin Celaena Sardothien lives in the kingdom of Adarlan, whose tyrannical ruler has banned all forms of magic and persecutes those gifted with magic. Celaena was banished to the salt mines of Endovier to perform slave labor under cruel conditions. As she a special Offer from Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard gets, their fate seems to change: Celaena is supposed to win the king’s favor in a tournament and, after her victory, work for him as an assassin for four years. Afterwards she should regain her freedom.
When Celaena, Dorian and Chaol Westfall, the captain of the royal guard, arrive in the capital Rifthold, A story begins that is much bigger than the king’s tournament – and than Celaena’s long-awaited freedom. Because even though all forms of magic are forbidden, inexplicable things suddenly happen and they keep coming back Rumors surrounding the believed dead heir to the throne of Terrasen, Aelin Galathynius, on. Can she help free the world from the tyrannical hands of the King of Adarlan?
The books in the “Throne of Glass” series: Chronological order
Prequel: Anthology “Celaena’s Story” (1-5)
In the English original: “The Assassin’s Blade”
This Collection of five short novellas tells how Celaena is caught and convicted as a young assassin and has to work in the salt mines of Endovier as punishment – and how she finds her first great love, Sam.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 1: “The Chosen One”
In the English original: “Throne of Glass”
Celaena comes in first volume from the salt mines in Endovier to Rifthold and fight there in one Tournament for the role of Champion of the King of Adarlan.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 2: “Warrior in the Shadows”
In the English original: “Crown of Midnight”
After the end of the tournament, Celaena is said to be in the name of the King of Adarlan “Warrior in the Shadow” work as a contract killer. As she learns more and more about the machinations of the tyrannical ruler, events take over.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 3: “Heiress of Fire”
In the English original: “Heir of Fire”
Celaena joins us Volume three to the enemy kingdom of Wendlynto fulfill an order from the King of Adarlan. There she learns more about the loss of magic in Adarlan, the mysterious Queen Maeve – and herself. Celaena has to face her past.
“Throne of Glass Volume” 4: “Queen of Darkness”
In the English original: “Queen of Shadows”
In the fourth part the “Throne of Glass” series the assassin returns to Adarlanto settle some outstanding accounts there.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 5: “The Storm Conqueror”
In the English original: “Empire of Storms”
In “The Storm Conqueror” our protagonist wants to take her rightful place in the kingdom. But first she needs Help defeat dark forces that threaten the entire world.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 6: “The Wounded Warrior”
In the English original: “Tower of Dawn”
The sixth volume shows the parallel plot to the fifth volume. Chaol Westfall heads to Antica, where a healer is supposed to free him from an ailment. At the same time, he is looking for allies in the war against evil.
“Throne of Glass” Volume 7: “Ruler of Ash and Wrath”
In the English original: “Kingdom of Ash”
The seventh and final part the fantasy saga “Throne of Glass”. the grand finale: the battle between good and evilto protect the continent of Erilea and ultimately the entire world from the rule of dark forces.
Accompanying book: “The big Throne of Glass fan book”
In this accompanying book you can color pictures about the story and get the most beautiful quotes and illustrations from different artists.
The perfect order: How should I read “Throne of Glass”?
The main plot of the young adult books takes place in volumes 1 to 7so it begins with “The Chosen One” and ends with “Ruler of Ashes and Wrath”.
It is important to know that Books 5 and 6, i.e. “The Storm Conqueror” and “The Wounded Warrior”, play at the same time. The books follow different characters during the same time period. Theoretically, you could read the two books in reverse order or alternate between the two volumes chapter by chapter. In order to maintain the tension optimally, it still makes sense to stick to Sarah J. Maas’ order, i.e. read “The Storm Conqueror” first and then “The Wounded Warrior”.
When should I read “Celaena’s Story”?
In the anthology “Celaena’s Story” we learn more about the assassin’s backstory. The events of this prequel take place chronologically before the main story, i.e. before Celaena comes to Rifthold for the king’s tournament.
You basically have two options for the reading order of the Throne of Glass series: Either you read the story completely chronologically, i.e. start with the short stories in “Celaena’s Story”, then start with “The Chosen One” and read your way through the seven main books.
Or you can read “Celaena’s Story” later, for example after the seven books in the main series. Some fans recommend reading the prequel only after the second or third volume, i.e. after “Warrior in the Shadow” or “Heiress of Fire”. Because at this point you have already gotten to know Celaena a little better and, above all, learned a few things about her that will help you better understand her story. But basically you don’t have to read “Celaena’s Story” to understand the series as a whole.
Will there be another book in the Throne of Glass series?
According to Sarah J. Maas, the “Throne of Glass” series is complete. The author has already confirmed this several times. But if you can’t get enough of the author’s fantastic worlds and strong protagonists, you could try her series “The Kingdom of the Seven Courts” and “Crescent City” read. If you pay close attention, you will even be able to discover small connections between the worlds and characters of the individual book series.
By the way, Sarah J. Maas was just 16 years old when she started writing “Throne of Glass.” The New Yorker native initially published short stories about the characters and an earlier version of the series in an online forum for independent authors. However, the large US publisher Bloomsbury quickly secured the promising stories and republished them in-house.
The first volume of the book series was published in its current form in 2012 in the original English language. The last volume in the series was published in 2018, and the books were published in German by dtv between 2013 and 2019. Sarah J. Maas owes the success of the fantasy series not least to the hype on social media, especially on BookTok and Bookstagram.
Should “Throne of Glass” be made into a film?
The US streaming service Hulu secured the rights for a TV series for “Throne of Glass” in 2016. However, production has been quiet since then – it is unclear whether the show will still be produced.
Sources used:
- The “Throne of Glass” series by Sarah J. Maas, published by dtv, 2013 to 2019
- barelybookish.com
- shereadsromancebook.com
- tlbranson.com
- buechertreff.de