Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass is Sarah J. Maas finding her voice at sixteen years old. The series opens with Celaena Sardothien, an infamous assassin imprisoned in the brutal salt mines of Endovier, given one last chance at freedom through a tournament to become the King's Assassin. What begins as a straightforward competition gradually reveals itself to be something far darker—magical mysteries, court politics, and ancient threats lurking beneath the glass castle. The first book is a debut novel with debut limitations: the worldbuilding centers tightly on the castle, the magic system remains largely undefined, and the pacing occasionally stumbles. But those limitations are precisely why this series is worth engaging with. Watching Maas develop from book to book, building Celaena's character from promising contradictions into a fully realized revolutionary, seeing her expand a castle-focused setting into a world-spanning narrative—that journey is masterclass storytelling. This series proves that first books don't need to be perfect; they need to be promising. And Throne of Glass is undeniably that.

Sarah J. Maas is the author of multiple fantasy series that have defined a generation of readers' relationships with the fantasy genre. Her ability to create complex female protagonists and expand worlds across multiple books has influenced countless authors. Maas's range from the fantasy forward Throne of Glass to the blend of fantasy and romance in ACOTAR demonstrates her versatility in world-building and character work. Read all her books on BroMantasy and discover the evolution of a writer who helped transform fantasy publishing.