Book Report: Throne of Glass

Before Throne of Glass was released on August 7, the last time I had a book release date memorized was the seventh Harry Potter book. How many years ago is that?

There's a reason why this book has been on my radar for the past few years, ever since I began following YA writing/publishing blogs and rediscovered Sarah J. Maas. It's because in its previous incarnation, Queen of Glass ruled Fictionpress. My memory may be faulty, but I recall at one point that it had raked in over tens of thousands reviews for over 60 chapters. These were numbers were so daunting -- I chose not to read Queen of Glass at the time because I KNEW I was going to get sucked into all those chapters and neglect my high school homework entirely (which, admittedly, was already suffering due to my then-obsession with Japanese dramas).

But, even if I had never read Queen of Glass, this was monumental to me in that a Fictionpress writer that I hailed in my youth was making the leap into publishing. I read Fictionpress voraciously during my middle school and early high school years. I admit that I mainly read the ones that had raked in hundreds of reviews. Why? This was my form of quality control. Even then, there were some hugely popular stories that left an overly saccharine taste in my mouth (wallflower-meets-jock trope, anyone?). But then, there were the gems -- the ones that I would stay up all night reading and would force all of my friends to read as well. These were the ones that eventually inspired me to publish on FP. I never reached the upper echelon of Fictionpress fame (Myrika, anyone?), but it was still an unforgettable experience. It was a source of joy all throughout my high school career.

And so, when August 7 came around, I came home from Monterey that afternoon, purchased Throne of Glass for my Kindle, and read the whole book in one evening. This wasn't just about supporting Sarah -- granted, I've followed her blog for a long time and I have little doubt she is probably just as sweet and empathetic in person as she is online. On a bigger scope, I wanted her to succeed because I knew what this would mean to the Fictionpress community.

I've read some Goodreads reviews for the book. Several readers had beef with Caelena -- they said she was unlikeable, a heroine they didn't feel compelled root for. I wonder if they had read the four e-novellas released months prior to Throne of Glass' debut, because although Caelena's arrogance grated on my nerves as well in the first e-novella, by the time I began reading Throne of Glass, Caelena Sardothien was like an old friend -- one that annoyed you at times but you unconditionally accepted as a part of who she was. She may have her flaws, but Caelena is not an unlikeable character. I rooted for her all the way.

The plot is where things maybe didn't quite reach the hype that I had built up for three years inside my head. (Granted, marketing the book as "The Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones" is QUITE a tall order to achieve.) The competition to determine the King's Champion was a little lackluster for me, as I was expecting something along the lines of the violent bloodbath of the Hunger Games. I wanted to see more of Caelena's badassery, scenes where she could finally back-up all of her claims of being the greatest assassin.

The other thing that bothered me may have more to do with my personal reading tastes. I was never an avid fantasy reader, but I was a huge fan of Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet. Probably because Song of the Lioness is the only fantasy series that remains fairly clear in my memory, I found myself constantly comparing the series to Throne of Glass. I'm not sure if the similarities are due to fantasy tropes rather than a direct influence from the former to the latter, but there were quite a few characters and plot points that left me drawing parallels.

The Love Triangle. Although Alanna had quite a few love interests, I would argue that the primary love triangle was between Alanna, George, and Jonathan. With Caelena, it's obvious from the very beginning -- Caelena, Chaol, and Dorian. Jonathan and Dorian are both your dark-haired, blue-eyed, sheltered prince types, but the funny thing is that I rooted for the prince in one series and the underdog in the other. I was not a fan of Dorian -- to me, his character seemed almost underdeveloped, though he had the honor of uttering one of my favorite hilarious lines in the book. Chaol, on the other hand, I grew to be more fond of.

The Royal BFF. Thayet and Nehemia are both something like foreign war princesses with very strong and independent streaks. This meshes well with both Alanna and Caelena's disdain for the simpering ass-kissing of court life.

Those were a few of the ones that stuck out to me. It's not fair of me to judge Throne of Glass against all four Song of the Lioness books though, so I'll refrain from making any more direct comparisons. Overall, Throne of Glass doesn't quite live up to the "Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones" hype (or perhaps this book simply proves what I already knew -- fantasy isn't really my cup of tea), but the heroine Caelena holds a lot of promise for the future. I'll be sticking with her all the way through.