This book begins the most stunning fantasy series I’ve read. The best series in the Maas universe.
Yet, it is worth noting that The Assassin's Blade is the weakest book in the series. As a prequel, I don’t hold it to the same standards. This is scene-setting, it’s planting seeds. It’s the definition of “trust the process.”
Again, what I love about Sarah J. Maas is that her books get better the further you get into a series.
If you are wondering where to begin the Throne of Glass series, what order to start in: Read. The. Assassin’s. Blade. First. I’ll say it again for the people in the back – this is a hill I’ll die on (a White Fang Mountain, in fact) – go for the narrative’s chronological order, not publication date, with this one. While writers might be interested in the process of narrative development and publication history, I think readers owe it to themselves to commit to the narrative’s chronological order – most of the time.
I’ll be honest with you - the payoff will take a while. Some might say a long while. The Assassin's Blade introduces a new world and new kind of FMC (very different from ACOTAR’s Prythian and Crescent City’s Midgard). As a standalone book, it’s hard to follow and it’s—I think, purposefully—disjointed.
Stick with it anyway. You know Maas, everything comes back around.
Throne of Glass, as a series, improves with each book – but you need the history offered in earlier works to appreciate it fully.
Just like you don’t get A Court of Mist and Fury without A Court of Thorns and Roses, you don’t get leveled by Kingdom of Ash without first finding your way into and through The Assassin's Blade.
It’s an essential read, but not a great one. And we have to be okay with that.
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