And so I loved that Kingdom of Ash, in its gentle way, recentres those three and brings them back together. A little bit of me missed the adventures which centred on those three very good friends, through many other bumps. Over the past few books I found myself wondering why the three we had started with were Celaena, Chaol and Dorian – why out of the many, many characters who become indispensable, they were where Throne of Glass started.

It’s the combination of these factors which make Maas’ world-building so effective – she never forgets that everything must be created at multiple scales. But this is all balanced against the humanity of small moments and individual relationships the choices that single people make which have wide-reaching impacts. There is no one single thing which will win the battle – it is a huge amount of effort, over a long period, from an enormous number of people. It’s one of the things I’ve really come to enjoy about this series – that although they started off very focussed, on an assassin and the friends she found around her, they branch out to encompass so many characters, all of whom are vital.Īll of that detail and the intricacy of how many people must work together in so many different ways is underlines how good the series is. Rowan, Elide, Lorcan and Gavriel are searching in the east – searching for Aelin.

Chaol, Yrene and Nesryn sail from the sourthern continent with an army in their wake. Aedion and Lysandra have returned to Terrasen, along with the Whitethorn royals, Galan Ashryver and Ansel. At the starting point of the book, the group who came together at the end of the last book have scattered to different places: Dorian, Manon and the Thirteen are searching for the third Wyrdkey and the Crochans. The length comes not from events being drawn out, but from the fact that there are so many characters spread so far across different continents so many different perspectives must come together to weave the story. The plot is tightly wound – there’s just a lot going on.

It is hefty, but that did not translate into a book which dragged. And they all take their time – this is the longest book she’s ever published by a few hundred pages, the paperback coming in at 980. I was gripped from the beginning, and I thoroughly enjoyed the rollercoaster ride.Īt the end of Empire of Storms, there were a lot of threads for Maas to follow and tie up in this book. Sarah J Maas hasn’t let me down yet, and this wasn’t the book to do so. The final book in the series had a lot to live up to. They’re a fun, exciting adventure of a story, filled with brilliant characters and funny moments. The Throne of Glass series has been a favourite comfort-read of mine over the past few years since I first picked them up. I don’t need to reiterate how excited I was for this book.

Kingdom of ash sarah j maas