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Sarah J. Maas’ The Throne of Glass series might as well be seven separate series. Each brick-sized novel is so unique, unveiling more and more of Maas’ complicated universe. Our heroine’s story is so epic and multi-dimensional–literally–that sometimes I forget that there even was a time when we didn’t call her Queen Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius.
With the conclusion of Maas’ adjacent A Court of Thorns and Roses series, entitled A Court of Silver Frames, coming out in February, I’m feeling especially nostalgic for all things Sarah J. Maas. Here’s a rundown on some of the Throne of Glass moments that I’ll never forget.
1. Getting To Know Our Story’s Fair Maiden
Starting things off, I’m jumping all the way back to the moment I knew that our heroine was a fierce, iconic, independent woman who will let nothing stop her. Of course, I’m talking about the return of Celaena’s “monthly cycles” in Throne of Glass. (( Maas, Sarah J. Throne of Glass. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print. )) Under the alias Celaena Sardothien, her reputation as a famous assassin gets her removed from the slave camp Endovier after a brutal year there and earns her a spot in King of Adarlan’s tournament. In the scene, Celaena retreats to her room, telling Chaol that she is “indisposed,” but he mistakes her silence for sadness and launches into an impassioned speech about the state of the world. (( Maas, Sarah J. Throne of Glass. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print. )) Eventually, she throws up, and he leaves freaked out.
The truly iconic moment happens when Dorian, Adarlan’s Prince, comes in to check up on her after the incident with Chaol. He is skeptical of the intensity of her pain — sort of gaslighting her–to which she responds boldly, “’I’m in a state of absolute agony, and I can’t be bothered.’” The two quip back and forth for a while, and it’s honestly the perfect mix of humor, female empowerment, and foreshadowing the rest of their unique relationship throughout the series.
“‘No fair maiden should die alone,’ he said, putting a hand on hers. ‘Shall I read to you in your final moments? What story would you like?’
She snatched her hand back. ‘How about the story of the idiotic prince who won’t leave the assassin alone?’
‘Oh! I love that story! It has such a happy ending, too—why, the assassin was really feigning her illness in order to get the prince’s attention! Who would have guessed it? Such a clever girl. And the bedroom scene is so lovely—it’s worth reading through all of their ceaseless banter!’
Throne of Glass (( Maas, Sarah J. Throne of Glass. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print. ))
2. “…And I Will Not Be Afraid.”
Not everyone picks up The Assassin’s Blade–the prequel book in the Throne of Glass series — but it’s honestly one of my personal favorite reads. We get a glimpse into Celaena’s life as an assassin under the guardianship of Arobynn Hamel, including her love affair with fellow assassin Sam Cortland. (( Maas, Sarah J. The Assassin’s Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas. Bloomsbury, 2014. )) Their romance is a passionate enemies-to-lovers story and, at the time of The Assasin’s Blade‘s release in 2012, totally blew up the whole Chaol versus Dorian shipping debate.
Although Sam is tragically killed in the last prequel story, The Assassin’s Blade really depicts how loving and losing Sam at the hands of Arobynn shapes Celaena into the determined, courageous fighter we meet in Throne of Glass. Though I may never recover from the moment Celaena learns of Sam’s demise, his mantra inspires her own often-repeated reminder not to be afraid, which carries her throughout the series.
“’You want to hear something ridiculous? Whenever I’m scared out of my wits, I tell myself: My name is Sam Cortland … and I will not be afraid. I’ve been doing it for years.’
It was her turn to raise her brows. ‘And that actually works?’
He laughed onto her fingers. ‘Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. But it usually makes me feel better to some degree. Or it just makes me laugh at myself a bit.’
The Assassin’s Blade (( Maas, Sarah J. The Assassin’s Blade : The Throne of Glass Novellas. Bloomsbury, 2014. ))
3. Turns Out She’s The Lost Queen of Terrasen
The end of Crown of Midnight is really where–just as Nehemia tells Celaena–everything is set in motion. (( Maas, Sarah J. Crown of Midnight: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2013.)) After a chaotic chain of events in the portal, Chaol sees Celaena in her Fae form. Later, when it’s time for Celaena to leave Rifthold, they share one of the most dramatic farewell scenes on a boat ever written since Titanic.
After entrusting Chaol with the truth about everything she’s been up to in Adarlan, she does “the most reckless thing she’d ever done in her life” by giving him a riddle about the truth of her identity. (( Maas, Sarah J. Crown of Midnight: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2013.)) As she sets sail for Wendlyn, Chaol is left confused on the shore. He scrambles through historical records, and as the curtains close on this novel’s final chapter, Chaol’s discovery leaves us with the shocking plot twist that…
“Celaena Sardothien wasn’t in league with Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.
Celaena Sardothien was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, heir to the throne and rightful Queen of Terrasen.”
Crown of Midnight (( Maas, Sarah J. Crown of Midnight : A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2013.))
Sure, other fantasy series have heroines with secret identities, but this plot twist is simply legendary. For two entire massive novels, we celebrate Celaena’s strength in an environment where she is entirely without power. Then, we come to learn that she’s not just any princess but a long lost heir to the land of Terrasen, a super-powerful Fae, and the only descendant of the goddess Deanna. (( Maas, Sarah J. Crown of Midnight: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2013.)) Even the most die-hard fans could never have predicted this shocking reveal… and then we had to wait and wait to see what would happen next!
4. Fireheart
Now, outside of the Adarlanian borders in Heir of Fire, we finally get to see Aelin as, well, Aelin. She learns to summon and control her fire powers, but our first glimpses at her abilities are actually sort of misleading, given her lack of experience. Luckily, Prince Rowan is there to help her navigate her Fae abilities, while Poor Dorian in Adarlan is left trying to figure out that he is basically Elsa. Aelin’s near-death burnout in Beltane leads her to doubt the depths of her powers. Always her biggest champion, Rowan assures her that once she learns how to harness her flames properly, the limits of her power will exceed beyond what she can even imagine.
Nonetheless, seeing Aelin so vulnerable throughout her recovery sends Rowan’ into a hilarious overprotective frenzy brought on by his Fae senses. Sensitive and weak, Aelin opens up to him when he sees the scars on her back from Endovier. Ultimately, the burnout incident brings Rowan closer to Aelin and motivates her to hone her powers. (( Maas, Sarah J. Heir of Fire: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2014. ))
“There is… this rage.” she said “This despair and hatred and rage that lives and breathes inside me. There’s not sanity to it, no gentleness. It is a monster dwelling under my skin. For the past ten years, I have worked every day, every hour, to keep that monster locked up. And the moment I talk about those two days, and what happened before and after, that monster is going to break loose, and there will be no accounting for what I do.”
Heir of Fire (( Maas, Sarah J. Heir of Fire : A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2014. ))
5. “Territorial Nonsense”
Although the Aedion and Aelin reunion scene in Queen of Shadows is adorable, the most iconic of all Aedion scenes in the Throne of Glass series has to be his first encounter with Rowan. On the way back from a night out at a bar in Rifthold, Aedion, Nesryn, and Aelin go through a foggy alleyway, where they realize they’re being followed.
There are many detailed descriptions regarding scents on behalf of all the Fae, but eventually, it’s all figured out. Rowan has made it to the northern continent and tracked down Aelin!
“If Rowan fought Nesryn, or even Chaol, there would be no contest. But Aedion… She hadn’t seen him fight yet— and from the look her cousin was giving Rowan, despite all of his professed admiration, she wondered if Aedion was also wondering who’d emerge from that fight alive. Rowan stiffened a bit beneath her grip.
Neither male broke their stare as they neared.
Territorial nonsense.
Queen of Shadows (( Maas, Sarah J. Queen of Shadows : A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2015. ))
By the end of the book, the two Fae males sort out their differences, even with Aedion’s angst over the blood-oath. However, this scene stands out as a hilarious fan-favorite moment and a powerful coming together of people from different pieces of Aelin’s dynamic story.
6. Dorian Shatters The Glass Castle
One of the most anxiety-inducing plots in the whole Throne of Glass series occurs when Dorian becomes possessed by a Valg. After surviving a few merciful attempts to kill him, Manon eventually delivers news to Aelin, Chaol, and the others that Dorian is still inside his own body, fighting the Valg. (( Maas, Sarah J. Queen of Shadow: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2015. ))
In Aelin’s epic facedown with the King of Adarlan, she manages to free Dorian, and they learn that the King has also been possessed by a minion of Erawan. Finally free from the Valg and angered to learn at his true father’s fate, Dorian unleashes his ice powers full force.
The Crown Prince tipped his head back to the sky and roared, and it was the battle cry of a god.
Then the glass castle shattered.
Queen of Shadows (( Maas, Sarah J. Queen of Shadows : A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2015. ))
The glass pummels down towards the city, but Aelin channels Rowan’s wind power, shielding the glass debris from reaching the civilians below. The King of Adarlan is finally slain, making Dorian the new king. (( Maas, Sarah J. Queen of Shadows: A Throne of Glass Novel. Bloomsbury, 2015. )) It’s an epic display of magic, unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Throne of Glass series. The massive glass wall created by Aelin’s magical shield stands over the city, a powerful symbol of Aelin’s act of protection towards Dorian’s people and of the alliance that they have forged with their friendship.
7. Manon Fights Back
I’ll confess that I was slow to accept Manon into the Throne of Glass family. She’s always a sort of threat to our heroine and can be very unpredictable. It really isn’t until Manon’s legendary fight with her grandmother in Empire of Storms that I couldn’t deny Manon’s sheer guts any longer.
“For years, I tried to train her weakness out of you.” Her grandmother spat blue blood onto the stones. “For the good of the Ironteeth, I made you into a force of nature, a warrior equal to none. And this is how you repay me—”
Manon didn’t let the words unnerve her. She went for the throat, only to feint and slash.
Empire of Storms (( Maas, Sarah J. Empire of Storms. Bloomsbury, 2019. ))
It’s an unforgettable Throne of Glass moment, in which Manon’s grandmother gives Manon the iconic abdomen scar with her nails and strips her of her position as Wing Leader. (( Maas, Sarah J. Empire of Storms. Bloomsbury, 2019. )) It’s a pivotal scene for Manon, who really comes into her own and fights for what she believes in.
8. Our Favorite “Wild Beast” In A Certain Fae’s Skin
Although we don’t really get to know her until Queen of Shadows, the shapeshifter Lysandra quickly became a fan favorite and feminist icon to the Throne of Glass fandom after she and Aelin put aside their petty Arobynn-engineered rivalry. Throughout the series, she shapeshifts into everything from epic sea dragons to a butterfly to Fenrys.
She first shapeshifts into Aelin at Arobynn’s, but it’s not until after Maeve has captured Aelin that Lysandra’s powers really come in clutch. At the very end of Empire of Storms, Aelin’s trusted companions gather as Manon relays Aelin’s message to them, including the fact that Rowan is Aelin’s mate and that Lysandra might have to spend the rest of her lifetime in Aelin’s skin and making Ashryver heirs with Aedion. (( Maas, Sarah J. Empire of Storms. Bloomsbury, 2019. ))
Chaos ensues, as it usually does when a bunch of Fae all want to prove their loyalty. However, when Aelin’s allies show up, eager to repay their debt to the former assassin, Lysandra has no choice but to honor her friend’s wishes.
“When Lysandra, as Aelin, as she had promised, swept for them, grinning wide.
That smile … It punched a hole through his heart. Lysandra had taught herself Aelin’s smile, that bit of wickedness and delight, honed with that razor edge of cruelty.
Lysandra’s acting, honed in the same hellhole Aelin had learned hers, was flawless as she spoke to Galan. As she spoke to Ilias, embracing him like a long-lost friend, and a relieved ally.”
Empire of Storms (( Maas, Sarah J. Empire of Storms. Bloomsbury, 2019. ))
9. Three. Months. Of. Power.
Under Maeve’s captivity, Aelin is trapped and tortured in a metal box for three months. Yet, through all of her pain, Aelin proves to us all that she can endure anything. Unknown to us, she was, little by little, tucking away her power in the hopes of pooling enough strength to defeat Maeve.
After her dramatic escape, she doesn’t end up directly using that power to defeat Maeve, but she does save it for a special moment. During the battle at Anielle, Morath’s forces threaten to kill everyone below by breaking the massive dam. Using her powers for the first time since captivity, The Fire-Bringer summons three whole months of power to vaporize the water. The earth-shattering, fateful moment is one for the books.
“She’s kept that power coiled in herself even after she’d been freed from the irons. Had struggled to keep it down these weeks, the strain enormous. Some days, it had been easier to barely speak. Some days, swaggering arrogance had been her key to ignoring it.
Yet, when she had seen that wave […] she’d felt the fire sleeping under this city, and known they had come here for a reason.
She had come here for this reason.”
Kingdom of Ash (( Maas, Sarah J. Kingdom of Ash. Bloomsbury, 2018. ))
10. “I Am A God.”
Of course, the moment you’ve been waiting for, the most legendary line in the Throne of Glass canon and the story’s ultimate climax. We learn from Elena in Empire of Storms that Aelin will have to sacrifice herself to settle the wrongs of the past. So, when, in Kingdom of Ash, Aelin decides to sacrifice herself before the gods, it feels like Aelin may have reached her limits. (( Maas, Sarah J. Empire of Storms. Bloomsbury, 2019. ))
As if we could expect anything less from her, our heroine once again does the impossible.
“Maeve extended a hand before her, darkness swirling in her cupped palm. ‘There are no gods left to watch, I’m afraid. And there are no gods left to help you now, Aelin Galathynius.’
Aelin smiled, and Goldryn burned brighter.
‘I am a god.’ She unleashed herself upon them.”
Kingdom of Ash (( Maas, Sarah J. Kingdom of Ash. Bloomsbury, 2018. ))
Sarah J. Maas Lives Rent-Free In Every Universe
Of course, the Throne of Glass series is eight books of just straight fire. As if her canon universe could even get better, Sarah J. Maas even gives us a crossover moment with A Court of Thorns and Roses in Kingdom of Ash when Aelin is launching across worlds and Rhys and Feyre re-direct her in the sky.
Although I’m sure A Court of Silver Frames will have us shook all over again, it’s fun to reminisce on all the amazing, star-rattling moments throughout the Sarah J. Maas canon.