Welcome to the second day of the Light Up the Darkness | A Throne of Glass Celebration! This week is so exciting! The final book of the Throne of Glass series, Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas, released yesterday and I spent all day reading because that is what you do when a new SJM book comes out!
To honor this exciting moment in one of my favorite series, Hannah from So Obsessed With, Alexa from Alexa Loves Books, Rachel from hello, chelly and I are doing a blog event to celebrate the series! This series means so much to me in so many ways and I know it does to the other ladies, too. We have had so much fun putting together these posts and talking about the series. Fun but also painful having to make some difficult choices as to favorites!
1. What aspect of the series differentiates TOG from other fantasy series for you?
Hannah • I’ll go into more details about this in my post on Friday, but what sets this series apart for me is the fact that it made me love fantasy as a genre. I didn’t grow up reading fantasy – I was in my 20s before I read Harry Potter and still have only read one Narnia book. As much as I loved escaping to another world through historical fiction, I struggled to imagine a completely made-up setting and suspend my disbelief. With Throne of Glass, all of that changed. The world came alive, and I found myself completely invested in everything that was happening. With each re-read, my love for the series deepens. It’s for all the reasons these other ladies have articulated: the gorgeous writing, the descriptive setting, the meaningful relationships, the complex characters, and the rich emotions.
Rachel • It all comes down to Sarah’s writing. She made this world, its characters and every relationship in it come alive in a way that I think is so rare and special. Every book makes me feel SO much (laughter, tears, my heart racing -- you name it!) and it’s 100% because everything in it is so vivid that you can’t help but be completely immersed.
Alexa • I love the way Sarah writes, and I truly think it’s a testament to her skill that the places she describes - whether it’s the tiny nondescript town of Innish to the shifting sands of the Red Desert to the alleys and buildings in Rifthold, just to name a few examples - instantly just felt real to me, both the first time I read the books and on my rereads. It feels like I’m being transported into a new world each time, and that’s an incredible experience. It also helps that there’s a raw honesty to all these descriptions, where the environment can be both beautiful and dangerous, enthralling and strange. Not to mention that, on top of the settings, I also think Sarah just does an admirable job of bringing characters to life, depicting complicated and rich relationships, writing epic action scenes and bringing on all sorts of feels (laughter, tears, swoons, anger) with her words.
2. What’s your favorite fight scene from the book?
Hannah • The huge battle in Skull’s Bay from Empire of Storms will always be one of the most vivid fight scenes for me, especially because it’s #SquadGoals.
Alexa • I will never get over seeing Manon and Aelin meet for the first time because there’s something so powerful about seeing both these women - who are strong in a number of ways - go head to head.
3. What outfit from the series would you most want to wear?
Hannah • Is there a scene where Aelin wears Rowan’s shirt? If so, I pick that. (Rachel: There is, she sleeps in his shirt multiple times. Also, can I share this answer?!)
Alexa • I almost said that I would wear Celaena’s assassin suit, but I don’t think I’m cool enough so I’m going to go with the dress that Celaena wears on Chaol’s birthday in Crown of Midnight.
4. If you had to choose a second, who would it be?
Hannah • I’d choose Lysandra because 1) she’s constantly underestimated, 2) she is a loyal as they come but would still challenge you when needed, 3) she’s a survivor, and 4) her shapeshifting abilities are invaluable.
Alexa • My instinctive answer for this question was Chaol Westfall. He’s flawed, true, and he doesn’t always make the best choices over the course of the series. But he’s also got a really big heart, a deep sense of loyalty to those he loves, a talent for pushing people to stretch their limits (I’m thinking about all the training he and Celaena did in the early books) and he’s willing to grow. He’d make a really good second, if he could also put aside his concern and fear that the person he loves (AKA yours truly) would be in dangerous situations.
5. Pair a TOG character with a character from another series.
Hannah • Elide and Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest are born to be friends. Both are quiet, overlooked women who have to overcome so much. They both lost their mothers at a young age, go through traumatic experiences, and find love with men who seem all wrong for them at first glance. Despite numerous setbacks, neither one ever gives up and both have to rely on their wits to save them. Sorcha needs a female friend in her life, and Elide is surrounded by such outspoken women in the Throne of Glass series that I think she’d appreciate Sorcha’s quiet, calming presence.
Rachel • Aelin and Alina from Shadow & Bone. Between their two powers, they’d be pretty unstoppable.
Alexa • Nesryn Faliq + Inej Ghafa would make for a very interesting encounter, in my opinion. I’d both love to see them clash and love to see them team up!
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