I'm not a big reader of high fantasy novels – I have trouble keeping track of tons of different kingdoms and families and creatures, and I lack the patience for multiple 500-page plus tomes (I still haven't got all the way through the Harry Potter series – they were at a Quidditch match for far too long in book four and I gave up. Forgive me!). It's the rare fantasy novel that manages to keep my attention – which is not a comment on fantasy novels at all, which I generally think are pretty extraordinary, if only I can get all the way through them. It just says a lot about my attention span. Throne of Glass did capture my interest, much to my delight! It's about a girl assassin (Celaena Sardothien – I do so love the names) who has a life sentence working in the salt mines (not fun) being offered freedom on the condition that she survives a fight-to-the-death tournament representing the prince. Girl assassins, you guys. How are they ever not awesome? There's some extraordinary world-building and lots of sinister goings on, and a legion of characters distinct and interesting enough for even I to follow. I would've liked for it to be more blood-thirsty (I'm a Game of Thrones fan) – she is an assassin after all. If you like romance there's a nice little love triangle, because you can't just not have a love triangle. Very much looking forward to the rest of the series, and what Celaena Sardothien does next.
Originally published in Young Vagabond.