The Throne of Glass book series by Sarah J. Maas is one of the best and most popular fantasy book series of the last two decades. There are seven books in the series, not counting the novellas written by Maas, that tell the story of Celaena Sardothien, a young woman and the most skilled assassin in Adarlan, who is destined for something far greater than the life she knows. To celebrate these great books, let's rank all seven of the Throne of Glass books from worst to best.
Before we dive in, I need to mention that none of the Throne of Glass books are bad. I enjoyed all seven, and I’ll definitely be reading the book series again in the future. It’s that good! Still, some of the books are just better than the rest.
Here’s the list of Throne of Glass books in order of publication:
- Throne of Glass (2012)
- Crown of Midnight (2013)
- Heir of Fire (2014)
- Queen of Shadows (2015)
- Empire of Storms (2016)
- Tower of Dawn (2017)
- Kingdom of Ash (2018)
Let’s get the rankings started with the second book of the Throne of Glass series, Crown of Midnight:
7. Crown of Midnight
Published: Aug. 27, 2013
Crown of Midnight is the second of the Throne of Glass books. While it is the weakest, in my opinion, Crown of Midnight is not a bad story. It’s pivotal to the overall series, and it has some great moments.
In Crown of Midnight, Celaena begins her work as an assassin for the King of Adarlan. The whole time, Celaena is more interested in saving those who the King wishes to kill while she learns more about what’s going on in the Glass Palace, and with the rebels who are searching for Aelin Galathynius, the rightful heir to Terrsasen’s throne.
Crown of Midnight is important to Celaena’s journey and teaches her to embrace her past and future. Without the events of this part of the story, including the storylines with Nehemia, Archer Flynn, the monsters, portals, and Calaena’s Fae heritage, we don't have a series.
At the end of the story, Chaol helps Celaena leave Rifthold, which launches this story into the stratosphere.
Best Moment: Crown of Midnight is full of important moments, as I mentioned. Many are rather devastating. The moment that stands out to me most is when Celaena opens the portal in the castle, kills Archer, and then ventures through the portal to kill the monster that just took Fleetfoot back through the portal. The venture reveals Celaena’s Fae form. The other great moment is at the end of the book when Celaena reveals what we’ve all been thinking: she is Aelin Galathynius.
Up next is Tower of Dawn!