All 7 Throne of Glass books, ranked from worst to best
By Bryce Olin
6. Tower of Dawn
Published: Sept. 5, 2017
Tower of Dawn is the sixth and second-to-last book in the Throne of Glass series. After the cliffhanger ending in Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn is definitely a change of pace for the series. It’s the only book that doesn’t feature Celaena Sardothien/Aelin Galathynius much at all. Instead, it follows Chaol and Nesryn to Antica after the battle at the Glass Palace that left the King of Adarlan dead. Chaol is paralyzed from the waist down, and Nesryn escorts him to Antica, her home, on the Southern Continent, where Chaol asks the healers of the Torre Cesme, the best healers in the world, to heal his wound, if it’s possible. Chaol and Nesryn also try to convince the Khagan to send his armies to Adarlan and Terrasen to help defeat Erawan and the Valg.
It’s interesting because this was actually going to be a novella, but Maas loved it so much that it became the sixth book in the series. It’s definitely a change of pace for the series, which largely focused on Aelin’s journey. It’s so important, though. Chaol and Nesryn are such great characters, and they are able to carry this part of the story. Obviously, it’s impactful to the story because of the information Chaol and Nesryn learn, along with convincing the Khagan to send his armies to the north. Most importantly, though, this is the book that introduce one of the most important characters in the quest to defeat Erawn: Yrene Towers, the healer. Yrene is truly one of the best characters in this story. Her journey is so crucial, and meeting her provides a great way for the novels to explore the other parts of this world.
Best Moment: Again, there are a lot of big moments in this book. Overall, the best moment is probably when Yrene has enough of the Valg trapped in Chaol’s spine and finally rids him of the demon, which allows Chaol to walk again. One could also argue that Nesryn and Sartaq learning that Maeve is not Fae but Valg from the spiders was also a huge moment that shaped the course of the final book.