Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, #3) in Fantasy Buddy Reads

Jan 30, 2021 Johanna added it · review of another edition

This was quite massive story to read and the pacing wasn't solid. I was first really overwhelmed with so many new characters & different POVs; the beginning felt slow.

The beginning was maybe struggle also because Celaena felt so much self-pity and it wasn't exciting to read about. The story starts interest after the beginning, when new characters' stories really starts to take wind under the wings. I really loved Manor! Her POV was long the most interesting, but I don't know if that was a good t ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Aug 18, 2015 Jonathan Terrington rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: worldbuilding, children-s-literature, fractured-fairytales, favourites, favourite-series, fantasy, own

Heir of Fire is an example of what children's literature (specifically YA literature) can be when it doesn't pander to the expectations of the crowd or tone down the ugly side of its world in favour of endorsing a cute 'happily ever after' scenario. The first two novels in this Throne of Glass series were fascinating and interesting with a great cast of characters, decent writing and a little bit of x-factor that made me overlook some of the hints at romantic triangles and typical young adult cl Heir of Fire is an example of what children's literature (specifically YA literature) can be when it doesn't pander to the expectations of the crowd or tone down the ugly side of its world in favour of endorsing a cute 'happily ever after' scenario. The first two novels in this Throne of Glass series were fascinating and interesting with a great cast of characters, decent writing and a little bit of x-factor that made me overlook some of the hints at romantic triangles and typical young adult clichés and tropes. So when I reach this novel and open up the first few pages to read a work of fiction which is more developed and mature than the first two instalments I was enthralled.

It was because of this enthralment that I moved slowly through this work and its world, devouring the pages slowly with my eyes. When I finished this morning I was both excited, annoyed and thrilled. Excited because this is precisely where I had hoped the series would move towards with its development of the potential I had seen in the first few books. Annoyed because this book finished with a hint of a cliff hanger and a promise of more to come if I read on (and I already have such a big to be read list that I rather wanted to move onto something else than Queen of Shadows). Thrilled because the promise of more to come and the daring manner in which the novel ended was fascinating and heart pumping.

Let's discuss the maturing themes of this novel. The first three novels to this date are your essential Bildungsroman - your coming of age story a la Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Name of the Wind or Blood Song - but clearly with a more young adult sixteen to eighteen audience. The main character Celaena is a brilliant assassin who somehow avoids the typical 'gifted heroine' issue that I believe characters like Katniss and Tris (from The Hunger Games and Divergent respectively) often struggle with (in other words that they are so special and everything in the novel happens to fall their way because of the luck of their specialness and not because of fate, skill or their own growth). Instead the reader sees in the first two novels that Celaena is fierce, loyal, driven and also scarred by long years as a slave in the salt mines. But it is in this novel that Celaena displays real character growth as she moves from brilliant assassin and ex-slave to overcoming the hurts and pains of her past scars and arising as a queen. Viewing the backstory of Celaena through flashbacks and relived memories is a powerful use of the fantasy tool that Sarah J. Maas is writing with and it is well executed.

The world of Heir of Fire brilliantly expands the already known world of Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight. There is a beautifully written (and fascinating) side plot with a villainous, yet sympathetic witch by the name of Manon Blackbeak as the reader observes her rise to power. I particularly appreciate novels that reveal and highlight the villain's side of the story although Sarah J. Maas never truly allows the reader to see the King of Ardalan as anything other than the 'big bad wolf' of this novel, distancing him from the readership as a true monster of evil. It would be nice in future novels to see a perspective from his point of view, however perhaps in this initial novels this is an intentional move to focus the villainy of the story on Manon and Queen Mab.

I cannot fail, however, to mention the expansion of the heroic secondary characters. The reader sees Chaol and Dorian develop nicely and the fact that Heir of Fire breaks away from the romantic triangle that I as a reader worried could develop was fantastic. Instead, there was no real romantic conquest for Celaena in this novel, rather the male characters were either distanced from her and heartbroken as a result, or were introduced as brotherly warriors, such as Aedion or Rowan. Rowan in particular is a great stoic character whose relationship with Celaena displays the notion that you do not always need your male and female characters in a novel to be romantically involved.

In terms of the flaws of the novel I would probably argue that there are sections where the prose falters and the book is a touch too long. Again that stems to personal taste and the question of how well the novel was paced - not every reader will see this the same way and many might instead see the introduction of additional secondary characters (many of whom are poorly fleshed out) as a weakness. Instead I enjoyed this expansion of the world of Throne of Glass as I see many plot elements growing and maturing and promising far more in the next instalments. However, the twist in the last twenty pages was brutal and left me with an annoying cliffhanger so be warned! That all said I definitely recommend this book if you have read any of the other Throne of Glass novels. If not, do read the first and see how you like it. I promise that this book improves the maturity of the writing and themes from the opening page. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2016 Amelia rated it really liked it

Huge improvement. Huge. I really felt like we are finally moving in Aelin's development. Rowan and the witches were a much needed addition. I realize most of this book is transitional development for the series, but it went a long way to show me this author has grown. I could read Manon POV for an entire series. Massive potential there. I was never totally sold on Chaol, him being so pigheaded honorable and loyal that he never looked at WHAT he was loyal to. I have no patience for blind devotion ...more

Like · see review

Jul 28, 2018 Rachael rated it liked it

So far this is the most interesting installment and you can tell her writing has improved tremendously. The plot also moves forward in interesting ways (at least in the last 1/4) and seeing her backstory and memories revealed was a long time coming and much appreciated. Though this book could have used a more vicious editor, IMO. Also, so many point of views changing constantly. Really annoying. I just find this series so over-written, and I can’t decide if I’m going to continue the series. Do I ...more

Like · see review

Mar 28, 2020 Kirsten rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

It’s finally getting good!!!! The first two books were tough for me, this one finally picked up speed and seemed less like a carbon copy of every YA fantasy. Also, suuuuuper hoping Rowan is the bae she ends up with foreveerrrrr.

Like · see review