WHEN DO I READ ASSASSINS BLADE?????

[alexandra ✧˚ · .]

I’ve literally heard a million bajillion ways to read the TOG series, and I’m still confused on when to read Assassins blade. I’ve heard people say to read it before Throne of glass and I’ve heard people say to read it after Heir of Fire. I need recs on what order to read it in!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[Julia]

I would recommend reading it after crown of midnight and before heir of fire! There's a natural pause in the series after crown of midnight and in heir of fire you meet a lot of new characters so I would absolutely read the assassin's blade before that. There's also the biggest emotional impact when you read it in that order, I wouldn't read it in any other order!! If you read it before throne of glass the storyline might not be as impactful, and in my opinion you don't care about the characters as much as you do after crown of midnight to appreciate the storyline properly. Happy reading! Throne of glass is my absolute favourite series of all time and I'm currently rereading it myself, it's so much fun!

[agapi ౨ৎ]

i haven’t read the series yet but i am going to read it first (because i trust destiny sidwell with my LIFE)

[Megan]

I was looking for a discussion topic on this yesterday !! So glad someone asked this.
I want to start the series but was totally lost on what order to start, because isnt Assassins Blade a prequel ?? Or have I got that wrong ?

[Julia]

It is a prequel! But it kinda works in multiple places in the reading order. I think it works with character development better when read after crown of midnight. Assassin's blade is a collection of short stories that take place before the events in throne of glass but some of the characters storylines make more sense when read in that order. And don't worry, I was also completely lost when starting it for the first time. It's such a fun ride though! Especially when you get to Heir of fire where the pace really picks up!

[⋆˚࿔Elise ˚⋆]

You should probably read it after heir of fire but it doesn't really matter as long as you read it before queen of shadows :)

[Jacqueline]

literally whenever you want. at the end of the day, it's a group of stories that don't really have any baring other than to add context for some side characters that crop up in the last few books.

[Karsyn]

Julia wrote: "I would recommend reading it after crown of midnight and before heir of fire! There's a natural pause in the series after crown of midnight and in heir of fire you meet a lot of new characters so I..."

I wholeheartedly second this! After crown of midnight is what was recommended to me when I started, and I ALWAYS recommend it this way to others as well. I think that's technically also the publication order anyways so it just makes sense to me to put it there. I liked not having the prequel knowledge when I first started, but getting that info later. It kept me engaged and curious to get to it.

I always equate it to Chronicles of Narnia... those books weren't meant to be read in the order of their timeline too, the publication order is how that series should be read (which I learned AFTER I had already done timeline reading). I was disappointed with any "plot twists" later on because then they weren't really twists... I already knew the prior knowledge.

[Gabby ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*]

I WOULD READ IT FIRST!!!! I would have been so confused if i didn't read it first. Chronologically speaking it keeps everything steady and easy to comprehend at the plot and charecter building is going on. Celeana is a COMPLEX charecter. She has so much trauma and without having that backstory i would have been so lost and disconnected from her if i just jumped into throne of glass. Also assassins blade is written better (in my opinion) than throne of glass so i would have been wary if i started there rather than with assassins blade! But yeah ultimately it is up to you but this is what i highly highly highly recommend!

I also recommend tandem reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. These two stories happen at the same time so it's easy to follow the timeline. Yes, the going back and forth is annoying but if you put markers (i use sticky tabs) to keep track it helps keep me knowing how much time has passed. (you can look up the tandem reading chapters and when to switch there is so many things online) but yeah!


This is my personal opinion and no hate to anyone else :)

[Hannah]

i've always been told to read it first, which i did. it gave me great insight into celaena's backstory and i found going into throne of glass i wasn't overwhelmed

[Megan]

Thanks all! I really appreciate everyone opinions!
I'm still so undecided on where to read Assassins Blade, but I will post when I do lol. Its really over whelming but I loved ACOTAR so looking forward to TOG

[Megan]

Gabby ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* wrote: "I WOULD READ IT FIRST!!!! I would have been so confused if i didn't read it first. Chronologically speaking it keeps everything steady and easy to comprehend at the plot and charecter building is g..."

The tandem read looks awesome but I think I'd find it too much to take in lol, did you do the tandem read ??

[Lauran]

I definitely agree that reading it first makes the most logistical sense since Throne of Glass starts right where Assasins Blade leaves off. It’s chronologically correct, but I didn’t read it any other way so it’s hard for me to say what it’s like reading it in the middle of the series 🤷‍♀️ I personally cried so many times throughout this series, I can’t say any of the “emotional impact” was taken from me- but who knows maybe I would have cried even more lol

[Mbhabibti]

I think the TOG fandom stresses new readers out too much with this question... I didn't even know Assassin's Blade existed when I read this series - so I read it last! It did not affect my love for the story or the emotional impact it had on me.

When I recommended the series to my sister and friend, my sister read AB first, and my friend read it after Heir of Fire, and they both loved this series equally.

Long story short: don't worry too much about the order ❤️

[Cassidy]

My biggest advice is also don’t stress about it too much!

I read it third, I loved this order and think the info in TAB was helpful to know prior to reading Heir of Fire.

While yes reading first is chronologically correct, prequels are typically written and meant to be read at a later time for a reason. There’s impact in learning about the characters and setting before jumping into the novellas and main characters backstory. People who read TAB first always say they would be confused if they hadn’t, but I promise you that TOG is very straightforward to understand. TAB simply adds context and introduces some characters and storylines that will come into play as the series goes on.